Category: Review

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Dessert by Deb’s Christmas Fruitcake

Christmas Fruitcake by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea & Rooibos / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Christmas Fruitcake is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Christmas Fruitcake came in a sealed, resealable silver pouch and was part of my December box from Dessert by Deb – which was the very first box of the bimonthly year tea subscription. This is also one of two subscription exclusive blends – what a great incentive to join! I like being part of the super secret club.

This blend smells really inviting – I get strong orange, cinnamon, ginger, and clove aromas. It’s nicely mixed together and I didn’t have to shake it up to get a little bit of everything in my spoon, which was nice. Christmas Fruitcake consists of organic: green tea, rooibos, cherries, oranges and peel, elderberries, currants, raisins, rosehips, cinnamon, brown sugar, ginger, cloves and safflower.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Christmas Fruitcake in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Christmas Fruitcake steeps to a nice golden orange. I can definitely smell the cinnamon and ginger, I think those are the strong players in the blend of ingredients! On first taste, I notice that it has a nice sweetness. The flavour of Christmas Fruitcake is that one orange, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. All the warming qualities of ginger make it a very pleasant drink. I did find that it reminded me of the flavours that you might find in a nice spiced pound cake. As for the base of the tea blend – I don’t really taste either the green tea or the rooibos – which is both a plus and a minus because I don’t typically enjoy rooibos blends. But I don’t smell or taste the medicinal-like quality that rooibos often lends to blends.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Christmas Fruitcake and found that it didn’t hold up very well for a second steep. The rooibos was a touch more noticeable, and the ginger and orange were significantly weak compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Christmas Fruitcake for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Christmas Fruitcake. I really enjoyed the flavours in the blend, and appreciated that I wasn’t able to taste the rooibos because it’s not my favourite thing in the world. The flavour of orange, cinnamon, and ginger really make me think of a spiced pound cake – mostly because I don’t think I’ve really ever tried a fruitcake before (and if I have, I don’t remember what it tastes like!). It’s certainly a fantastic first look an exclusive tea blend for subscribers of Dessert by Deb.

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Celestial Seasonings’s Raspberry Zinger

Raspberry Zinger by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 45g (20 teabags)

First Impressions

Raspberry Zinger is the last of the fruit tisanes in the Fruit Tea Sampler that I purchased ages ago! You can always tap here to read the other reviews of the tisanes featured in the sampler. This one, like all the other ones, comes ina sealed foil packet that’s not resealable. The tisane comes in square teabags, no tag or string present. There’s a bright and strong fruity berry aroma, and I can definitely smell the hibiscus.

Raspberry Zinger consists of: hibiscus, rosehips, roasted chicory, orange peel, blackberry leaves, natural raspberry flavour with other natural flavours, raspberries and raspberry leaves. Not surprisingly, raspberry isn’t the star ingredient, but it does smell very strongly of berries.

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends steeping Raspberry Zinger in freshly boiled water (100°C/212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did a steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Raspberry Zinger steeps to a bright berry red colour. I found that it smells like berries and raspberries, which is nice. It’s both fruity sweet and tart. I found that the hibiscus flavour is strong and really complements the fruit flavours. I think it would be great with a bit of sweetener to help temper the overall start tartness to the tisane. Or perhaps iced with lemonade or a slice of lemon.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Raspberry Zinger, but the flavour wasn’t strong enough to really make it worth my while. I would recommend steeping Raspberry Zinger just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I liked Celestial Seasonings’s Raspberry Zinger. I really enjoyed the berry flavours, although it was more of a field berry experience than specifically raspberry. The tartness from the hibiscus could be overwhelming for some, but I do tend to like hibiscus so I was okay with it. A bit of honey would go a long way to help brighten up the fruit flavours even more, and lower the level of tartness present in the tisane. I would recommend having it iced to really appreciate the fruity flavours.

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Lemon Lily’s Apple Pie Chai

Apple Pie Chai by Lemon Lily
Black Tea / Flavoured
$10.00 for 50g

I received Apple Pie Chai from Lemon Lily via the Dessert by Deb tea subscription box that I subscribe to.

First Impressions

Apple Pie Chai came in a clear plastic pouch that’s resealable with some information about the tea itself on the label. One thing I did note is that there were steeping instructions lacking on the label. I was able to find that information on the tea’s online product page, which is really awesome. If you’re ever stuck and can’t find that information, you can always find some general steeping information for the tea that you’re wanting to make on the internet – like even here on One More Steep, I’ve got an article from 2016 titled Steeping Times for Different Teas that still gets used a lot by people for just giving you some general steeping guidelines.

Apple Pie Chai has some great spice notes to it, I can smell the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and star anise. Those are honestly the strongest aromas, with a nice warm apple aroma in the background. It reminds me of an apple pie, for sure. Apple Pie Chai consists of organic: black tea, apple, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, vanilla bean, star anise, pink peppercorn, and maple flakes.

Preparation

Lemon Lily recommends steeping Apple Pie Chai in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep of 5 minutes.

First Taste

Apple Pie Chai steeps to a lovely golden orange. I found that the aroma reminds me a lot of a chai – just gentle warming spices. I can smell the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and star anise. Those spices are very fragrant and I can smell them in the steeped tea, along with some sweet notes. I found that the flavour was pleasantly spiced, nice warming qualities in the flavour. The apple is very much in the background, with that fruity sweetness. I do wish that the apple had been stronger, but it’s hard for a softer flavour like apple to really be present with all those strong spice flavours.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Apple Pie Chai and found the majority of the spice flavours were quite muted in comparison. I would recommend Apple Pie Chai for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Lemon Lily’s Apple Pie Chai. I thought that the spices were fantastic and came together to make a wonderful spiced chai blend. I really enjoyed the balance between the ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. Surprisingly, I didn’t find the star anise to be overwhelming (which is nice, because I’m not that big of a fan of licorice flavours). While I do wish that the apple had been stronger in flavour, I do understand the difficulties it had with all those other stronger flavours in the ingredients list. I definitely think this is a contender for a nice hot latte, as the addition of milk would balance well against the spices.

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