Category: Review

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Dessert by Deb’s Almond Cinnamon Brioche

Almond Cinnamon Brioche by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.75 for 25g

Almon Cinnamon Brioche came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

Almond Cinnamon Brioche came in a chocolate brown metallic pouch that’s sealed and resealable, with the familiar polka dot label. Almond Cinnamon Brioche is part of Dessert by Deb’s Bed  & Breakfast Holiday Inn collection and the colours have a very end of autumn, beginning of winter feel to it.

Almond Cinnamon Brioche consists of: black tea, natural almond flavour, almonds, cinnamon, coconut, brown sugar, and calendula petals – with quite a few of the listed ingredients being organic. The dry leaf is beautiful – from the sparkle of the brown sugar, the presence of the bright yellow calendula petals and sliced almond pieces. The aroma of Almond Cinnamon Brioche is primarily the coconut, cinnamon, and almonds.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Almond Cinnamon Brioche in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes and recommends having it as a tea latte. I did an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Almond Cinnamon Brioche steeps to a golden yellow. The aroma is strong of cinnamon and coconut. The flavour is sweet, hints of molasses, warming notes of cinnamon, and the coconut. It has notes of vanilla that somehow come through, which really lend itself to having that ‘brioche’ or thoughts of baked goods. All that’s missing is the aroma of butter to really drive home that idea of brioche to the tastebuds. The black tea base provides a bold undertone with light caramel notes.

I did try adding some evaporated milk to my cup of Almond Cinnamon Brioche, to make it latte-esque. It adds a creamy quality to it, but not that buttery quality that I crave in a good brioche bun.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Almond Cinnamon Brioche, adding an additional 30 seconds to the steeping time. I found that the flavour wasn’t as enjoyable as the initial steep. The first resteep had cinnamon and coconut, but the almond and brown sugar notes were (understandably) missing.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Almond Cinnamon Brioche. This black tea blend evokes a lot of feelings of being in a bakery, of getting to experience bites into a pastry rich with almond and cinnamon. I do wish that there were more buttery notes in it, to really drive home that feeling of brioche. That said, I would recommend following the tip of preparing Almond Cinnamon Brioche as a tea latte.

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Tropical Fields’ Boba Milk Tea Mochi

Boba Milk Tea Mochi by Tropical Fields
$10.99 for 900g (60 pieces)

First Impressions

A trip through my favourite membership-required bulk purchasing store resulted in me picking up a bag of Boba Milk Tea Mochi. Boba? Milk tea? Mochi? All things I enjoy. It came in a sealed, resealable bag and each mochi comes individually wrapped and there’s sixty (60) in the whole bag.

Boba Milk Tea Mochi consists of: sugars, glutinous rice, water, modified corn starch, white chocolate, bubble milk tea paste, boba, palm oil, mono and di-glycerides, salt, artificial flavour, potassium sorbate, and potato starch. The bubble tea milk paste contains black tea.

First Taste

Each mochi comes in its own packaging. The packaging suggests that each mochi has a boba pearl, as well as a layer of milk tea flavour. When I bit into the mochi, I found that it was more of a one-note texture inside of the mochi. there was no differentiation for myself when I bit into the Boba Milk Tea mochi. The mochi is sweet, soft and chewy. I don’t find it to have a particular boba texture or sweetness – but it has a decent flavour, albeit a bit too sweet for my tastes.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Tropical Fields’ Boba Milk Tea Mochi. While the price was right for an impulse buy, I was disappointed that the mochi didn’t have the same texture as what appeared on the packaging (with the distinct boba pearl middle). The mochi itself has a great texture – nice and soft – I was just disappointed that it wasn’t what I had expected based on the photograph promises. I’d share these with others, but I’m not sure if I would buy them again. If you’re not too fussed with the boba part of the mochi, Boba Milk Tea Mochi is tasty.

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

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Greenmax’s Milky Tea

Milky Tea by Greenmax
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.99 for 320g (16 sachets)

First Impressions

Another week, another post about my thoughts on another on-a-whim grocery store purchase. This is Milky Tea from Greenmax, another instant milk tea option for me to try in my quest for finding the ‘best’ one.

Milky Tea comes in individually portioned packets, each one with 20g. The product itself isn’t particularly much to look at – it doesn’t have much an aroma, milky white powder with the sparkle from sugar, and dark speckles throughout (that reminds me of how vanilla bean ice cream looks like).

Milky Tea consists of: creamer, sugars, black tea powder, milk powder, beta-cyclodextrin, artificial flavour, and cocoa powder.

Preparation

Greenmax recommends preparing Milky Tea with 150mL of boiling water (100°C/212°F) for a hot drink (and for an iced preparation, add ice cubes). I opted to prepare Milky Tea as a hot drink.

First Taste

Milky Tea mixes up very easily. The aroma is sweet and creamy. The flavour is sweet, milky, with the black tea in the background. There’s some astringency, earthiness, and maltiness that all mingle well with the cream in the blend, but the foremost flavour in Milky Tea is the sweetness from the sugar. I was surprised at how much of the black tea does come through, but I do wish that there was less sweetness in it.

A Second Cup?

Given that Milky Tea is a beverage mix, there’s no second preparations with the same powder.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Greenmax’s Milky Tea was just okay. While Milky Tea was easy to prepare, but overly sweet for my personal tastes. There’s a nice amount of cream flavour in the blend, and there are some nice black tea notes that come through. I think this would be a great blend to have with boba or have iced – it just needs a little bit less sugar to be a drink I’d regularly reach for.

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