Tag: Green Tea

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DavidsTea’s Vanilla Chai Matcha

Vanilla Chai Matcha by DavidsTea
Matcha (Green Tea) / Flavoured
$10.98 for 50g

First Impressions

As someone who was a fan of DavidsTea’s Chai Matcha, I was curious about the Vanilla Chai Matcha when I saw it online – so naturally a bag fell into my online shopping cart. Vanilla Chai Matcha comes in the familiar silver pouch with the coloured label across the front. As a ‘matcha drink mix’, Vanilla Chai Matcha is a flavour profile that makes me want to try it… let’s ignore what the first ingredient in the list is.

Vanilla Chai Matcha consists of: cane sugar, matcha green tea, natural flavourings (creamy vanilla and chai spice). The powder itself is a spring green, with a slight glint of sparkle from the cane sugar. While I don’t smell the matcha, I smell the vanilla and spice flavouring – it is really quite fragrant.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends preparing Vanilla Chai Matcha with 85°C (185°F) water. I opted to prepare it with a battery powdered milk frother. Because it is a drink mix, I find this type of blend tends to suspend itself easily with a quick stir with a spoon.

First Taste

Vanilla Chai Matcha becomes a medium green. The aroma from the drink is more vanilla and chai spices than the matcha itself. The flavour itself is sweet, and I found that I could taste the vanilla and the chai spices, but the matcha itself is very mildly vegetal. The spices themselves have that warming quality that I like in a chai blend, with a nice creamy undertone from the vanilla flavouring. I do find myself hunting for more of the vegetal notes from the matcha base, but I don’t find it.

A Second Cup?

As a suspension, Vanilla Chai Matcha is a one-time drink only – like all other matchas out there. So just the one cup (and that’s okay!).

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Vanilla Chai Matcha. While I greatly enjoyed the vanilla and chai flavouring, I found that it was quite sweet – if I had been aware of how sweet it was, I might have prepared it as a matcha latte instead to help cut down the sweetness. With water, it does end up quite sweet without anything to mute the sweetness. It does have some great flavours though, I do love the warming spices (much like their Chai Matcha).

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Dessert by Deb’s Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Straight
$6.00 for 25g

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam came as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

Coming to me in a matte gold sealed, resealable pouch, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam is part of Dessert by Deb’s Garden Tea Party Collection. It came in my bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb and comes in a familiar matte metallic pouch with the colourful polka dot label on the front. The name makes me think of strawberry rhubarb… pie. Jam makes me think of sticky sweetness. All good things to have in a dessert tea!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam has an aroma to it that is berries and fruity sweetness. It definitely smells like it would be delicious as an iced tea (which is a recommendation made by Dessert by Deb). Strawberry Rhubarb Jam consists of organic: green tea, strawberry and papaya pieces, natural strawberry flavour, apple, rosehips, freeze-dried raspberries, and beetroot powder. I can definitely see where the beetroot powder has dusted some of the other ingredients with that berry red colour.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Strawberry Rhubarb Jam in 200°F (93°C) water for 5 to 7 minutes. I opted to follow the steeping instructions and did an initial steep of Strawberry Rhubarb Jam for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam steeps to a lovely pink colour, likely thanks to the beetroot powder that’s in the blend. It has a lovely strawberry aroma, and some other type of fruity aroma that I can’t quite place (but I’m thinking it’s likely the papaya). Flavour wise, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam has a sweet fruity flavour that reminds me of mixed berries, with just a hint of tartness that reminds me of the rhubarb. The green tea base is really in the background, with just a light grassy flavour. It’s quite good hot, and I suspect it’ll do well cold or iced with that fruity flavour profile. I do think it could use a bit more sweetener to make me think of jam, so I’d add some sweetener to it if I were to make a pitcher of iced tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Strawberry Rhubarb Jam once, but found that the flavour just wasn’t there compared to the initial steep with the berry flavours or tartness that reminds me of the rhubarb.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. This green tea blend has a lovely flavour profile of berries and tartness, with some sweetness that creeps on through. I think it does need a touch of sweetener if you want it to really remind you of jam, but the flavour itself is quite enjoyable. I think it’d be great to have paired with desserts, and to also have iced during warmer months.

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DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong

Silver Bell Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea, White Tea, & Green Tea / Flavoured
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

One of the reasons that Silver Bell Oolong made its way into my online shopping cart because the reviews compared it to a previous blend (Monk’s Blend). This obviously meant that I needed to give it a try. But when I first unboxed the order, I was subjected to this label. I’m not sure who decided teal was easy to read on a medium shade of blue, but it isn’t (at all). Silver Bell Oolong comes in a sealed, resealable pouch.

Silver Bell Oolong consists of: white tea, milk oolong with natural milk flavouring, and jasmine green tea pearls. It’s a beautiful blend, and has a great aroma to it. I can smell the jasmine and milk from the milk oolong. Silver Bell Oolong is really pretty to look at and admire the different leaves. Silver Bell Oolong has identical ingredients as Monk’s Blend (a retired blend), with a slight change in price  ($12.98 versus $11.50), but comes with a different name that makes me think that it’s a holiday or seasonal tea (so keep that in mind if you’re wanting to get some).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Silver Bell Oolong in 90°C (195°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to follow the temperature recommendation, and did an initial steep of Silver Bell Oolong for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Silver Bell Oolong steeps to a beautiful yellow colour. There’s a strong aroma of jasmine and milk. Silver Bell Oolong has a smooth liquor. I find that the flavour is floral, milky, and grassy. Silver Bell Oolong has a certain level of creaminess to it, that I would attribute to the milk oolong. It has a nice mouthfeel to it, with zero astringency or bitterness.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Silver Bell Oolong two times (three steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I find that the flavour stayed fairly consistent to the initial steep, with the milky flavour waning as I resteeped the leaves. It is quite tasty though.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong. I still find this oolong, white tea, and green tea blend to be tasty. It has a great mouthfeel, flavour profile, and resteeps decently well. I think that Silver Bell Oolong coming back is nice for fans of the original Monk’s Blend, and I think it’s very similiar (if not identical?) to the original blend. I wish I still had some in my tea stash so I could do a taste comparison between the two. I would highly recommend resteeping this blend because it does hold up to resteeping, and Silver Bell Oolong has a great flavour. The creaminess of Silver Bell Oolong would lend itself well to being paired with a meal or dessert.

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