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Lemon Lily’s Chocolaty Mint

Chocolaty Mint by Lemon Lily
Rooibos/ Flavoured
$10.00 for 50g

I received Chocolaty Mint from Lemon Lily via the Dessert by Deb tea subscription box that I subscribe to in the January/February 2020 box.

First Impressions

Chocolaty Mint comes in a clear plastic resealable pouch. There’s no information on the label regarding the steeping instructions, so I did have to go onto the Lemon Lily website to find out that. The blend is clearly visible through the packaging, which is nice.

Basically my first impression of Chocolaty Mint when I opened it is that it smells like candy. It smells like mint chocolate and reminds me so much After Eight chocolate. I can’t smell the rooibos, which is a huge plus for me since I’m not a rooibos fan. Chocolaty Mint consists of the following certified organic ingredients: rooibos, peppermint, honeybush, cocoa peel, Giddy YoYo cacao nibs, and Giddy YoYo dark chocolate.

Preparation

Lemon Lily recommends steeping Chocolaty Mint in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. My initial steep was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Chocolaty Mint steeps to a nice golden orange. There’s primarily a mint aroma to it, the chocolate isn’t very forthcoming in terms of aroma which is bit disappointing considering how strong it was in the dry leaf. For the taste, I can mostly taste the mint. I don’t really taste the chocolate, which is disappointing – but I also don’t taste the rooibos, which is not disappointing.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Chocolaty Mint but it didn’t get any better in terms of the chocolate flavour – I did get a lot of mint though!

My Overall Impression

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I both didn’t like and liked Lemon Lily’s Chocolaty Mint. I think as a mint chocolate tea, it’s not meeting my expectations. Considering how strong the chocolate aroma is and how many chocolate-related ingredients are in the blend, I’m disappointed that the chocolate isn’t stronger. However, if I were to treat this as a mint tisane, it’s pretty decent. I like mint tisanes and found them pleasant and comforting, so I enjoyed Chocolaty Mint for that aspect.

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Birch Moon Wellness Co.’s Sweet ZZZ’s

Sweet ZZZ’s by Birch Moon Wellness Co.
Herbal Tisane / Flavoured
$12.50 for 30g (20 sachets)

Birch Moon Wellness Co. has provided me with Sweet ZZZ’s for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Birch Moon Wellness Co. is a Canadian tea company located in Ottawa, Ontario with ingredients that are sourced from Siberia, Russia and the tisanes are blended in a Health Canada approved facility. Sweet ZZZ’s is one of their three tisanes found in the Wellness Trio – Discovery Bundle, which Birch Moon was so very kind to send my way to try (which means that this is the first of three tisane reviews for Birch Moon products!).

The packaging is pretty – I love the design on the boxes themselves. There was a plastic cellophane on the outside of the box that I removed prior to photographing the cartons. The boxes themselves are matte and cardstock  – so recyclable. The box easily opens on the side with a flap and the tea is prepackaged into square sachets – all inside of a resealable zip top bag for freshness.

Sweet ZZZ’s has an interesting smell because I really can’t place what it reminds me of. I definitely can smell the lemon balm though, and some of the thyme. I’m not familiar with all of the herbal ingredients, so it’s hard for me to determine what’s what. Sweet ZZZ’s contains: chamomile, lemon balm grass, thyme, kuril tea, and motherwort.

Preparation

Birch Moon recommends using boiling water (100°C/212°F) and to steep for 10 to 15 minutes. I opted to steep for 10 minutes.

First Taste

Sweet ZZZ’s steeps to a bright yellow that was surprising to me! I wish I knew more about some of the ingredients  so I knew which one was making it so bright. It reminds me a lot of sunshine in a cup. I can definitely smell the thyme and lemon balm, and something else. Flavour wise, I can taste the chamomile and thyme, and a hint of lemon balm in the background. I’m not sure what kuril tea or motherwort are supposed to taste or smell like, but there’s something in the tea that reminds me of a bit of ginseng – and not in a bad way. There is a nice pleasantness to it, with a hint of sweetness.

A Second Cup?

Birch Moon’s website suggests that their tisanes can be steeped 2-3 times. I did it twice, and found that the flavour does lessen considerably by the second resteep (third steep), so I might recommend just the one resteep (I did it for 15 minutes).

My Overall Impression

I loved Birch Moon’s Sweet ZZZ’s. The first time I tried out this tisane was when I was getting off a night shift and trying to sleep at about 8:30am. Just steeped a cup, sipped it down as I was puttering around before tucking myself in for a nap. It’s definitely more interesting for the taste buds than a plain chamomile, while still making me want to sleep. Nothing against a plain chamomile tisane, it’s just not my cup of tea.

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Dessert by Deb’s Cherry Berry Coffee Cake

Cherry Berry Coffee Cake by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Cherry Berry Coffee Cake is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Cherry Berry Coffee Cake would probably not have been my first pick if I had a choice in tea blends because, if you’ve been reading for a while, I’m just not a fan of coffee and this blend has coffee listed as an ingredient! Cherry Berry Coffee Cake comes in a sealed, resealable foil pouch with a familiar coloured label on the front. This is an exclusive blend for subscribers, so keep that in mind if you decide that you want to purchase some!

The tea itself looks really pretty. It smells like cherries and black forest cake. I don’t really smell the coffee at all, which is quite nice! Cherry Berry Coffee Cake contains: black tea, cherries, elderberries, currants, raisins, hibiscus, cinnamon, maple, brown sugar, palm sugar, espresso beans, and safflower.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Cherry Berry Coffee Cake in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Cherry Berry Coffee Cake steeps to a lovely golden orange – which was a surprise for me. Usually when a blend contains hibiscus, I see something much more pink or berry red. The aroma of the blend is of cherries and chocolate, surprisingly. The taste is of cherries and chocolate as well, which continues to remind me of black forest cake. I do not smell or taste the coffee, which is nice since I’m not a big coffee fan at all. It’s quite sweet on its own, I think due to the maple, brown sugar, and palm sugar.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cherry Berry Coffee Cake with an additional 30 seconds to the steep time and found that the flavour just wasn’t quite there. The cherry flavour wasn’t as strong as I would have liked.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cherry Berry Coffee Cake. I was quite apprehensive at first because I’m just not a fan of coffee, but I was pleasantly surprised at how lovely this blend tasted – and how much it reminded me of a dessert that I enjoy! If you’re a fan of black forest cake, I definitely think this would be a nice choice. Cherry Berry Coffee Cake is definitely a dessert tea that I could think would go well at the end of a meal or with an afternoon tea cake tier that’s more heavy on the desserts.

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