a bit of sugar and sass in your tea
Today is the 102nd anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11th, 1918. Out of respect for the sacrifices made by so many during that war – and the wars that have followed – there will be no tea content posted today.
Please kindly remember to take a moment for the Two Minutes of Silence at 11am, no matter where you are today.
Waffles by Biskwi
Baked Goods
$2.00 for 400g (10 cookies)
First Impressions
Stroopwafels are one of my favourite things that I discovered in the last couple of years. For those that are unfamiliar, stroopwafel is a Dutch wafer cookie sandwich with two waffle cookies with a layer of caramel between. It’s great with a cup of tea because if you put the cookie over a cup of hot tea, the heat warms up the cookie and caramel and it ends up being a delightful sweet treat with your cup of tea.
I was in Dollarama and spotted these on the shelf because I needed to make my way down a one-way aisle in order to go down the next one-way aisle. I was surprised to see stroopwafel on the shelf because it seems like such an odd item for a dollar store to carry (and I’m mentioning Dollarama by name, because the Biskwi Waffles are imported by Dollarama so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to find them anywhere else). The cookies come in a plasticky bag with a wired tab to close/open the packaging. Inside it consists of 10 cookies. I’m not terribly surprised that they’re called Waffles instead of stroopwafel because if they’re trying to appeal to more of the public, having a name that’s familiar is an easier sale than one that is not.
Waffles consists of: sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oils, barn egg, salt, soya flour, whey powder, emulsifier, caramel, raising agent, cinnamon, natural flavouring, citric acid, water. For allergen warnings, the packaging does mention that this product contains: milk, eggs, soya and wheat. And that it also may contain tree nuts (I assume through cross-contamination).
Preparation
Biskwi recommends placing the waffle over the top of your hot drink for 2 minutes.
First Taste
Waffle becomes soft as it sits over a cup of hot tea. You’ll know it’s ready because the middle begins to sag downwards. The Waffle becomes warm, and the caramel softens. The cookie itself has a nice sweetness with the caramel layer, and some nice cinnamon notes. It’s tasty and goes well with a cup of Hong Kong-Style Milk Tea (if you’re wondering what I had this with).
A Second Cookie?
Not going to lie, I was impressed with my first Waffle and had another (and another).
My Overall Impression
I loved Biskwi’s Waffles. I like the affordability factor ($2.00 for 10 cookies), which makes it a nice little treat to include with your daily cup of tea. It has a good amount of sweetness, without being too over the top. The flavour is nice, and the caramel gets to a nice softness within the 2 minutes spent warming on top of a cup of tea. I do wish that they had opted to call their product Stroopwafel instead of just Waffles, because that is the traditional name, but I’m not too fussed about it.
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Pumpkin Pie Tart by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g
First Impressions
Pumpkin Pie Tart came to me as part of the September/October subscription box from Dessert by Deb. This seasonal green tea offering comes in a sealed, resealable bronze-copper matte pouch with a familiar colourful label on the front. I quite appreciate the colour pouch that Deb decided to go with because it lends itself quite nicely for an autumn themed tea collection since it’s a very autumnal appropriate colour.
Pumpkin Pie Tart consists of organic: green tea, apple, Canadian maple, cinnamon, coconut, pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, mace, nutmeg, and cardamom), cloves, and calendula petals. That spice blend does a great job in coating a lot of the other ingredients, especially the dried apple pieces. It basically smells like I opened up a can of pumpkin pie spice mix, and really reminds me of pumpkin pie because of the blend. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom are my must-haves when it comes to a pumpkin spice blend.
Preparation
Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Pumpkin Pie Tart in 200°F (93°C) water for 5-6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes with the recommended temperature water.
First Taste
Pumpkin Pie Tart steeps to a really pretty golden yellow-orange colour. There is some dusty bits that escaped through the stainless steel infuser, but I don’t think it’s the actual tea leaves themselves and it’s the spices since they’re so fine. The aroma is pumpkin pie spice, definitely. The flavour of the green tea blend is interesting – I get a lot of the spice blend, and then there’s a nice level of sweetness that I think comes from the Canadian maple and possibly the apple. There’s a fruity background that isn’t as strong as the pumpkin spice blend, and slight sourness that I think comes from the apple as well. I don’t really taste the green tea base, but that’s because the spice blend is just that much more overwhelming in flavour. The sweetness from the maple definitely make it tastes more like a dessert, and it has a nice thicken mouthfeel to it as well.
A Second Cup?
I attempted to resteep Pumpkin Pie Tart once, but found that the spice level just wasn’t as present as I would have liked, especially when compared to the initial steep. I would suggest steeping Pumpkin Pie Tart just the one time.
My Overall Impression
I liked Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Pie Tart. The spice blend is well balanced with the apple and Canadian maple – it helps create some interest in the flavour profile. While the green tea base wasn’t very flavour forward, although who can blame it when its competing against ginger and cinnamon? I think it’s quite a creative way to blend pumpkin spice with a green tea base, I usually see the pumpkin spice blends with black tea or rooibos. It is definitely a nice blend for the fall, the spices have a pleasant warming quality. I’d love to see this one turned into a tea latte with some vanilla extract for extra coziness.
Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.