Tag: Lemon Lily

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Dessert by Deb’s Lavender Coconut Macaron

Lavender Coconut Macaron by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Lavender Coconut Macaron is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Lavender Coconut Macaron came in a sealed, resealable pink pouch with a very familiar colourful label on the front. This is Tea Society Club exclusive, which is a great little perk of being a subscriber to the Dessert by Deb subscription box (which basically means I get a present to myself from myself every two months with some cool tea blends).

Lavender Coconut Macaron consists of all organic: green tea, lavender, coconut, toasted coconut, and palm sugar. The aroma is really strongly lavender with a hint of toasted coconut in the background. Lavender is such a strong and forward ingredient, and I really like it – it’s one of my favourite starring blend ingredients. This is definitely a floral-forward green tea blend so if you’re not a fan of floral or lavender in particular, it’s probably not the blend for you. For me, I love lavender, so I’m pretty happy with the delicate aromas, the feminine and delicate feel to the blend with the lavender heavy mix.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lavender Coconut Macaron in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to follow the water temperature recommendation and did an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Lavender Coconut Macaron steeps to a pale yellow colour. It’s very lavender forward in the aroma from the steeped tea. The flavour is first and foremost lavender – very floral notes, and it has a nice sweetness to it, with the toasted coconut as an undertone. I don’t really taste the green tea base, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the lavender and coconut being so strong.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Lavender Coconut Macaron twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour wasn’t as floral as I enjoyed in the initial steep, so I preferred the initial steep the best.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Lavender Coconut Macaron. I really enjoyed just how strong the lavender is, how forward such a delicate feeling flower is in this green tea blend. While I couldn’t taste the green tea base very well, I found that the toasted coconut did really well against the lavender and it really just makes for a lovely cup of tea. It’d be a great addition to an afternoon tea line-up just for the delicate floral notes, and I think it’d be great iced with a splash of lemonade to really amp it up and make it into a great summer iced tea.

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Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Sugar Cookie

Lemon Sugar Cookie by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea & Rooibos / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Lemon Sugar Cookie is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Lemon Sugar Cookie is a black tea and rooibos blend that came to me as part of my subscription box. This blend is a subscriber exclusive, hence the labeling of The Tea Society Club. I find the exclusivity of tea blends to be a really neat treat for being a member. The blend comes in a pale pink pouch with a familiar and colourful label.

Lemon Sugar Cookie consists of organic: black tea, fair trade rooibos, lemon peel, vanilla, Canadian maple, and brown sugar. When I ripped open the packaging, the first thing I noticed was the citrus notes. The lemon is really bright and inviting and honestly smells like fresh lemon zest. The maple notes and brown sugar are blending well together in terms of fragrance, and it reminds me of baking. I can smell the rooibos base more than the black tea, which is unfortunate for me because rooibos just isn’t my favourite ingredient (to drink straight up). The vanilla is something I find that kind of lingers in the background, but it’s definitely present!

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lemon Sugar Cookie in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes, just going for middle of the road with the steeping time.

First Taste

Lemon Sugar Cookie steeps to nice golden orange. The aroma is a blend of lemon and vanilla. There’s some molasses notes that I find as well when smelling the tea. The flavour is interesting. I can taste the lemon, the sweetness from the brown sugar and maple notes, and I can taste the rooibos. It does have that medicinal quality that I don’t particularly like when it comes to rooibos, but the sweetness from the Canadian maple and brown sugar do a lot to overcome that it and to hide it, so I’m not offended by the flavour of the rooibos (who knew?). The blend steeps really smoothly, and I find that the vanilla notes really pop at the tail end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Lemon Sugar Cookie once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the second steep with the same leaves. I found that rooibos base was really flavour forward, so if you’re a fan of rooibos, I would continue steeping the leaves knowing that a lot of the sweetness is gone. If you’re not a fan of rooibos, I’d stick to just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Sugar Cookie. I found the flavour of the initial steep to be great – I found lemon, molasses-notes, a creamy quality from the vanilla, and enough sweetness to off-set the medicinal notes from rooibos. The blend of ingredients was really great to make me think of a lemon cookie and I think it’s a great representation of the name in the ingredients. I would have liked the black tea base to be more forward and easier to find in the flavour, but the brown sugar and Canadian maple do a great job of hiding things with that high level of sweetness (which I greatly enjoyed!).

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Dessert by Deb’s Butterscotch Jam Bars

Butterscotch Jam Bars by Dessert by Deb
Rooibos / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Butterscotch Jam Bars is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Butterscotch Jam Bars is a rooibos blend that came in one of my subscription boxes, and it is a subscriber exclusive. This rooibos blend comes in a gold sealed, resealable pouch, with a colourful label across the front. I’m personally keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t smell or taste the rooibos because it’s not one of my favourite ingredients – I tend to find that rooibos reminds me of a medicinal flavour.

Butterscotch Jam Bars has a beautiful aroma to it – I can smell brown sugar, maple, raisins and vanilla. Surprise, I can’t smell the rooibos base at all. The brown sugar and vanilla notes make me think of a cake or pastry, which is nice and quite fitting considering the name of the blend is Butterscotch Jam Bars.

Butterscotch Jam Bars consists of organic: fair trade rooibos, vanilla, Canadian maple, elderberries, currants, raisins, hibiscus, brown sugar, honey bush, and cinnamon.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Butterscotch Jam Bars in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the recommended steeping temperature and did an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Butterscotch Jam Bars steeps to a nice orange colour with a bit of a pinkish hue to it, which I credit to the hibiscus, of course. There’s the aroma of vanilla and brown sugar, with hints of raisins in the background. I found the blend to be nicely sweet, with that brown sugar and maple in the mix. It definitely tastes like a dessert, and that it should be more of a guilty pleasure that it is given the flavour of the blend. It tastes like a cake, which is really scrumptious. The big bonus (for me!) is that I can’t taste the rooibos base itself, all I taste is vanilla, raisins, brown sugar, and the hint of maple in the background.

I really don’t think that it needs a sweetener, but if you do choose to add something, I would go with brown sugar or maple syrup to play up some of the flavours that exist in the blend.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Butterscotch Jam Bars, but found that the second steep was more rooibos and less dessert-like. Which means, if you’re a fan of rooibos, then steeping again is a great way to go.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Butterscotch Jam Bars. I really appreciated the care into developing the flavours that shone through in the initial steep. The use of brown sugar and maple with the blend of elderberries, currants, and raisins, really helped to create the flavour of a baked good. The initial steep was definitely preferred by me over the resteep because I’m not a fan of rooibos. For those who do love rooibos though, I think you’ll get more enjoyment from resteeping it.

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