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DMDQ’s Tie Guan Yin

Tie Guan Yin by DMDQ
Oolong Tea / Straight
$7.27 for 250g

First Impressions

This Tie Guan Yin was one of those grocery store impulse buys from my favourite Asian grocery chain. The packaging caught my eye because of the decorative knot on the side. And for the low price of under $8 for 250g of oolong tea, it turned out to be an easy impulse buy. Plus, the packaging was nice. Sadly, there was no website or any other information.

The tea itself comes a vacuum-sealed foil pouch that’s sealed (but not resealable), and came inside of the cardstock carton with the decorative knot on the side. There’s minimal English on the packaging, aside from what’s required. The ingredients are: tie guan yin oolong tea from China.

The aroma of the dry leaf is lightly floral, the leaves tightly bunched up. There’s a blend of spring green to dark green – it’s a pretty dry leaf to look at.

Preparation

There were no steeping instructions that I could find on the packaging, which was fine. I used my regular steeping temperature and time for an oolong for this Tie Guan Yin. I used 195°F (91°C) water and did a steep for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Tie Guan Yin steeps to a pleasant yellow, with some fine tea dust that escaped the stainless steel infuser that I was using. The aroma is lightly floral, and grassy. The tea itself has a smooth taste to it, with a light floral sweetness. I found it to have a crispness to it, with a pleasant mouthfeel. I found that there’s a slight creamy undertone to the tea, despite having a lightness to it.

A Second Cup?

I did five resteeps of the same leaves, six steeps total. The subsequent steeps had an additional 30 seconds on top of the prior steep time. The flavour deepened and got a bit more creamy, with a fuller mouthfeel.

My Overall Impression

I loved DMDQ’s Tie Guan Yin. I found that the tea was tasty, and resteeped well. It has a very familiar flavour and is very similar to other tie guan yin teas that I’ve had previously. This Tie Guan Yin is pleasant to drink and have a nice afternoon resteeping session with, and the tea also has the benefit of being inexpensive for the volume of tea.

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

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Garden’s Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers

Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers by Garden
Green Tea (Matcha)
$2.79 for 200g

First Impressions

I’m constantly on the look out for tea-flavoured or tea-themed treats, so when I spotted these Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers on the shelf at my local favourite Asian grocery store – they just jumped into my shopping cart.

For those unfamiliar with Garden Cream Wafers, the packaging is a shiny metallic plastic, and instead of the usual plastic tray – the Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers comes into 4 packets inside – also in the foil packets with each containing cookies instead. Each packet comes with 6 cream wafers inside. The one nice thing about the (excessive) packaging is that it keeps the cookies from going stale.

Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers consists of: wheat flour, vegetable shortening, sugar, whole milk powder, corn starch, matcha powder, artificial flavouring, leavening/raising agent, salt, and emulsifier. There’s a very light matcha aroma to the wafer cookies, I mostly smell the cookie base, which has a vanilla-esque cream aroma to it.

First Taste

Based on the packaging, I had expected the matcha cream layers to be darker in colour and, perhaps, more aromatic. The flavour of the Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers was pleasantly more vibrant that I had expected from when I had opened the smaller pack of cookies. The wafer layers have a nice crunch to them, and the cream layer has a decent matcha flavour to it that is both sweet and grassy at the same time. I feel like the matcha was recently fairly well. It is quite light in colour, but artificial colouring wasn’t listed as an ingredient (which is always a plus!).

My Overall Impression

I liked Garden’s Uji Matcha Flavoured Cream Wafers. I thought the overall cookie itself had a good crunch, and the matcha cream was both sweet and had those matcha qualities that I was looking for. While I appreciated the separate packaging inside for that freshness factor, it was also a bit disheartening to see because not everyone lives in an area where you can recycle soft plastics, especially soft plastics with metallic coatings. The cookie itself is great, and I appreciate the smaller servings for portion control and a snack, but the packaging leaves something to be desired from an environmental standpoint.

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

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Dessert by Deb’s Blueberry Almond Streusel

Blueberry Almond Streusel by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

Blueberry Almond Streusel came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

When I think of a streusel, the first thing I think of is a mixed berry streusel topping on top of these huge muffins that I recall from a little bakery that I grew up walking to near the house that I grew up. Back then, the muffins were as big as my head. I’m sure if I went there now, the muffins would not seem nearly as big now – perhaps it’s my fanciful memories of the past. But when I think of the words “blueberry almond streusel” – I imagine toasted almond slices and juicy blueberries.

Blueberry Almond Streusel came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription I had with Dessert by Deb, and is part of the Little Country Kitchen Collection. The gold pouch came sealed and resealable, with a polka dot label across the front. The aroma of the tea is very fruity, sweet, and lightly floral.

Blueberry Almond Streusel consists of: black tea, natural almond flavour, almonds, elderberries, currants, hibiscus, Canadian maple, brown sugar, freeze-dried blueberries, and calendula petals. It’s quite a beautiful blend, especially with the sparkles from the sugar, and colours of the hibiscus and petals.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommended steeping Blueberry Almond Streusel in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Blueberry Almond Streusel steeps to a clear brown. The aroma is noticeably fruity and sweet. I found the flavour of Blueberry Almond Streusel to be fruity, with a good amount of sweetness, and just a touch of almonds. I found it to remind me of pastries really well! Blueberry Almond Streusel had a thicken mouthfeel to it, and the flavour really coats the tongue.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Blueberry Almond Streusel, but found that the first steep to be immensely better than the resteeps. I wasn’t surprised though, because non-tea ingredients don’t tend to resteep well.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Blueberry Almond Streusel. Blueberry Almond Streusel has a beautiful flavour – with the almonds, blueberries, and sweetness from the brown sugar. The one thing that I think would really make me think of a streusel (and more pastries!) would be the addition of vanilla, cream or evaporated milk. I would want to sip this with an actual blueberry almond streusel, I think it would just be fitting.

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