Tag: Black Tea

Pumpkin Caramel Danish by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

I received Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Caramel Danish as a subscriber of her Tea & Sweets Subscription Boxes. Pumpkin Caramel Danish is part of the Little Cottage Bakery Collection and is available to non-subscribers.

First Impressions

Pumpkin Caramel Danish comes in a lovely matte dark bronze pouch that’s sealed and resealable. I really love the look of that matte dark bronze colour because it’s such an autumnal colour that goes well with the pumpkin vibes. On the front is a colorful label that I’ve come to know and love (and be familiar with). Pumpkin Caramel Danish has a very spice-forward aroma that reminds me a lot of pumpkin spice, as well as having a heavy sweetness that mingles well with the spice notes.

This black tea blend consists of organic: black tea, coconut, apple, cinnamon, toasted coconut, brown sugar, cloves, and pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, mace, nutmeg, and cardamom). I think the addition of brown sugar really helps add to that ‘baked goods’ fragrance because it just has such a familiar aroma that goes really well with the pumpkin spice.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Pumpkin Caramel Danish in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 6 minutes, mostly because I forgot about it for an extra minute.

First Taste

Pumpkin Caramel Danish steeps to a bright orange colour, with a very strong spice-forward aroma. There’s some nice sweetness coming off in the fragrance. On first sip, I taste the spices first – a lot of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom. Then there’s the brown sugar and sweetness from the apple that just goes really well with all of those spice notes (probably because those are also spices that can be found in an apple pie…). These are definitely spice flavours that I would expect to find in a pumpkin spice pastry, and that brown sugar definitely lends that sense of authenticity to it. The black tea base doesn’t really shine through, because of all the other ingredients, but the coconut flavour does add a sense of ‘lightness’ to a tea blend that might otherwise feel really heavy and rich. I feel like that black tea base just kind of holds everything up without being too obvious.

A Second Cup?

I did attempt a second resteep of Pumpkin Caramel Danish, but found that it didn’t really do well with trying to extract more flavour out of the ingredients. I would recommend Pumpkin Caramel Danish for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Caramel Danish. I think the blend is really artfully done – with the balance between the spice notes and the coconut, apple, and brown sugar. The addition of brown sugar really makes it a dessert blend, while I think that if you were to turn this into a tea latte, the use of a vanilla syrup or vanilla flavoured agave, would really kick it up a notch in making it really taste like a pastry. That said, the balance of flavours is really good, and it’s a great candidate for a tea latte since the use of a black tea base lends itself really well to that.

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Thai Coconut Milk Tea by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Thai Coconut Milk Tea is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Thai Coconut Milk Tea came as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box, and the name really intrigued me. As you may know if you’ve been following my blog and Instagram (@onemoresteep) for a while now, I’m a huge fan of Hong Kong Style Milk Tea. It’s something that I’ve grown up drinking. But Thai milk tea? Not something that I’m too familiar with. I think I tried it at a Vancouver Tea Festival, but not something that I’m super familiar with.

This black tea blend came to me in a sealed, resealable golden pouch. When I opened the package, the thing that really caught my attention first was the smell of the coconut and lemongrass. I do love the brightness of lemongrass, so it’s a pleasant aroma. Thai Coconut Milk Tea consists of organic: black tea, coconut, lemongrass, vanilla, and toasted coconut. It’s quite a pretty dry leaf:

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Thai Coconut Milk Tea in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 to 7 minutes, and to enjoy this black tea blend as an iced tea latte. I opted to follow the steeping recommendations and do a steep for 6 minutes. I added the tea to ice in a tall glass, and topped it off with organic unsweetened soy milk.

First Taste

Thai Coconut Milk Tea steeps to a light golden yellow. There’s a nice fragrance of coconut and lemongrass, I don’t really notice the black tea base when I tried it straight. It’s kind of nice, but not too exciting when drank plain. After topping off the tea with some soy milk, the colour turns to a milky light tan colour (perhaps too much milk to tea?). The flavour is nicely coconut and lemongrass, with hints of black tea which shines a bit more than it did when I tried it plain. It’s not as sweet as I was expecting, but there were any super sweet ingredients in the blend, and nor did I add sweetener.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Thai Coconut Milk Tea once, but found that the flavour with the coconut and the lemongrass wasn’t really present compared to the initial steep. I would recommend just the initial steep if you’re interested in having it as intended (as an iced latte).

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Thai Coconut Milk Tea. For a nice at-home iced tea latte option, I found Thai Coconut Milk Tea to be pleasantly flavourful. I think the black tea base could be stronger, but the coconut and lemongrass notes are pleasant. I would recommend to prepare it as intended (iced latte versus straight/plain), and perhaps adding some form of sweetener to really have a nice tropical milk tea vibe (rock sugar would be a great option!).

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