Dessert by Deb – Page 23

Coco Goji Island by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$9.00 for 50g

First Impressions

Coco Goji Island is part of Dessert by Deb’s debut collection of certified organic tea blends. It came in a sealed, resealable matte white foil bag with a pretty coloured label on the front. This is a green tea blend and I picked it out because it sounded intriguing (I’m always a sucker for interesting names). It really invokes the idea of drinking iced tea with a little umbrella on a beach somewhere.

I could smell the cherries, lemongrass, and coconut when I first opened the package. Coco Goji Island consists of: green tea, cherries, goji berries, oranges, lemongrass, and toasted coconut. The ingredients are all visible, with surprisingly large pieces of dried orange slices – they smell good!

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Coco Goji Island in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. My initial steep was for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Coco Goji Island steeps to a bright yellow, it’s a really tropical colour that it matches well with the shade of yellow used for the word ‘Coco’ on the package label. There’s a nice aroma from the tea – citrus and fruity. The flavour of the tea is light citrus, the cherries and goji berries linger in the background. I found there was a nice creaminess in the tea, and I think that’s from the coconut. I can’t really taste the green tea, but that’s not too surprising considering some of the other ingredients being quite heavy and flavour-forward in the profile.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Coco Goji Island twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the cherries and citrus notes were much less pronounced and more of the green tea shone through – slightly grassy and vegetal. I found it to be pleasant.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Coco Goji Island. I found the aroma of the dry leaf to be really inviting, and the flavour of the initial steep was perfectly fruity. If you’re a fan of the fruitiness and less of green tea, resteeping may not be for you. But if you’re a fan of green tea, I’d definitely recommend resteeping the leaves again for more green tea flavour. I think this would be a great candidate for being cold steeped – especially if you’re one that’s prone to oversteeping green teas.

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Orange Ginger Shortbread by Dessert by Deb
Rooibos / Flavoured
$9.00 for 50g

First Impressions

I made a purchase with Dessert by Deb, and received Orange Ginger Shortbread as a free sample as part of my loose leaf tea order. So while Deb did not ask me to review this rooibos blend, I couldn’t help but decide to share my thoughts on it.

The sample of Orange Ginger Shortbread came in a clear sealed, resealable bag. The ingredients all easily visible through the packaging, which I do like. The aroma is very strongly of orange and vanilla – which is great because I’m not a fan of rooibos. I can smell a touch of rooibos in the background, but it isn’t enough to bother me too much. Orange Ginger Shortbread consists of certified organic ingredients: fair trade rooibos, vanilla, oranges, orange peel, ginger, maple and brown sugar.

Preparation

There were no steeping instructions on the packaging or the product page online, but I treat rooibos blends the same as herbal tisanes – I steeped Orange Ginger Shortbread in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Orange Ginger Shortbread steeps to a deep orange colour. I can smell the orange with a hint of ginger. For the taste, I found that the rooibos was very much in the background – which I did appreciate. I can taste orange, ginger, and vanilla. It really does remind me of the namesake of the tea, since vanilla always reminds me of baked goods. There’s a nice sweetness to the blend, and I only found a little bit of an aftertaste from the rooibos blend (just a hint of medicinal flavour).

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Orange Ginger Shortbread once, but found that the orange, ginger, and vanilla notes were considerably less compared to the initial steep and I could taste more of the rooibos. So if you’re a fan of rooibos, I’d recommend resteeping it – but if you’re not, I’d leave it to one steep only.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Orange Ginger Shortbread. I really loved how well the rooibos blend was created, the flavours were on point with the name/inspiration. I do wish that it had a heavier ginger flavour, because I do think that would have really put it over the top. I enjoyed the orange and vanilla notes, and think that it really did remind me of shortbread with the creamy vanilla notes. For those rooibos fans, I would suggest a second steep to get more of the rooibos flavour.

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