Dessert by Deb’s Coconut Cream Pie Chai

Coconut Cream Pie Chai by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Coconut Cream Pie Chai was one of those teas that when I first read the name of the tea out loud, I was impressed that I hadn’t mixed up the words. The name is on the longer side, but it really invokes an idea in my head of what it sound smell and taste like. I’m almost not a regular consume of coconut cream pie, so I’m not entirely too familiar with how it sound taste (fair warning!). But this black tea blend came to me as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box, and I’m always of fan of trying new teas, so here we are.

Coconut Cream Pie Chai comes in a bright fuchsia metallic pouch that’s resealable – always a nice little bonus – with a clear front so you can see the tea blend inside. It has a nice mix of ingredients and consists of organic: black tea, coconut, toasted coconut, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and palm sugar. Coconut Cream Pie Chai primarily smells of toasted coconut to me, with hints of ginger throughout. I’m almost looking for some vanilla notes to really invoke the idea of a baked good.

Preparation

While there’s no steeping instructions on the packaging, it didn’t take me long to find them on the Dessert by Deb’s website product page for Coconut Cream Pie Chai. Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Coconut Cream Pie Chai in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 5 minutes.

First Taste

Coconut Cream Pie Chai steeps to a brownish-orange colour, with an oil slick that floats on the top. This comes from all the coconut found in the ingredients, as it naturally contains oils. The aroma of Coconut Cream Pie Chai lends towards being coconut, but the flavour isn’t as coconut forward as I was expecting. I get a lot of the ginger and cinnamon coupled with hints of the cardamom, and the warming quality of those spices, while the coconut is definitely forward in the fragrance of the steeped tea, it’s not very coconut heavy in the actual taste itself.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Coconut Cream Pie Chai, but found in lacking flavour compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Coconut Cream Pie Chai for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Dessert by Deb’s Coconut Cream Pie Chai was just okay. I think this blend had a lot of potential, but my expectations and reality just weren’t matching up. I think for those looking for a less spicy version of a chai will enjoy this blend because it does have the ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom flavours, especially in the initial steep. You do get the great warming quality of the spices, but I was hoping for more coconut-forward flavour, when compared to how the blend smells when dry and when steeped. Turning it into a tea latte would likely go a long way to making it taste more creamy and dessert-like, especially if you have some coconut milk on hand.

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Dessert by Deb’s Spiced Earl Grey Muffin

Spiced Earl Grey Muffin by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

I’m always a sucker for an Earl Grey-inspired or twist-on Earl Grey blend. It’s just one of my favourite classic blends, but that also means that I have high expectations when it comes to Earl Grey, which I do acknowledge is not always the most fair. Spiced Earl Grey Muffin is part of the Little Cottage Bakery Collection from Dessert by Deb, and I got it as part of my bi-monthly subscription box (that I pay for… #notsponsored). This blend came in a beautiful matte bronze bag – still loving that colour.

The black tea blend itself is gorgeous and has a very strong bergamot and lavender aroma which was what I really noticed straight off the bat when I first opened the packaging. There are hints of cardamom in the background and it’s all just really interesting. I’m used to Earl Grey with bergamot, as that’s the traditional additive to the black tea, and I’ve even had Earl Grey blends before that feature lavender, but the cardamom is interesting… and very intriguing. Spiced Earl Grey Muffin consists of organic: black tea, natural bergamot, vanilla, Canadian maple, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and lavender.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Spiced Earl Grey Muffin in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do a 5 minute initial steep with the recommend temperature water.

First Taste

Spiced Earl Grey Muffin steeps to a really nice deep orange colour. There is a strong lavender aroma, it’s even stronger than the bergamot. I On first sip, I find that I can definitely smell the bergamot and lavender, it has a nice level of creaminess from the vanilla and a good amount of sweet. There is a warming quality from this tea that I attribute to the ginger, and it kind of just lingers on the tongue a bit. It definitely gives me ‘chai’ vibes because of the hints of cinnamon and cardamom that I get from this tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Spiced Earl Grey Muffin once and found the flavour to be lacking in terms of the warming quality from the ginger and even the flavour of the lavender. I would recommend steeping Spiced Earl Grey Muffin just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Spiced Earl Grey Muffin. I found it really did live up to its name. The ginger and hints of cinnamon made me think of spice cake, while the bergamot and lavender made me think of Earl Grey – so it’s not so far off to just blend the two together and come up with a Spiced Earl Grey Muffin. I do wish that the vanilla had been added with a bit of a heavier hand, if only because I really enjoy the flavour of vanilla. I definitely think that this blend would do really well as a latte, as most black teas (and especially Earl Grey blends) do.

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Dessert by Deb’s Deep Dish Apple Pie

Deep Dish Apple Pie by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Deep Dish Apple Pie comes in a gorgeous deep pink metallic pouch with a clear front to the bag – I’m in love with the colour because my hair is usually that shade (when I’m able to get to the hair salon on a more regular basis). This tea came as part of my tea subscription box from Dessert by Deb, but luckily for anyone intrigued by my review, it is not a subscriber exclusive and it is a part of the Little Cottage Bakery Collection so you can order it.

When I first opened up the pouch and scooped some of the tea out, the first thing that I noticed was just how much it smells like an apple pie. This blend consists of organic: green tea, apple, Canadian maple, cinnamon, and coconut. I don’t really smell the green tea base, but I do smell the cinnamon and maple, which is what reminds me of that apple pie aroma.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Deep Dish Apple Pie in 200°F (93°C) water for 5 to 6 minutes. I did an initial steep in the recommended water temperature for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Deep Dish Apple Pie steeps to a light golden orange colour. The aroma of the tea is definitely reminding me of an apple pie. Dessert by Deb really hit the nail on the head with this one, because it also really reminds me of an apple pie when I drink it! The prominent flavours that I feel like it needs to really cement it in my head as an apple pie would be some brown sugar in addition to the maple, and then just a hint of vanilla or vanilla bean. I really enjoy the sweetness from the apple, and that rustic baked good sweetness from the maple flavour.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Deep Dish Apple Pie and just found that it didn’t resteep well. The apple flavour wasn’t nearly as strong as in the initial steep, so I would recommend steeping Deep Dish Apple Pie just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Deep Dish Apple Pie. It has the right level of flavour and sweetness to make me think of apple pie when I drink it. There’s just some subtle things that would need to be tweaked for me to think that I was drinking an apple pie, and overall this makes for a lovely dessert tea since it would be significantly less calories than actually eating a slice of pie, but the flavour is just on point and makes me want to bake an apple pie and eat it too.

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