Category: Review

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Murchie’s Chun Mee

Chun Mee by Murchie’s
Green Tea / Straight
$7.15 for 56g (2oz)

First Impressions

This Chinese green tea was another recommended tea to me when I inquired about green teas while shopping. Chun Mee literally translates to precious eyebrows, presumably because of the shape of how the leaves are rolled and twisted up. It’s described as generally being a bit dusty, and more acidic compared to other Chinese green teas. Chun Mee originates in Jiangxi Province, China, but is now growth elsewhere. Just fun facts to share!

Chun Mee consists of Chinese green tea. It has a bit of a dustiness to it, with a strong grassy note and hints of plum. The light fragrance of stone fruit is pleasant. The leaves themselves are tightly rolled, and appear short. I don’t particularly think that the leaves look much like eyebrows, but to each their own.

Preparation

Murchie’s recommends steeping green teas in 175-180°F (79-82°C) for 2 to 3 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Chun Mee for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Chun Mee steeps to a sunshine yellow – just check out that colour! It has a surprisingly mild aroma to it, Chun Mee has a primarily grassy note to it. On first sip, I noticed the grassy notes, but also some fruity sweetness to it that reminds me of plums. There’s something about the stone fruit quality to the flavour – it’s not tart, but is sweet, and has a heavy syrup texture to it that lingers on the tongue. The lack of astringency is welcome, but I do find that Chun Mee has something interesting about the mouthfeel that makes it almost feel astringent but doesn’t have a mouth puckering quality to it.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Chun Mee a total of five times (six steeps total with the same leaves), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour of the liquor got darker, while the flavour profile stayed fairly consistent with each steep of the leaves. I found that it got a bit sweeter with each steep of Chun Mee.

My Overall Impression

I liked Murchie’s Chun Mee. I thought it was an enjoyable green tea, with some lovely plum and grassy notes to the flavour profile. The mouthfeel wasn’t the most enjoyable thing for me – there was something about the way that Chun Mee made the inside of my mouth feel that wasn’t drying, but felt like it should have been. I think the plum flavour was great though, and would consider cold steeping this one in the spring or summer for some iced green tea for sure – perhaps even coupling it with plums and a simple syrup.

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Dessert by Deb’s Peaches & Cream Parfait

Peaches & Cream Parfait by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured

Peaches & Cream Parfait came as part of my bimonthly tea subscription box and is a subscriber exclusive blend.

First Impressions

Peaches & Cream Parfait came in my bimonthly tea subscription box in a light pink metallic pouch that’s sealed and resealable. This is part of the Deb’s Vintage Dessert Diner collection of other like-minded diner inspired treats. The colourful pouch is always a fun part of experiencing a Dessert by Deb blend, especially the colourful label with polka dots.

Peaches & Cream Parfait consists of organic: black tea, natural peach essence, peaches, toasted coconut, and calendula petals. The aroma is strongly of peaches, with hints of coconut in the background. It does remind me of a peach cobbler, or an other type of peach dessert, and definitely has a summer feel to it.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Peaches & Cream Parfait in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I did an initial steep of Peaches & Cream Parfait for 5 minutes, just going for the middle of the road length of time.

First Taste

Peaches & Cream Parfait steeps to a pretty golden orange colour. It has a strong peaches aroma. The flavour of Peaches & Cream Parfait is primarily peaches, followed by an earthy maltiness that I attribute to the black tea base. The toasted coconut comes through with the roasted notes and a creaminess from the coconut. I do think this might do well as a tea latte, just to add a heightened level of creaminess to the tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Peaches & Cream Parfait, and found that that the resteep with the leaves doesn’t have a strong peach flavour to it. I would recommend Peaches & Cream Parfait for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Peaches & Cream Parfait. I found the flavour was enjoyable, and the peaches to be strong. It has a nice balance between the peach essence and the black tea base, as you get that malty flavour from it and earthiness plays well with the peaches. It definitely seems like a tea more suited for warmer weather, because of when peaches go in season, but I find it helps brighten up some rainy days.

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Nittoh Tea’s Matcha Au Lait

Matcha Au Lait by Nittoh Tea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$6.99 for 120g (10 x 12g servings)

First Impressions

Nittoh Tea’s Matcha Au Lait was a fun little Asian grocery store find, it was staring me right in the face because it was eye level. The package doesn’t show off much – there’s an image of a bowl of matcha on the front, and clear side that show off the individual packets. There’s 10 packages in the bag, each containing 12g of powder.

The individual packets are light weight, after I opened it, I found that they feel a bit metallic in nature (the packaging). The powder itself is light green with a very light aroma – a bit grassy. It’s very mild. Matcha Au Lait consists of: sugars, dextrin, palm oil, whole milk powder, green tea powder, salt, sodium caseinate (milk), carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium lactate, soy lecithin.

Preparation

The packaging for Matcha Au Lait has Japanese text on it, with a printed English and French label across the back (to adhere to language laws in Canada to make it eligible to be sold). I did have to find the preparation instructions online, which recommend using 120ml of hot water for a hot matcha latte or cold water for an iced matcha latte. I didn’t find a temperature recommendation, so I used 175°F (79°C) water.

First Taste

Matcha Au Lait becomes a spring green cup of matcha. It dissolved and suspended quite easily with hot water with the stir of a spoon in my cup. I found that the aroma is milky and grassy at the same time. The flavour of Matcha Au Lait is sweet, with a light creaminess throughout, and grassy notes from the matcha base. It lacks the creaminess that I would have created in a matcha latte from scratch, but it is also possible that I was a touch heavy handed with the water when preparing it.

A Second Cup?

As Matcha Au Lait is a suspension, there are no second steeps with the same powder.

My Overall Impression

I liked Nittoh Tea’s Matcha Au Lait. It’s an easy preparation to make, and the additive of whole milk powder makes it easy to have a matcha latte on-the-go. I found it not as sweet to my liking, nor as creamy if I had prepared a matcha latte from scratch. However, I think it’s an easy way to make a matcha latte when out and about, so the rest of the package will definitely be making their way into my work bag so I can have an easy matcha latte during breaks.

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