Tag: Black Tea

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Dessert by Deb’s Cookie Butter

Cookie Butter by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Cookie Butter came as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box, which is just a little gift that keeps on giving (as in, I bought it as a gift to myself and I get it throughout the year). This is an organic tea sample that comes in a shiny gold pouch that’s resealable and has a nice little label across the front. No steeping instructions, but I was easily able to find that information on the Dessert by Deb website. For those who aren’t familiar with cookie butter as an actual product, it’s a spread (much like peanut butter) made from speculoos cookies which has a heavy amount of spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, pepper, cloves) – and Cookie Butter (the tea blend) really does remind me a lot of the cookie butter product itself. It has a lot of cinnamon aroma to it, which I like and appreciate.

Cookie Butter consists of organic: black tea, caramel, cinnamon, toasted coconut, Canadian maple, brown sugar, honeybush, and calendula petals. It’s such a pretty tea – I love the calendula petals in the blend because they’re such a bright, sunshine yellow colour and it’s just so happy and smile inducing. Definitely a pretty tea and the aroma reminds me so much of the cookie butter product despite the lack of nutmeg and ginger. I don’t smell the coconut too much, which is surprising because it’s usually such a strong aroma when it’s present in a tea blend.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Cookie Butter in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and went for the middle-of-the-road 5 minutes steeping time.

First Taste

Cookie Butter steeps to a nice golden orange colour. There is a bit of an oil slick across the top, but that’s likely from the natural oils of the coconut. The aroma is primarily cinnamon and brown sugar, a sweet molasses note. The flavour reminds me a lot of cookie butter! It has a nice sweetness to it – I can taste the caramel, cinnamon, the toasted coconut has a nice flavour to it, and the brown sugar really rounds out the flavour of the tea by making it taste like a cookie. I would very much think this is a liquid dessert in a cup if nobody told me otherwise.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cookie Butter, but found that the flavour did not compare to the initial steep. I found the second steep of the same leaves to be lacking in the cinnamon and molasse notes from the brown sugar, so I would recommend Cookie Butter for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cookie Butter. I think the aroma of the dry leaf and the flavour was very much spot-on in comparison to what I remember cookie butter to taste like. It has some great notes within the flavour profile that really make me think of a baked good – the brown sugar is always a nice touch. I think what would really make it stellar would be just a hint of ginger or nutmeg, and perhaps a heavier hand with the brown sugar or even a touch of vanilla. But that’s just nit-picking and I really want to head south of the border now to get my hands on another jar of cookie butter.

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Angry Alpaca’s Be Excellent To Each Other!

Be Excellent To Each Other! by Angry Alpaca
Black Tea & White Tea / Flavoured

I received Be Excellent To Each Other! as a gift as part of a tea swap for the holidays in December 2020 from the lovely Jann of Tea With Jann (check her out on YouTube!). As it was a gift, I won’t be looking up the price, but I will include the link to the company’s Facebook page so you can check out their other available tea blends as well as Be Excellent To Each Other!

First Impressions

Be Excellent To Each Other! came in a nice papery-feeling pouch that’s resealable and as a plastic liner layer. The front features a colourful label with beautiful artwork, while the back has a clear window to see the tea, information about the tea (ingredients, steeping instructions), information about the artist (“Still Lake Sunrise” by Ontario artist Stefan Hartman), as well as a sticker indicating that proceeds of the sale of the tea have been donated to an organization called Youth Project, which provides support and services to youth around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. So much to unpack and read on the bag, which I’m more than happy to share with all of you.

Be Excellent To Each Other! is described by Angry Alpaca as a blueberry flavoured black & white tea. The tea itself is gorgeous – I love the very obvious difference between the tea leaves present in the blend. I can see the white tea, I can see the black tea, I can see some beautiful petals and berries in the mix. This tea smells like blueberries and reminds me of a blueberry jam – which I would really like to get some freshly made preserves right now for a warm oven-fresh scone… Be Excellent To Each Other! consists of all organic: black tea, white tea, blueberries, elderberry, calendula petals, cornflower petals, and natural essences.

Preparation

Angry Alpaca recommends steeping Be Excellent To Each Other! in 85°C (185°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep ended up being for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Be Excellent To Each Other! steeps to a really pretty golden orange colour, and has a nice clarity to it. The aroma of the tea is both fruity-berry and floral. It’s definitely a “spring” or “summer” time tea to me because of those aroma notes. The flavour is just a little bit sweet – there’s a mix of floral, sweet, blueberries with something in it that makes me think of dried apricots. Be Excellent To Each Other! has a nice crispness to it that remind me of that first hit of bubbles from a sip of sparkling water.

A Second Cup?

I tried resteeping Be Excellent To Each Other!, but I found that the berry flavour was lacking in the first resteep which made me a bit disappointed. I would recommend steeping Be Excellent To Each Other! just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Angry Alpaca’s Be Excellent To Each Other! I was smitten with the artwork, the fact that proceeds gets donated to a youth initiative, and the fact that the tea just smells and tastes good. I think this is definitely a ‘spring’ tea and I’m going to be having this iced very, very soon (perhaps even topped off with some sparkling water…). The blend of white and black tea with the berries really makes it tasty, and it’s not overly sweet so there’s opportunity to change it up a little bit to your liking.

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Dessert by Deb’s Maple Butter Shortbread

Maple Butter Shortbread by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea & Rooibos / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

Maple Butter Shortbread came as part of my November/December subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

In that familiar pale pink sealed, resealable pouch comes Maple Butter Shortbread. This is a blend from Dessert by Deb, another cookie-inspired blend that does contain rooibos. Now, I’ll preface the rest of the review with the fact that rooibos is not my favourite thing. I don’t go out of my way to seek out rooibos blends and I will not drink straight rooibos because I find it medicinal in flavour and aroma and I just don’t like it it (but if you love rooibos – that just means that there’s more available for you! Everyone wins!). The aroma of the blend is a nice blend of maple and vanilla, which reminds me of a baked good, but I do smell the rooibos blend. It does have that familiar medicinal quality. I don’t smell the black tea base, but that’s not too surprising given some of the other ingredients in the blend that can be more heavy.

Maple Butter Shortbread consists of all organic: black tea, maple syrup, Canadian maple, rooibos, vanilla, apple, palm sugar, and calendula petals. The ingredients are really pretty, and honestly it does photograph well. I quite appreciate the care in the blend. Vanilla isn’t an inexpensive ingredient to work with, and I always appreciate seeing it in a tea blend because it’s just one of those flavours/ingredients where the real deal is a lot better than artificial flavouring (yes, vanilla extract snob over here).

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Maple Butter Shortbread in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to follow the steeping recommendations and do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Maple Butter Shortbread steeps to a deep reddish orange (please excuse the bits of tea leaves, I was a bit haphazard when scooping the tea leaves into my infuser). It is very rooibos heavy in aroma, and I can smell the vanilla and maple – which definitely ‘screams’ this is a baked good to me. But the rooibos… It reminds me of medicine, earthy notes, slight sweetness… But mostly a medicinal quality to me. The black tea base lingers a bit in the background, but it isn’t as forward as I would have liked. The vanilla and maple are nice though, and this blend definitely has a nice amount of sweetness – also a nod to the palm sugar that’s present. It does remind me a lot of dessert, which is probably a good thing given that it’s called Maple Butter Shortbread.

A Second Cup?

I attempted a second steep of Maple Butter Shortbread, but found that the flavouring was mostly rooibos with hints of vanilla and maple. For me, personally, I wouldn’t have a second steep. If you’re a fan of rooibos, I would recommend a second steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Dessert by Deb’s Maple Butter Shortbread was just okay. I’m 100% confident that if I was any sort of rooibos fan/lover, I would have ranked this blend a lot higher. I’m quite open about not being the biggest fan of rooibos, and I only seem to appreciate it in blends that I can’t actually smell or taste the rooibos (which isn’t really appreciating it, is it?). So if you’re a fan of rooibos, I think you’ll like this one because it does remind me a lot of a dessert with the sweetness, the maple, and vanilla flavours. If you’re not a fan of rooibos, you might want to steer clear from this one since the rooibos is quite forward. Not for me, but I think it’d be one I would offer to someone who’s visiting and a fan of rooibos and wanting a dessert-style tea blend for sure.

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