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DavidsTea’s Korean Sejak

Korean Sejak by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$12.98 for 50g

DavidsTea sent me Korean Sejak as part of a complementary Garden to Cup subscription package, a review was not requested.

First Impressions

Korean Sejak is a Korean green tea that is also known as dumul-cha. Sejak means thin sparrow, while dumul-cha translates to second flush tea. This tea came as part of Garden to Cup subscription package from DavidsTea – their option that features primarily traditional/straight teas.

Korean Sejak is an organic green tea that is both steamed and roasted in the tea production process. The tea leaves are thin, wiry, and pops of bright green to dark green. The aroma is nutty, grassy and just lightly floral.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Korean Sejak in 85°C (185°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Korean Sejak for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Korean Sejak steeps to a bright yellow. The aroma is nutty and lightly floral. The green tea is smooth, has both roasted and nutty flavours to it, and a little something to it that makes me think of roasted asparagus, as well as just a light umami in the background. It has a nice salty-seaweedy quality to it, which makes me think of walking along the beach and getting to smell the ocean. The tea is easy to drink with a pleasant mouthfeel.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Korean Sejak a total of seven times (eight steeps total), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The flavour remains full of umami, nutty, and asparagus-y. The vegetal notes are pleasant and add a great savoury quality to the tea.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Korean Sejak. My first chance to drink a green tea from Korea, and it did not disappoint! There were a lot of qualities to Sejak that remind me a lot of a sencha – those umami flavours make it a treat to enjoy. The savoury qualities of Korean Sejak make it easy to drink, and it pleasantly resteeps over and over again.

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

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Dessert by Deb’s Toasty Marshmallows

Toasty Marshmallows by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

Toasty Marshmallows came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

Coming to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb, Toasty Marshmallows came in a rich brown metallic pouch with a familiar polka dot label. The pouch is sealed and resealable, this black tea blend is part of the Bed & Breakfast Holiday Inn collection.

Toasty Marshmallows has a strong smokey aroma, mixed with the coconut. This black tea blend consists of organic: coconut, black tea, lapsang souchong, honey, bee pollen, toasted coconut, and brown sugar. It is a beautiful blend, with huge contrasting colours of black and white with the blend ingredients.

Fun fact, bee pollen is a great ingredient for those who suffer from seasonal allergies as it can help relieve those seasonal allergy symptoms. For the most benefit, you should seek out bee pollen that’s locally harvested in your area so you’re exposed to pollen that is local to you.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Toasty Marshmallows in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 5 minutes, Dessert by Deb also recommends steeping it as a tea latte.

First Taste

Toasty Marshmallows steeps to a browny-yellow. The aroma is smokey, coconut-y. The flavour is strongly of lapsang souchong – smokey, a strong bold flavour that fills the mouth, coats the tongue, and has a slight bitterness that reminds me how marshmallows taste when they get a bit too much colour after being roasted over a campfire. The coconut and honey/sugar related ingredients make it sweet, while the coconut rounds out the flavour with that cream note. All that’s missing is something to make me think of chocolate, and I would think of the blend like liquid s’mores.

I did try adding some milk to the cup of tea, and it added a nice amount of creaminess to it.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Toasty Marshmallows once, finding that the flavour wasn’t as strong as the initial steep. If you’re a fan of lapsang souchong, you’ll like resteeping Toasty Marshmallows because the smokey black tea base shines through. The other ingredients weren’t noticeable with the resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Toasty Marshmallows. This black tea blend makes me think so closely of s’mores – it just needs a little bit of chocolate or cocoa nibs to send that over the top. The use of bee pollen is a nice treat, and the use of honey and brown sugar was great in making it sweet, and remind me of a toasted marshmallow.

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

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Chatime’s Pearl Milk Tea

Pearl Milk Tea by Chatime
Black & Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$11.99 for 290g (4 servings)

First Impressions

Pearl Milk Tea was an impulse grocery store purchase – because why not? It’s from Chatime and features 4 servings of bubble tea – 2 Original Milk Tea, 2 Oolong Milk Tea and 4 brown sugar pearls. Because I had recently reviewed Original Milk Tea, I will be focused on Oolong Milk Tea option.

Each packet of Original Milk Tea and Oolong Milk Tea are each 20g, which is the same as the packets of Original Milk Tea that I had previously purchased. The Original Milk Tea is orange, Oolong Milk Tea is green.

Original Milk Tea consists of: sugar, non-dairy creamer, black tea powder, and flavour.

Oolong Milk Tea consists of: sugar, non-dairy creamer, oolong tea powder, and flavour. The aroma of Oolong Milk Tea smells very similar to Original Milk Tea – mostly sweet with a bit of milky aroma.

Preparation

Chatime has recommendations for preparing the boba pearls by microwave or boiled water.

By microwave – tear open the packet, microwave for 30 seconds. Pour the heated pearls into 60ml of hot water and mix with milk tea powder. Top with 60ml of hot water or 60ml of ice.

By boiled water – place packet into boiled water, allow it to heat up over 1 minute. Pour heated pearls into 60ml of hot water and mix with milk tea powder. Top with 60ml of hot water or 60ml of ice.

I opted to prepare the Oolong Milk Tea with the boba pearls that were heated in the microwave.

First Taste

The boba pearls soften up a lot in the microwave, and the Oolong Milk Tea mixes up very easily with the hot water that I used. I topped up the cup with ice. The colour of the Oolong Milk Tea is a milky brown, the boba pearls are large and dark brown.

The boba pearls themselves are soft, chewy, and sweet. Oolong Milk Tea has a creamy flavour, but also nutty and floral. The pearls are large, and not all perfectly circular, so make sure you’ve got a large straw to accommodate them. The tea itself is decent – not overly sweet and I can taste the nuances of the oolong in the mix.

A Second Cup?

As Oolong Milk Tea is a drink mix, there can only be one tea preparation with this mix.

My Overall Impression

I liked Chatime’s Pearl Milk Tea. While Chatime’s Original Milk Tea was $0.90 per packet, Pearl Milk Tea has each boba tea at $3 per serving – which makes it more expensive for sure. I found the flavour to be good, and the texture of the boba pearls is great – I love how soft and chewy they were. It’s a great deal compared to ordering the equivalent from their actual shop ($6.10 for pick-up), but there are also cheaper methods of making boba at home. For the convenience, I like it and will definitely make it again at home (and at work!).

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