Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

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Dessert by Deb’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie by Dessert by Deb
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

Arriving in my bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie came in a matte gold pouch with a polka dot label. The pouch is sealed (and resealable), and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie is part of Dessert by Deb’s Little Country Kitchen Collection. It’s an herbal tisane with a name that invokes a certain idea of aroma and taste.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie consists of: honeybush, cacao nibs, Canadian maple, cinnamon, and dark chocolate. The aroma is strongly cinnamon and chocolate, and it reminds me a lot of a cookie. I don’t get oatmeal vibes, but the chocolate really makes itself noticeable.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie in 212°F (100°C) water for 6 to 7 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 7 minutes.

First Taste

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie steeps to an orange-brown, with a slight oil slick across the top – which I would attribute to the cacao nibs and dark chocolate, which naturally contains oils. The aroma is chocolatey, with hints of vanilla and floral notes. I find it has some nice cinnamon notes to it, that reminds me of baked goods.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie, but found the flavour didn’t compare to the initial steep. So I would recommend steeping Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. I found the flavour to be nice with the chocolate chips, and the cinnamon. I would think the cookie flavour would come across better if there was also vanilla in the mix, just to oomph up the flavour. I would like it with some sweets, and cookies. The sweetness in this blend is just the right balanced with the rest of the flavour profile.

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DavidsTea’s Unicorn Dream

Unicorn Dream by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I snagged a pouch of Unicorn Dream for one reason or another, it comes in a sealed, unsealed silver pouch with a bright yellow label. While yes, this is a fruit infusion and much more better suited for a spring or summer day, I’m drinking it in January because…. why not? The aroma of Unicorn Dream is sweet, lightly fruity with coconut and lemongrass. It’s really quite pretty to look at – what with the beautiful florals in the blend.

Unicorn Dream consists of: apple, hibiscus blossoms, coconut, lemongrass, artificial cotton candy flavouring, marshmallows, bean peel, heart sprinkles, candied pineapple, unicorn sprinkles, sugar pearls, butterfly pea flowers, candied papaya, mallow blossoms, dwarf everlast blossoms, rose, raspberries, sunflower blossoms, and stevia extract. The sprinkles are really fun though – hearts and unicorns – and the unicorns in particular are cute.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Unicorn Dream in 95°C (200°F) for 5 plus minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Unicorn Dream steeps to a nice purple colour. The aroma reminds me of cotton candy, and flowers. The taste is an interesting mix of sweet, fruity, coconut, lemongrass, and cotton candy. It has a fun colour, and because of the ingredients, it’s really quite sweet – almost too sweet. I find it has a slight aftertaste from the stevia that is noticeable when the tisane is hot (pouring it over ice helps temper that aftertaste though).

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Unicorn Dream, but it didn’t stand up to being resteeped with poor flavour the second steep. I would recommend steeping Unicorn Dream just the once.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Unicorn Dream. The sweetness and flavour of Unicorn Dream is fun, fruity, and has some fun cotton candy goodness in it. I would highly recommend this one as iced instead of hot, because the flavours just go better as an iced drink instead (plus, it helps with that obvious stevia taste…). The colour though, is fun, and I think if you have kids who like seeing colour change (hello, butterfly pea flowers) when you add citrus, it’ll be neat for them to see.

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DavidsTea’s North Star

North Star by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

I purchased North Star at the same time as purchasing the 2021 Advent Calendar from DavidsTea, without knowing that it was part of the advent calendar. North Star was day 6 of the 24 Days of Tea, and I tried it before opening this pouch of tea.

First Impressions

North Star came in the familiar silver pouch from DavidsTea, with a bright yellow sticker to indicate that it’s an herbal infusion (tisane). What had attracted me to trying this one out is because I saw the star sprinkles and just thought it was pretty and worth giving a try. Orange being present doesn’t hurt either!

North Start consists of: sugar, orange peel, nana mint, brittle, white star sprinkles, natural flavouring (orange and vanilla), lemongrass, orange, moringa leaf, orange blossom, and spinach. Spinach (in my opinion) has no place in my tea or tisanes, but here we are. It really is quite pretty to look at. The sugar crystals are massive, in comparison to everything. The orange peel is large, the white star sprinkles are beautiful. North Star primarily smells like oranges, vanilla, and lemongrass.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping North Star in 200°F (95°C) water for over 5 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of seven minutes.

First Taste

North Star steeps to a lovely yellow colour, it’s got a bright citrus aroma to it. The taste of this tisane is strongly orange and vanilla, with hints of mint. I don’t get a lot of that minty flavour, although I wish it was stronger since this is meant to be a winter tisane. The level of sweetness is very strong, probably due to the sugar crystals and sprinkles. The orange is quite strong though, and what I do get of the vanilla reminds me of an orange creamsicle, but somehow even more sweet.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep North Star, but found that the flavour was lacking in comparison to the original steep. I would recommend North Star for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that DavidsTea’s North Star was just okay. The mix of orange and vanilla is an interesting combination, but I found myself wishing that the mint was a stronger flavour in the tisane. The level of sweetness in North Star is strong, I found myself wishing that it was less sweet – but what can you do? I had this tisane hot, but found it quite sweet and fruity, so I imagine it would do well being iced instead during the spring and summer – no sweetener needed.

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