Category: Review

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Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice by Gypsy Soul Tea Co
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.35 for 40g

First Impressions

I stumbled across a little shop in Pitt Meadows, BC a few weeks ago called Tomes & Tales. The one thing that really drew me to it was the fact that there was a sign outside that said that there was luxury loose leaf tea inside – it’s basically like a beacon to me whenever tea is mentioned! So of course I went inside and checked out the tea selection and bought a few to try. I figured it’d be seasonally appropriate to share my thoughts of Pumpkin Spice on October 31st, so here it is.

Pumpkin Spice came in a sealed (and resealable) foil bag. The other side of the bag is clear plastic so that you can see the tea itself, which is nice (but not always nice for storage if you’re not keeping your tea somewhere dark). The label on the front tells me pretty much everything that I really need to do to make the tea – from ingredients to steeping instructions with a brief description about the tea.

Pumpkin Spice consists of black tea, cinnamon, ginger, sweet blackberry leaves, pumpkin pieces, and cloves. The aroma of the tea is very strong from the spices, it does remind me of the smell of pumpkin pie/spice mixes. The ingredients are easily identifiable, which is nice.

Preparation

Gypsy Soul Tea Co recommends steeping Pumpkin Spice in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep of Pumpkin Spice was for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Pumpkin Spice steeps to a deep golden orange that is really quite fragrant. The aroma smells very strong of the spices that were present in the dry leaf as well. I can taste the black tea base, which is nice and smooth with no bitterness or astringency when steeped for the 3 minutes. I found that I could definitely taste the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. I can’t really taste the pumpkin, but pumpkin is a significantly milder flavour than the spices and it does smell and taste like a pumpkin spice mix – so it still evokes the memories of pumpkin pie.

I did add a bit of honey for a sweetener, and found it worked really well in bringing out some of the pumpkin flavour – although it really does linger in the background quite a bit.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Pumpkin Spice once, but found that the flavours were a little lacking. I felt like the spices just weren’t as strong as they were in the initial steep. I would say that Pumpkin Spice is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Pumpkin Spice. I felt like the flavours did really well at representing pumpkin spice, and it had good warming qualities to it. While the pumpkin flavour wasn’t very strong, it did make me think of pumpkin pie/pumpkin spice, so it certainly did a good job. If you’re not a fan of plain black tea, I would recommend trying this one as a tea latte because it’s the season for PSL and not everyone is a fan of coffee!

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Tea Side’s Jin Xuan Oolong

Jin Xuan Oolong by Tea Side
Oolong Tea / Straight
$13.00USD for 50g

Tea Side has provided me with Jin Xuan Oolong for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Jin Xuan Oolong came to me in a silvery blue packet, not resealable (but I am used to that by now). This oolong has some beautiful brown and green tones throughout the dry leaf. There’s a fair bit of size consistency between each dry bunch of tea leaves. The aroma of the oolong is primarily a mix of leafy, dark green vegetables with what reminds me of apple and berries. Just smelling it makes me think of both savoury and sweet.

Jin Xuan Oolong is a straight oolong that was harvested in Thailand at 1200m above sea level. With how tightly bunched together the leaves are, it does have me curious about how much the leaves will expand after being steeped.

Preparation

I couldn’t find any steeping instructions for Jin Xuan Oolong. My initial steep was in 195°F (90°C) water for 2 minutes. If you ever come across a tea without steeping instructions but you know what type of tea it is, check out my steeping times guide!

First Taste

My initial steep of Jin Xuan Oolong results in a very light yellow tea. The aroma of the steeped tea is mostly that of apples and berries, with a touch of earthiness in the background. On first sit, I noted that the tea is smooth with zero bitterness or astringency. There’s a lovely aftertaste to this tea – mostly because it’s sweet with a flavour that is lightly floral and mixed berries.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Jin Xuan Oolong six times (seven steeps total). I added an extra 30 seconds per subsequent steep. I noted that the tea became more golden yellow in colour with each steep – with the colour peaking at the second resteep. The flavour of the oolong became more floral and fruity in nature as the tea became darker in colour. I noted that the sweetness carried throughout each sip a little bit longer with each steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tea Side’s Jin Xuan Oolong. I always love it when an oolong tastes as good as it smells in both dry and steeped leaves. The floral and fruity flavours of this Thailand oolong was a treat to have as it was just really enjoyable to drink. I think that this tea would pair very nicely with a fruity dessert because it would play nicely with the natural flavours of the fruit itself. This is a nice oolong to resteep, I found that the subtle changes in colour and flavour to be pleasant and would fully recommend resteeping this one if you get the chance.

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Trader Joe’s Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix

Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix by Trader Joe’s
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$3.99USD for 8oz (227g)

First Impressions

Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix was one of those things that I spotted on the shelf at the Trader Joe’s in Bellingham, WA and just had to try it. I do know how to make a matcha latte at home (and have even shared a recipe here before for my Rose Matcha Latte!), but the idea of an easy way to make it at home (albeit not entirely from scratch) was appealing. Which is exactly how the tin ended up in my shopping cart.

Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix comes in a carton with a plastic lid, and a silver foil seal underneath for the freshness. There’s a light green powder inside, and no scoop (unlike the Spicy Chai Tea Latte Mix that I shared last week!). There’s no strong smells from this mix, it smells like a very light green tea. Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix consists of: cane sugar, coconut oil, maltodextrin, matcha green tea, whole milk powder, non fat milk powder, malted milk powder, natural flavours, sodium caseinate, tricalcium phosphate, guar gum, mono and diglycerides, silicon dioxide, and salt.

Just for your information, each serving consists of 13g of sugar, and there’s 8 servings per carton.

Preparation

Trader Joe’s recommends preparing Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix with 3 tablespoons of mix with 6oz of hot water, and to stir to dissolve.

If you want to have a cold Matcha Green Tea Latte, they recommend 3 tablespoons of mix with 3oz of hot water, stir to dissolve, and pour over 1 cup of ice.

I opted to do my initial taste of Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix as a hot matcha latte, mixing it with 100°C (212°F) water.

First Taste

Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix dissolves completely in hot water and quite easily after stirring it with a spoon directly in my teacup. The colour is very similar to the powder, a light pistachio green. There’s a very mild aroma to the Matcha Green Tea Latte, it’s a very light green tea aroma and I can smell the milk as well. The flavour is very milky, with a nice sweetness to it. I do taste the matcha, I do wish it was a bit stronger (although I don’t know how much of the matcha flavour is being masked by the dairy in the ingredients list). This does remind me a lot of a matcha latte that I might be able to find at a cafe, and it’s not overwhelmingly sweet, which is greatly appreciated by me.

A Second Cup?

No second cups here, since the Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix completely dissolves in the water.

My Overall Impression

I loved Trader Joe’s Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix. This was a very easy product to use at home – no sifting or whisking required for a morning cup of matcha latte. I do wish that the matcha flavour was a bit heavier, but I also understand that for the demographic this is probably targeted at, the flavour is probably pretty much on point. The dairy content has a nice creaminess to it, which lends itself well to the latte aspect. For the cost of what ends up being $0.50USD/serving, it’s really not that bad – especially when comparing to a $6 cup at the local coffee shop. It’s not as sweet as I was expecting it to be, given that it is a latte mix, so that was a nice and pleasant surprise.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.