Category: Review

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DavidsTea’s Peach Matcha

Peach Matcha by DavidsTea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Peach Matcha was one of the flavoured matchas that came in the Matcha Discovery Kit that I mentioned last week (when I shared my review of Pumpkin Pie Matcha). It came in a coloured foil pouch (sealed, and resealable). I like the fact that the text is readable on the background of the pale green of the Peach Matcha pouch. The powder is bright green, with visible sugar granules, and a strong peach aroma.

The ingredients of Peach Matcha are: cane sugar, matcha green tea, and natural peach flavouring. Surprisingly not a lot of ingredients, but sugar is still listed as number one which isn’t that surprising for a drink mix.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends whisking Peach Matcha in 85C (185F) water. I followed the instructions and whisked it in my matcha bowl.

First Taste

Peach Matcha whisked easily, with a thin layer of froth on top. I found the aroma to be very peachy, and the flavour is spot on. There’s a strong sweetness to it, peachy flavour, and a light grassy note throughout. I found that the peach is much stronger than the matcha base. The overall sugar level is strong, and it reminds me a lot of fuzzy peaches.

A Second Cup?

As Peach Matcha is a suspension, there was no second ‘steep’.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Peach Matcha. I liked the aroma and flavour of the blend, the peachy quality is nice. I find that Peach Matcha is on the sweet side, almost too sweet, but it reminds me a lot of fuzzy peaches (the candy) which I love. The peach covers up most of the matcha, and I find it to be quite tasty. I think it’s great both hot or iced (as a latte?) and making it up as a latte would help temper the sweetness if you find it too sweet.

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Djamoekoe’s Tropical Island

Tropical Island by Djamoekoe
Green Tea / Flavoured
Rp 65,000 for 25g

First Impressions

Tropical Island was a gift from a friend who made a trip to Indonesia – I’ve been quite blessed by friends who get the opportunities to go travelling around the world (and think about me when they’re away!). Tropical Island came in a kraft paper pouch with a clear plastic window, the tea inside is in a plastic pouch that’s resealable.

The aroma of the dry leaf is strong of lemongrass and ginger – with lots of spicy notes. The ingredients in Tropical Island are: green tea, pandan, lemongrass, ginger, and young coconut flakes.

Preparation

Djamoekoe recommends steeping Tropical Island in boiling water (100°C/212°F) water and to allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. I steeped Tropical Island for 5 minutes in a teapot.

First Taste

Tropical Island steeps to a golden yellow colour. The aroma of the steeped tea is strongly of lemongrass and ginger. The flavour of the tea is sweet and spicy – I can taste lemongrass, ginger, with some nice floral notes and mild grassy notes in the background. I was impressed that the green tea didn’t end up being oversteeped with the tea being steeped in boiled water for 5 minutes.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Tropical Island twice – adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour became more golden yellow, and the flavour of the lemongrass and ginger got stronger. It’s very pleasant and it has a nice spiced flavour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Djamoekoe’s Tropical Island. The flavour of the lemongrass and ginger really make it, and the sweetness of the tea is nice – I can’t tell if it’s from the pandan or the young coconut flakes, but it’s really enjoyable. While Djamoekoe suggests using honey or sugar, I don’t think it really needs it because of the natural sweetness in the blend. I did like having it iced though, the spice notes from the ginger really shine through and I think this could be cold steeped quite nicely as well.

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Tea By C’s Blue People Oolong

Blue People Oolong by Tea By C
Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$10.00USD for 1oz

Tea By C has provided me with Blue People Oolong for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Blue People Oolong came in a kraft paper pouch that’s resealable. The steeping instructions, ingredients list, and caffeine level were featured on the front while the back includes the product URL, a QR code, the weight of the package, as well as the location of Tea By C. I am not going to lie, I was a bit perplexed when I first opened the package because it honestly looks like no other oolong that I’ve ever had before. Blue People Oolong looks (and kind of feels…) like little pebbles. Smooth, dark brown rocks. When I shook the package and then poured some out, I did think it sounded like rocks too!

The aroma is surprisingly sweet, despite its appearance. I almost expected the tea to have a heavy mineral aroma to match the appearance. Blue People Oolong consists of oolong, licorice root, and ginseng. The sweet aroma reminds me a lot of stone fruits, it just has that almost syrupy sweetness from ripe fruit.

Preparation

Tea By C recommends steeping Blue People Oolong in 180-190°F (82-88°C) water for 1 minute. I opted to steep in 185°F (85°C) for 1 minute.

First Taste

Blue People Oolong steeps to a very bright yellow colour (I’m a touch disappointed that it didn’t steep blue!). The aroma is sweet, with strong stone fruit aromas. I found the tea itself to be quite sweet with equally bright, fruity flavours. There’s some pleasant buttery notes, but overall the fruity sweetness is the strongest part of this tea.

The tea leaves did not appear to open up at all after the initial steep of 1 minute.

A Second Cup?

I steeped Blue People Oolong a total of seven times (eight steeps total!), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The leaves didn’t really visible begin to open until until the second resteep and continued to open up further after that. I found the flavour and colour to remain fairly consistent for each steep. The flavour began to weaken by the third resteep (fourth overall steep), but the flavour was still quite strong at the end.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tea By C’s Blue People Oolong. While I was initial confused and surprised by the appearance of the dry leaf, I had a wonderful time drinking this oolong and resteeping it over and over and over again. The flavour was great – with plenty of sweetness for this tea reviewer who has a sweet tooth – and I loved the stone fruit flavours that were in there with the honeyed sweetness. I think this tea would be fantastic both hot and iced and I would highly recommend resteeping the leaves because there’s just so much flavour in there.

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