Category: Review

Posted on

Dessert by Deb’s Sugar Plum Berry Bars

Sugar Plum Berry Bars by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

Sugar Plum Berry Bars came as part of my November/December subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed about Sugar Plum Berry Bars (besides the name designed to trip me up) was the pale pink pouch. Very lovely and just has a nice aesthetic behind it (I love the colour pink). Sugar Plum Berry Bars comes in a sealed, resealable pouch, with a colourful label on the front of it with the ingredients and steeping instructions printed on it. The idea of berry bars makes me think of like apple crumble tarts or square, just with berries instead of apples (and cinnamon!). So I’ve got it in my head what I’m expecting this to smell and taste like.

Sugar Plum Berry Bars consists of organic: black tea, elderberries, currants, raisins, hibiscus, Canadian maple, raspberry and blueberry pieces, cranberries, brown sugar, and pink cornflowers. The aroma is very strongly berries, and reminds me a lot of a mixed field berry jam (which is delicious, by the way). And I can also make out the brown sugar and maple, which really lends itself to reminding me of a baked good. The one thing that would really make it stand out as a baked good/dessert would be the addition of vanilla (which I also love).

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Sugar Plum Berry Bars in 212°F (100°C) for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to follow the steeping instructions and do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Sugar Plum Berry Bars steeps to a golden orange that has a pink hue around the edges of my cup – which is so difficult to photograph but I wish I had been able to do so because it was just so pretty. The flavour of this continues to remind me of mixed berries – it has a moderate amount of sweetness to it, thanks to the brown sugar, fruity ingredients, and maple. I get a lot of molasses sweetness, which I think is thanks to the brown sugar, and I find that it’s just very pleasant. It’s fruity, and I get a bit of astringency at the tail end of each sip with an almost malty flavour that’s playing second fiddle to all the fruity flavours from the black tea base. I’m pleasantly surprised that I can taste it, albeit being overwhelmed by all the fruity flavours. I do like the blend of berry flavours though, because it just has a nice balance of fruity goodness to it.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Sugar Plum Berry Bars and I was disappointed in it – but not surprised – because the berry flavours were lacking. With almost all ingredients that aren’t tea, the flavours are just harder to come by when it’s not the initial steep. I would recommend Sugar Plum Berry Bars for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Sugar Plum Berry Bars. It just does a beautiful job of invoking the idea of a berry crumble dessert and I think it tastes pretty good! I like the amount of sweetness that the tea has, and think that if you were going to add anything to it some brown sugar or a splash of vanilla would be just the ticket to really make it the perfect dessert. I think it’s a fun black tea blend, and I really liked the fact that I could taste the black tea base! This could be nice as a tea latte, but I had a lovely time sipping it as a straight cup of tea.

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

Posted on

Angry Alpaca’s Bohemian Raspberry

Bohemian Raspberry by Angry Alpaca
Green Tea & Oolong Tea / Flavoured

I received Bohemian Raspberry as a gift as part of a tea swap for the holidays in December 2020 from the lovely Jann of Tea With Jann (check her out on YouTube!). As it was a gift, I won’t be looking up the price, but I will include the link to the company’s Facebook page so you can check out their other available tea blends as well as Bohemian Raspberry.

First Impressions

Some things that really stood out to me was the feel of the packaging – it has a soft paper-feel to it with fibres that hang off a bit, and it’s resealable. The label is fun – bright colours with a crocodile?! I find the idea of a ‘naturally aggressive tea’ to be a bold statement, which makes me want to try the tea even more. The name of the blend itself is punny, which I do like. The back of the packaging has a clear window to see the tea, and a label that includes instructions, ingredients, the fact that this tea is made in River Hebert, Nova Scotia (hello, maritimes!), as well as including an artist credit to the cover art (a British Columbian artist by the handle @GOZNO. All in all, a very nice first impression with the packaging.

The tea itself has a really bright berry aroma to it. I can definitely see the leaves, petals, and berries mixed it. I can smell the green tea, not so much the oolong, but also the floral and berry aromas as well. It definitely reminds me of something that could be had iced and I’d probably be pretty happy about it. Bohemian Raspberry consists of: green tea, oolong tea, dried strawberries, dried raspberries, hibiscus, lime leaves, calendula, carthage and sunflower petals.

Preparation

Angry Alpaca recommends steeping Bohemian Raspberry in 90°C (194°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Bohemian Raspberry steeps to a very pretty golden yellow colour. It has a strong berry aroma to it, and I can smell the oolong! The flavour of the tea itself is nice – get some grassiness from the green tea, some strong floral notes, I can definitely taste the berries, and there’s a buttery quality that lingers in the background that I believe to be from the oolong base. It’s well balanced with not a whole lot of sweetness, but it doesn’t seem to really need it. Bohemian Raspberry is pleasant hot, but I imagine it would be stellar as an iced tea with those fruity flavours. I’m a bit surprised that it didn’t end up steeping a bit more pink or more tart, given the presence of the hibiscus.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Bohemian Raspberry once by adding an additional 30 seconds to the steep time and found the flavour to be a bit lacking compared to the initial steep. The fruitiness from the berries just wasn’t as forward as I would have wanted it to be, but the green tea and oolong tea bases both shine a bit more. So I would recommend resteeping if you’re a fan of the base teas.

My Overall Impression

I loved Angry Alpaca’s Bohemian Raspberry. I really enjoyed the flavour profile that they were able to create with both the green tea and oolong tea base. I think the fruity flavours are nice and really shined in the initial steep. I’m definitely going to set aside the rest of the bag for some cold steeping/iced teas for this summer because I just really think it’ll do well iced or cold steeped. Plus, I do need to give bonus points to a company who takes such care in their design to include fun artwork, highlighting Canadian artists, and giving their tea blend a punny name.

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

Posted on

TeaSource’s Earl Grey White Tip

Earl Grey White Tip by TeaSource
Black Tea & White Tea / Flavoured
$12.00USD for 4oz

I received Earl Grey White Tip as part of my swag bag from the 2020 Virtual International Tea Festival.

First Impressions

First things first, this review was completely unsolicited by TeaSource. I just happened to get it as part of my swag bag and decided to add the tea to my queue of teas to review because why not? I’m always down for trying new teas, and why not share my experience about it? Earl Grey White Tip comes in a sealed, resealable pouch – shiny black on the front and clear in the back so you can see all of the leaves. What really intrigues me about this because it’s a blend of black and white teas… and Earl Grey inspired (and if you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I love a good Earl Grey!).

Looking at the tea though, I don’t see a difference between the tea leaves. It seems quite uniform – the leaves are a deep brown, short wiry leaves. Earl Grey White Tip consists of: black tea, natural flavour, and white tea. It has a really strong bergamot aroma, which is one of the shining attributes of an Earl Grey that I greatly enjoy. It has just such a good citrus aroma to it that reminds me of a nice Earl Grey, so already getting some points for that.

Preparation

TeaSource recommends steeping Earl Grey White Tip in 212°F (100°C) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for the initial steep.

First Taste

Earl Grey White Tip steeps to a golden reddish orange colour, and is quite clear (also, how cute is my mug with its messages of positivity on the top?). The aroma is definitely bergamot, which is what I’m looking for. The flavour is primarily the citrus notes of the bergamot, coupled with a mild sweetness, a slight astringency, and just a pleasant malty flavour from the black tea. I don’t really make out any flavours within the tea that make me think that there is white tea in the blend.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Earl Grey White Tip a few times (adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep) and found that the flavour was most similar to the initial steep for the first resteep, but really lost the bergamot flavouring after that. I would recommend Earl Grey White Tip for just one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked TeaSource’s Earl Grey White Tip. As an Earl Grey blend, it’s pleasant and tasty and has all the things that I generally appreciate and look for in the classic blend. However, as a blend containing white tea, I wouldn’t go back to it expecting anything resembling white tea because it’s just not present in terms of the blend itself and within the flavour profile. The bergamot is really what ‘saved’ the tea for me in terms of wanting to continue to drink it, so I’m a bit disappointed that there wasn’t any white tea leaves present when it’s mentioned as part of the blend and the name of the tea.

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