Tag: Dessert by Deb

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Dessert by Deb’s Thai Banana Cake

Thai Banana Cake by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Coming to me as part of the bimonthly Dessert by Deb subscription box (no longer available! The subscription box, not the product itself – you can put together a box of goodies yourself via the Dessert by Deb website), and is in the brightest berry pink metallic pouch. I’ve never had a Thai banana cake, so I really can’t tell you if it resembles the actual dessert. I know what banana bread smells and tastes like, but somehow in my mind cake ≠ bread, so I’m going into this review with no existing ideas of what I’m supposed to find in this organic tea sample.

The blend is pretty – I can see the coconut, black tea base, banana chips, and lemongrass. The aroma is strongly coconut and lemongrass – probably because both of those ingredients are quite strong in comparison to bananas. Thai Banana Cake consists of certified organic: black tea, natural banana flavour, bananas, toasted coconut, and lemongrass. It’s pretty. I’m not overly familiar with Thai tea products, or banana cake, but it smells like a lemongrass blend and I can smell the coconut. It’s inviting, doesn’t remind me of banana bread, but that’s okay!

Preparation

No preparation instructions on the sample, but on the Dessert by Deb’s website I found the following recommendations: steep in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes. The website also recommends preparing as a tea latte.

First Taste

Thai Banana Cake steeps to an orange, with little bits of tea dust that escaped the stainless steel infuser that I had used. The aroma is Thai Banana Cake is primarily lemongrass and coconut, with just a touch of oil across the surface of the steeped tea – I imagine that comes from the toasted coconut. The flavour is primarily lemongrass, coconut, and hints of astringency from the black tea base. There’s a slight sweetness, but I find that it’s not very banana-forward or banana-heavy. I found myself wishing for more banana flavour to get that banana cake feel to it.

A Second Cup?

I did attempt to resteep Thai Banana Cake, adding an additional 30 seconds for the subsequent steep. I found the first resteep was primarily lemongrass, with hints of coconut, and the black tea base with the touch of astringency. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, because it was further lacking the flavours that I was hoping for. I wouldn’t recommend Thai Banana Cake for another steep.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Dessert by Deb’s Thai Banana Cake. Allow me to preface this with the fact that I didn’t get a lot of banana flavour in my cup of tea, I received a sample and that can be influenced by how well the blend was mixed or how well I redistributed the ingredients in the sample pouch. I liked the lemongrass and coconut combined with the black tea base, and would have rate it higher, if I hadn’t been expecting banana in the blend, along with the sweetness that one would expect from dried fruit. I think a heavier hand with the banana (chips or flavouring, or both!) would result in a more banana-esque flavouring (and more hearts).

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Dessert by Deb’s Sweet Snickerdoodles

Sweet Snickerdoodles by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

As part of my bimonthly tea subscription box from Dessert by Deb, Sweet Snickerdoodles was a tea sample. It came in a bright purple metallic pouch with a white and black label on the front. This blend consists of certified organic: black tea, vanilla, cinnamon, Canadian maple, honeybush, brown sugar, and calendula petals.

The aroma of Sweet Snickerdoodles is strongly of cinnamon, maple, brown sugar, and vanilla. It smells like baking and it’s so inviting that way! I love it when a blend that has a name of a dessert or baked good actually smells like baking – the vanilla and brown sugar really helps in that regard. Also, it’s just a really pretty blend to look at.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Sweet Snickerdoodles in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I did an initial steep of Sweet Snickerdoodles for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Sweet Snickerdoodles steeps to a golden orange, little bits of the tea blend escaped the stainless steel tea infuser that I had used. The aroma is a lot like the dry leaf – it smells like vanilla, maple, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The flavour mimics the aroma well – I can taste the warming quality of the cinnamon, it has a good amount of sweetness (from the maple and brown sugar), there’s the flavour of molasses from the brown sugar, and the vanilla rounds out the flavour profile very well. I find the black tea base is gently in the background, allowing all the flavours to shine.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Sweet Snickerdoodles, but found the the flavour wasn’t as good as the initial steep. I would recommend Sweet Snickerdoodles just for the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Sweet Snickerdoodles. I found that the flavour was pleasant, and while I’m not terrible familiar with snickerdoodles, it did remind me of a pastry. I think the blend of ingredients works well, because it reminds me a lot of a cinnamon roll – I love the inclusion of vanilla and brown sugar, it makes for a great dessert blend. I think if you’re to add some sweetener, brown sugar would be the best bet – and using some evaporated milk would help add some creaminess. It’d be a nice blend to have with afternoon tea.

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Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Drizzle Cake by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flaovured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

Lemon Drizzle Cake arrived as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert By Deb. If you go onto the Dessert by Deb website, you’ll notice that the subscription boxes are no longer available, but you can still order the teas/tisanes individually and basically create your own fun-filled box. Lemon Drizzle Cake comes in a matte gold pouch that is sealed and resealable, with a familiar colourful polka dot label on the front.

Lemon Drizzle Cake consists of organic: black tea, lemon peel, coconut, Canadian maple, rooibos, lemongrass, and calendula petals. The aroma is primarily lemon/lemongrass, coconut, and rooibos. The rooibos aroma is heavier than I generally prefer – that medicinal quality is stronger than the black tea base.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lemon Drizzle Cake in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 6 minutes.

First Taste

Lemon Drizzle Cake steeps to a deep brown-orange. The aroma is a mix of coconut and lemon, and the rooibos is strongly noticeable in the aroma of the tea. On first sip, what I notice immediately is the lemon. There’s a touch of bitterness that balances against the sweetness from the maple. And then there’s the rooibos. There is definitely a medicinal quality to the flavour of Lemon Drizzle Cake that comes from the rooibos. I find that bitterness lingers on the tongue.

A Second Cup?

I attempted a second steep of Lemon Drizzle, and found the flavour to be very familiar to the initial steep with a lot of rooibos qualities in the flavour. If you’re a fan of rooibos, I would recommend a second steep of Lemon Drizzle Cake.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Drizzle Cake. I found that Lemon Drizzle Cake was very rooibos forward, and as someone who’s not generally a fan of rooibos, I didn’t appreciate it. I think if you’re someone who likes rooibos, you’ll likely enjoy it a lot more than I did. That said, if it had been more black tea forward, I would have liked it more, but alas, a rooibos-heavy blend is just not for me – and that’s okay! The great thing about the world of tea is the great variety of blends and products out there for everyone.

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