Tag: Black Tea

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Dessert by Deb’s Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes

Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes came in one of the bimonthly subscription boxes from Dessert by Deb, this particular tea blend is part of the Deb’s Vintage Dessert Diner collection. The tea comes in a sealed, resealable matte pink pouch with a polka dot label. The idea of blueberry pancakes in tea form is really intriguing, especially for someone who’s fond of breakfast foods.

The blend is gorgeous, with bright pops of yellow throughout. Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes consists of organic: black tea, natural cream flavour, cinnamon, freeze-dried blueberries, elderberries, currants, hibiscus, palm sugar and calendula petals. The aroma is full of berries, with hints of cream and cinnamon in the background.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 5 minutes.

First Taste

Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes steeps to a deep orange. There’s an aroma of berries and hints of cream throughout. I don’t really smell the cinnamon. Tasting Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes is an experience. There’s the taste of berries, the flavour and warming qualities of cinnamon, and just a touch of cream or milk in the background. There’s some sweetness (likely from the berries, and palm sugar), and a touch of tartness (from the hibiscus, perhaps?). Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes has an interesting mouthfeel to it with a thickened texture.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes, but found it didn’t hold up to resteeping. I would reserve Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Blueberry Buttermilk Short Stack Pancakes. This black tea blend has a great flavour profile – the berries and cream – and it has some notes to it that do make me think of a chai (it’s that cinnamon! Although the addition of cardamom would be lovely). It has a nice level of sweetness, and just that hint of tart from the hibiscus. I do wish that it had perhaps some vanilla in the blend to make it remind me more of pancakes, but the berries are a bright spot in the flavour of the black tea blend and I enjoy the mouthfeel of it.

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DavidsTea’s Mango Lemonade

Mango Lemonade by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

We are solidly into autumn with pumpkin spice and apple pies, but when a tea blogger still has some untried iced tea in the box of new-to-her teas, we’re going to discuss some iced teas. This is a black tea blend from DavidsTea called Mango Lemonade and I definitely purchased it online with the plan to make it iced. Of course, I purchased a lot of teas to make iced over the summer, and honestly we just didn’t host as many events or go to as many events as we originally hoped would be possible. Things have been up and down here in British Columbia in terms of opening up, restrictions, and just gauging the comfort level of our friends and family has been important to us in order to keep everyone safe and comfortable. That said, here’s a black tea blend that I got to try, and let’s see what both me and my husband thought of it!

Mango Lemonade comes in sealed, resealable silver pouch. It has a very familiar label from DavidsTea. I’ve commented before in the last about the tiny print and really, that still hasn’t changed. Mango Lemonade consists of: apple, candied mango, black tea, hibiscus blossom, candied pomelo peel, natural flavouring, orange, sweet blackberry leaf, and rose petals. The aroma of this blend reminds me a lot of mango candy and a blend of oranges and lemon (there is that pomelo in there – and if you’re not familiar with the fruit, it is part of the citrus family). It’s a pretty blend to look at, and I would highly recommend giving your bag a shake if it is sitting in your tea stash for a while. When I first opened it up, all I saw were the fruity pieces. I did have to give it a shake to redistribute the black tea leaves throughout.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Mango Lemonade in 95°C (200°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep of Mango Lemonade for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Mango Lemonade steeps to a surprisingly orange tea. I say surprisingly because of the presence of hibiscus blossoms in the blend, and that usually lends itself to steeping a bright pink (which I am a fan of). Steeping this reminds me of mango and lemons, it has a great bright burst of citrus flavours and I really enjoy it. It’s not as sweet as I would have liked a lemonade inspired tea to be, even with the presence of candied fruit. There’s a bit of an aftertaste to Mango Lemonade that reminds me a lot of lemongrass.

A Second Cup?

As a primarily fruit infusion, Mango Lemonade didn’t resteep well because a lot of those fruity flavours in the initial steep were just lacking in the second go around with the same leaves. I would recommend Mango Lemonade for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I  liked DavidsTea’s Mango Lemonade. While I really enjoyed the mango and citrus flavours in this black tea blend, I found that the black tea didn’t really shine through in this blend in a way that made me enjoy it. The lemongrass aftertaste didn’t really round out the flavour of the blend the best, because I was hoping for a stronger fruit presence. As for what my husband thought, he still prefers the ‘usual’ flavours of iced teas that I often make, so it’s not likely to be a regular feature in our fridge when I go to make iced teas.

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Dessert by Deb’s Cocoa Lavender Latte

Cocoa Lavender Latte by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

First Impressions

Cocoa Lavender Latte came to me as part of my subscription box from Dessert by Deb and it is an exclusive blend for members of the Tea Society (what Deb calls subscribers). This is a black tea blend that came in a sealed, resealable pouch. The name intrigues me because I love the aroma of lavender, and enjoy a good tea latte from time to time (hello, London Fog).

The aroma of Cocoa Lavender Latte is a beautiful blend. It smells like chocolate and lavender and basically like a treat. Cocoa Lavender Latte consists of organic: black tea, vanilla, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, lavender, natural cream flavour, pink cornflower petals, and calendula petals. The colours in this blend (purple, pink, yellow) is gorgeous.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Cocoa Lavender Latte in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 6 minutes.

First Taste

Cocoa Lavender Latte steeps to a deep reddish brown and has an oily slick across the top – thank you from the cacao nibs and dark chocolate. It tastes of lavender, chocolate and hints of vanilla at the tail end of each sip. Dessert by Deb does recommend having Cocoa Lavender Latte as a tea latte, which I opted to do.

I added some frothed soy milk to the tea. It does add a level of creaminess to the tea itself, and Cocoa Lavender Latte does become a lovely tea latte and has a lovely sweetness to it.

A Second Cup?

I did attempt to resteep Cocoa Lavender Latte, but there was a lack of chocolate flavour in the first resteep. I would recommend steeping Cocoa Lavender Latte for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cocoa Lavender Latte. This black tea blend definitely comes together with all my favourite things – lavender and a black tea, all in a tea latte. I enjoyed the flavour, aroma and taste – the lavender really ties it all together. I’m not sure if Dessert by Deb created this blend just for me, but it really does feel like it because it contains all things that I enjoy and I had a fine time drinking this up.

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