Tag: Green Tea

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Dessert by Deb’s Lychee Mango Mochi

Lychee Mango Mochi by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
Price$ for Weight

First Impressions

Lychee Mango Mochi was a blend that I came across on the Dessert by Deb website when I was putting in an order (because I wanted a pink teapot with matching cups and saucers…), and I figured, why not get some teas while I was at it? Lychee Mango Mochi wasn’t one that I had gotten to try yet via the subscription box, so I was wanting to give it a go because it sounded quite intriguing. I mean, I love mango, I love lychee, and I’m a fan of mochi… So why not?

This mango-forward green tea blend comes in a large pink pouch, and is part of the Japanese & Asian Patisserie collection. It has a very strong mango aroma, and Lychee Mango Mochi consists of: Chun Mee green tea, jasmine blossoms, natural lychee flavour, dried mango, coconut, and sencha green tea. It’s a beautiful blend to look at, and I think the mango is a lovely ingredient that really doesn’t get showcased often enough in tea blends. It’s a strong ingredient though, and definitely overpowers what coconut is in the bag – even if the coconut is visibly present.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lychee Mango Mochi in 200°F (93°C) water for 3 to 4 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Lychee Mango Mochi for 3 minutes

First Taste

Lychee Mango Mochi steeps to a bright yellow, very sunshine yellow in appearance. The aroma is primarily mango, with hints of coconut in the background. The tea itself has sweetness – fruity mango flavours, a creamy coconut, the flowery sweetness from the jasmine, and an underlying vegetal flavour from the green teas. I find it has hints of umami throughout, a slight bit of salty, that vegetal bitterness that you come to find in dark green, leafy vegetables. I had this tea hot, and found it had a great fruity flavours – the mango really shines through beyond the rest of the ingredients.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Lychee Mango Mochi once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the subsequent steep. I found that the flavour wasn’t as good as the original steep. That said, the jasmine really shines through with the green tea – so it’s a good tea blend to resteep if you love a green tea with jasmine.

My Overall Impression

I  loved Dessert by Deb’s Lychee Mango Mochi. It has a great flavour to it, and the mix of mango with jasmine and green tea, with the underlying coconut, makes it a tasty treat. While I don’t really taste the lychee (which I’ve always found to be quite the delicate flavour), the mango more than makes up for it. I had this tea hot, but I could see it fairing very well iced or cold steeped and would love to try it more in the spring or summer time – this bag is going to end up in my iced tea basket.

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Lipton’s Japanese Matcha Milk Tea

Japanese Matcha Milk Tea by Lipton
Matcha (Green Tea) / Flavoured
$9.99 for 285g (15 x 19g sachets)

First Impressions

At eye-level in the tea aisle of a popular Asian grocery store, I turned and found this – it was the cup of matcha that intrigued me. While I’m sure that the amount of matcha to sugar ratio is probably not what one would want from a superfood, it’s a nice alternative for a matcha lover on the go! This Lipton package comes with fifteen sachets, each one with the best by date stamped across the top.

Japanese Matcha Milk Tea doesn’t have much of an aroma to it, with a bit of a glimmer to it from the sugar. It’s a pale light green powder, but I do get a whiff of milk or cream from the matcha mix. Japanese Matcha Milk Tea consists of: sugar, creamer, whole milk powder, matcha powder, green tea powder, maltodextrin, and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.

Preparation

Lipton recommends preparing Japanese Matcha Milk in 85°C (185°F) water and 180mL for a hot preparation or 50mL for an iced preparation. I opted to have Japanese Matcha Milk Tea as a hot drink because… winter.

First Taste

Japanese Matcha Milk Tea mixes easily with water, and I found it easily suspended in the water. It does have the milky appearance of a matcha latte, with a pale green that matches what the powder looked like straight out of the packaging. I will say, that if I had whisked up a matcha latte from scratch, I would expect a much deeper shade of green based on using a high quality matcha. That said, Japanese Matcha Milk Tea has grassy notes, milky cream notes, and a strong level of sweetness. It hits the flavours that I would expect out of a matcha latte, but lacks the strong vegetal and umami notes that I like from a nice matcha.

A Second Cup?

As a suspension/drink mix, there are no second cups of Japanese Matcha Milk Tea.

My Overall Impression

I liked Lipton’s Japanese Matcha Milk Tea. As far as cost per matcha latte, you can’t really get it cheaper for less work than $0.67 a drink. The joy of Japanese Matcha Milk Tea is how easy it to prepare and the ease of making matcha on the go (a.k.a. at work) and it already having dairy in it to add that level of creaminess that I know and love. I’d probably rank it higher if it was a bit less sweet, and if the matcha flavour was stronger – I would have appreciate a bit more.

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Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Chiffon Pie

Lemon Chiffon Pie by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea & Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

Lemon Chiffon Pie was a tea that showed up in my bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb. This green tea and oolong blend is part of the Deb’s Vintage Dessert Diner collection – which features all fun diner classics (like… the Lemon Chiffon Pie). I love the packaging – the pale pink metallic is just pretty.

Lemon Chiffon Pie consists of organic: green tea, ti kwan yin oolong, lemon peel, coconut, toasted coconut, lemongrass and calendula petals. The blend is quite beautiful, and the coconut flakes are just such a bright white compared to the rest of the ingredients. It has a very strong lemon, coconut, and lemongrass aroma to it – and the Lemon Chiffon Pie blend is pretty.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lemon Chiffon Pie in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Lemon Chiffon Pie steeps to a yellow-green colour. The aroma is primarily that of the lemongrass and coconut – they’re just quite strong flavours. Taste wise, I found it to be mostly coconut, lemongrass, with a buttery flavour that mingles in the background that allows the tea to be really smooth on the palate. The green tea isn’t that pronounced, but the oolong really carries through with the buttery creaminess and makes it seem more pie or pastry like.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Lemon Chiffon Pie once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the resteep. The flavour is low on the coconut and lemongrass, but the oolong does well with the resteep and with a stronger buttery flavour to it. I’d recommend resteeping Lemon Chiffon Pie if you’re into oolong.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Chiffon Pie. I like the blend with the coconut and lemongrass, the oolong does well to carry the blend and add to the flavour profile with that butter flavour. While I don’t specifically get the idea of lemon chiffon pie, I do like the flavours of this blend and think that it tastes delicious – I would definitely make this iced in the spring or summer to enjoy because I think that coconut flavour would lend itself well.

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