Category: Review

Posted on

Dessert by Deb’s Cereal Milk

Cereal Milk by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

The idea of a ‘cereal milk’ tea really intrigues me. After all, anyone who’s grown up eating kids cereal knows the added bonus of the sweetened milk when all the cereal is gone – my favourite to do this with would have definitely been cereals like Honey Nut Cheerios or Lucky Charms. Added bonus of being an adult now and getting to decide for myself that no, I don’t want Corn Flakes. So the idea of Cereal Milk really invokes a sense of nostalgia within me, which is always a nice feeling when it’s happy moments.

Cereal Milk comes in a matte silver sealed, resealable pouch with a colourful label from Dessert by Deb. Always cheerful and fun to see, the information about the tea is on the front and it’s always nice to be reminded that the teas from Dessert by Deb are all hand blended in small batches in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Such a labour of love putting together all these blends (and subscription boxes!).

Cereal Milk is a vibrant, beautiful tea blend. Cereal Milk consists of organic: black tea, natural cream flavour, coconut, calendula petals, and pink cornflower petals. I mean, just look at those colours! Bright pops of yellow and pink against the sea of black tea and coconut flakes. The aroma is strongly of coconut, cream, and something that makes me think of vanilla. It’s really pleasant and inviting, and does remind me a bit of Lucky Charms (disclaimer: it’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten Lucky Charms… Maybe I should have used this as an excuse to buy a box, for science?).

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Cereal Milk in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Cereal Milk steeps to a golden orange colour. The aroma is a blend of the coconut, cream and a distinct aroma note of black tea that makes me think of an Assam or Darjeeling black tea. Taste wise, Cereal Milk didn’t disappoint! There’s a creaminess that I was expecting that reminds me of the milk part of what’s left behind when the cereal is gone from the bowl, but then there’s also light floral notes, coconut, a bit of fruity notes that perhaps come from the black tea, and then also hints of vanilla which I’m still trying to figure out where it’s from (the black tea base? the cream flavouring? my brain conjuring up flavours that only exist in my mind?). It has a beautiful mouthfeel to it, it sort of all encompasses the mouth and it has just the right amount of sweetness that definitely makes me think of (sugary kid’s) cereal.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cereal Milk, but found that a lot of the supporting flavours that invoke the idea of the leftover milk from a bowl of cereal to be missing. I would recommend Cereal Milk for just the first steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cereal Milk. As far as the nostalgia factor, Cereal Milk does not disappoint and somehow tastes like the milk leftover from a bowl of sugary sweet kids cereal – aside from the fact that I had this hot instead of cold. The flavour is on-point in my opinion, especially with the cream flavouring to really put yourself in the mindset that this is cereal milk. I will have to try this as a tea latte, as I think it would do really well and I would likely add just a little bit of sweetener to really make it that sugary sweet cereal milk that I loved as a kid. I’m still not quite sure where I’m finding that vanilla note from, although my best guess would be from the cream flavouring – but I like it!

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

Posted on

Teakan’s Jin Jun Mei

Jin Jun Mei by Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 66g

Jin Jun Mei is part of Teakan’s Volume 3 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Jin Jun Mei makes up 15g of the 66g kit.

First Impressions

It’s taken me a bit longer than expected to work my way through Teakan’s Volume 3 Exploration Kit – but here we are! This is the fourth tea, Jin Jun Mei. This is a black tea from Tong Mu Guan, Fujian, China. It comes in a kraft paper pouch that’s sealed and resealable, with the very similar black and white label on the side that has information on both the front and the back side. The packaging is minimalistic and sufficient, providing the information that you need when it comes to steeping this tea. This particular tea was harvested in spring 2020, which also intrigues me a bit because getting to try out fairly young teas is always a treat, especially when it comes to single origin teas.

The leaves themselves are beautiful – there’s lots of downy softness to these tea leaves, and bright golden yellow tips that outshine their darker counterparts in this little mound of tea leaves. The aroma is sweet and lightly smokey – it reminds me of the remnants of a campfire the next morning. Jin Jun Mei is enticing, feels to me like it would even bit a bit bold in flavour after being steeped.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Jin Jun Mei in 90°C (194°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes for the western steeping style; if opting to steep Jin Jun Mei in the gongfu method, Teakan recommends the same water temperature but only steeping for 3 to 5 seconds. Because my gaiwan is still living in storage, I opted to do the western style and did an initial steep at 3 minutes.

First Taste

Jin Jun Mei steeps to this beautiful, impossibly bright golden yellow. It almost reminds me of how bright saffron can be, that’s just how intense this yellow is. The aroma is slightly smoky, just like the dry leaf, with a hint of sweetness. The tea itself has a strong mouthfeel, with a thickness to the tea that makes it really coat the inside of your mouth. The flavour is malty, smoky, with just the hint of apricots lingering in the background, which really just adds a touch of sweetness to it. There’s an almost bitter aftertaste that only stays for a short while before it goes away on its own. There’s a touch of astringency, but it doesn’t make my mouth feel dry.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Jin Jun Mei a total of five times, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. Jin Jun Mei gets a bit more malty and less astringent as the steeps go on, but I do find that the sweetness doesn’t change too much. There’s still that slight bitter aftertaste, but it’s not enough to put me off from finishing the cup (or pot). It’s a nice candidate for resteeping, as far as black teas go.

My Overall Impression

I liked Teakan’s Jin Jun Mei. I thought this tea did lovely when it came to steeping and resteeping, and it has a great flavour. I probably would have ranked it a bit higher if it weren’t for the astringency and bitter notes that I found – they weren’t enough to put me off from drinking it, but it also stands out to me that those flavour notes are there. I think starting at 3 minutes perhaps was a bit too harsh on the tea leaves, and I would definitely not recommend steeping beyond the recommended length of time, for fear of the tea getting more bitter. I do love the colour though, it’s such a shocking sunshine yellow colour and really just puts a smile on my face.

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

Posted on

Heavenfull’s Vanilla Ice Cream Stroopwafel Sandwiches

Vanilla Ice Cream Stroopwafel Sandwiches by Heavenfull
$13.99 for 1 box (12 x 140mL)

First Impressions

So I spotted these at Costco (it’s a Costco exclusive product, according to the Heavenfull website) and I basically called to my husband to grab me a box because hello, stroopwafels! I love stroopwafels (as evidenced by the #StroopwafelSunday hashtag) and was immediately intrigued and super excited over trying these out. I love stroopwafel and I love ice cream – so why not put both of them together?

Heavenfull is a Canadian company (based out of Toronto, Ontario), and their website states that they give back to SickKids Foundation (benefiting The Hospital for Sick Children) – which I think is a great cause to give back to their local children’s hospital.

The packaging itself isn’t that exciting – it’s a printed cardboard box with the information about the product, ingredients, nutritional information. The ice cream sandwiches themselves are individually wrapped in plastic. These are definitely not meant to be warmed on top of your cup!

Vanilla Ice Cream Stroopwafel Sandwiches consists of: the waffle (flour, palm oil, sugars, egg, soy flour, salt, cinnamon, oat fibre, and baking soda), vanilla ice cream (milk, cream, sugar, modified milk ingredients, mono-and-diglycerides, guar gum, cellulose gum, locust bean gum, carrageenan, silicon dioxide, natural favours), and dulce de leche crème spread (sugar, sweetened condensed milk, water, skim milk powder, canola oil, sodium alginate, salt, microcrystalline cellulose, carboxymethyl celluose, mono-glycerides, sodium hexametaphosphate).

First Taste

I feel like the sandwich itself is definitely decently sized (on par with the other non-stroopwafel ice cream sandwiches that my husband picked out for himself!). It smells like a stroopwafel (of which I have eaten many by now…), and tastes really good! The cookie itself is soft, and the caramel layer wasn’t as hard to chew as I thought it might be. The ice cream has a really nice vanilla flavour to it that goes well with the soft chew of the stroopwafel cookie sandwich.

My Overall Impression

I loved Heavenfull’s Vanilla Ice Cream Stroopwafel Sandwich. It combines my favourite tea time cookie with a thick layer of vanilla ice cream and I am here for it! It has great flavour and the caramel layer is easy to eat – which is always a plus! This just might turn into a summer time staple in my home and I’m pretty okay with that becoming true.

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