Posts

Posted on

Dessert by Deb’s Thai Coconut Milk Tea

Thai Coconut Milk Tea by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Thai Coconut Milk Tea is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Thai Coconut Milk Tea came as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box, and the name really intrigued me. As you may know if you’ve been following my blog and Instagram (@onemoresteep) for a while now, I’m a huge fan of Hong Kong Style Milk Tea. It’s something that I’ve grown up drinking. But Thai milk tea? Not something that I’m too familiar with. I think I tried it at a Vancouver Tea Festival, but not something that I’m super familiar with.

This black tea blend came to me in a sealed, resealable golden pouch. When I opened the package, the thing that really caught my attention first was the smell of the coconut and lemongrass. I do love the brightness of lemongrass, so it’s a pleasant aroma. Thai Coconut Milk Tea consists of organic: black tea, coconut, lemongrass, vanilla, and toasted coconut. It’s quite a pretty dry leaf:

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Thai Coconut Milk Tea in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 to 7 minutes, and to enjoy this black tea blend as an iced tea latte. I opted to follow the steeping recommendations and do a steep for 6 minutes. I added the tea to ice in a tall glass, and topped it off with organic unsweetened soy milk.

First Taste

Thai Coconut Milk Tea steeps to a light golden yellow. There’s a nice fragrance of coconut and lemongrass, I don’t really notice the black tea base when I tried it straight. It’s kind of nice, but not too exciting when drank plain. After topping off the tea with some soy milk, the colour turns to a milky light tan colour (perhaps too much milk to tea?). The flavour is nicely coconut and lemongrass, with hints of black tea which shines a bit more than it did when I tried it plain. It’s not as sweet as I was expecting, but there were any super sweet ingredients in the blend, and nor did I add sweetener.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Thai Coconut Milk Tea once, but found that the flavour with the coconut and the lemongrass wasn’t really present compared to the initial steep. I would recommend just the initial steep if you’re interested in having it as intended (as an iced latte).

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Thai Coconut Milk Tea. For a nice at-home iced tea latte option, I found Thai Coconut Milk Tea to be pleasantly flavourful. I think the black tea base could be stronger, but the coconut and lemongrass notes are pleasant. I would recommend to prepare it as intended (iced latte versus straight/plain), and perhaps adding some form of sweetener to really have a nice tropical milk tea vibe (rock sugar would be a great option!).

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

Posted on

Resteeping Teas: How & Why

I talk a lot about resteeping tea here on One More Steep. To me, it’s one of the signs of a good quality tea: being able to resteep the same leaves and get more drinkable tea out of it with a good amount of flavour.

My basic steps to resteeping any tea is to heat up water to the recommended steeping temperature for the tea (if your tea doesn’t come with that sort of information, I’ve got a handy temperature guide!) and then pour the water over the leaves again. Whatever the recommended steeping time is, you add 30 seconds for each subsequent steep.

Example: You want to steep a black tea where you steep with 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes.

Initial steep: 100°C water for 5 minutes
1st resteep: 100°C water for 5 minutes 30 seconds
2nd resteep: 100°C water for 6 minutes
3rd resteep: 100°C water for 6 minutes 30 seconds
4th resteep: 100°C water for 7 minutes

Resteeping leaves allows you to further the tea drinking experience with the same leaves. This works best with straight/traditional teas (e.g. teas that have no added flavourings, fruit ingredients), not tisanes. Tisanes often don’t do well when being resteeped.

After I steep the leaves, I will remove my infuser from the tea pot and rest it in a bowl or on a plate to allow the leaves to drain (so they do not continue to steep!). The leaves don’t fully dry out between steeps, so when I’m ready for the next steep, I just insert the infuser back into the tea pot and pour in more water.

Please note, if you opt to resteep leaves, you should be doing it all in the same day. If you leave out the leaves overnight or longer, you run the risk of mold growing on the leaves – the leaves are damp and provide a moist growing environment for mold spores. I only resteep my tea leaves during the same day as the initial steep.

Posted on

Tsujiri’s Kabusecha

Kabusecha by Tsujiri
Green Tea / Straight
$11.25 for 30g

First Impressions

Another Tsujiri tea! Kabusecha came in a blue linen paper packaging, with a cardstock loop to hold it close. Inside was the same sealed but not resealable silver pouch, and the paper with the steeping instructions (photographed in my review of Tsujiri’s Premium Houjicha last week).

The aroma of Kabusecha is grassy, roasted notes. The leaves themselves are dark green, fairly short, flattened, with a considerable amount of tea fannings in it, that reminds me a lot of just dust. Lots of small particles that made me a bit disappointed, especially considering the cost of the tea itself. But onwards!

Preparation

Tsujiri recommends steeping Kabusecha in 60-70°C (140-158°F) water for 1 minute. I used the lowest temperature setting of my variable temperature kettle (175°F/79°C) and ignored it for a while after it beeped to allow the water to cool.

First Taste

After I poured the water through the stainless steel infuser, I felt some regret. I knew that there was a considerable amount of dust yet I didn’t use a filter bag for this tea. Kabusecha steeps to a yellow-green colour, and is a bit cloudy/murky with the tea dust suspended throughout. The aroma is salty and grassy. The flavour profile has a considerable amount of umami – some saltiness that reminds me of being near the ocean, grassy notes, with just a hint of bitterness at the tail end of each sip. It reminds me of a sencha, but less refined overall.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Kabusecha twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The flavour profile remained fairly similar, but the bitter finish with each sip remained present.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Tsujiri’s Kabusecha. While I was happy with the initial appearance of the packaging, the pouch that can’t be resealed is a let down. The amount of tea dust present was also a let down, as was the flavour as there’s a good amount of saltiness, but also the bitter finish at the end of each sip doesn’t really make it appeal to me. There’s a lot in this tea that reminds me of sencha, but I prefer my green teas with more intact leaves, and less bitterness.

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