Tag: Subscription Box

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Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Caramel Danish

Pumpkin Caramel Danish by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

I received Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Caramel Danish as a subscriber of her Tea & Sweets Subscription Boxes. Pumpkin Caramel Danish is part of the Little Cottage Bakery Collection and is available to non-subscribers.

First Impressions

Pumpkin Caramel Danish comes in a lovely matte dark bronze pouch that’s sealed and resealable. I really love the look of that matte dark bronze colour because it’s such an autumnal colour that goes well with the pumpkin vibes. On the front is a colorful label that I’ve come to know and love (and be familiar with). Pumpkin Caramel Danish has a very spice-forward aroma that reminds me a lot of pumpkin spice, as well as having a heavy sweetness that mingles well with the spice notes.

This black tea blend consists of organic: black tea, coconut, apple, cinnamon, toasted coconut, brown sugar, cloves, and pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, mace, nutmeg, and cardamom). I think the addition of brown sugar really helps add to that ‘baked goods’ fragrance because it just has such a familiar aroma that goes really well with the pumpkin spice.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Pumpkin Caramel Danish in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 6 minutes, mostly because I forgot about it for an extra minute.

First Taste

Pumpkin Caramel Danish steeps to a bright orange colour, with a very strong spice-forward aroma. There’s some nice sweetness coming off in the fragrance. On first sip, I taste the spices first – a lot of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom. Then there’s the brown sugar and sweetness from the apple that just goes really well with all of those spice notes (probably because those are also spices that can be found in an apple pie…). These are definitely spice flavours that I would expect to find in a pumpkin spice pastry, and that brown sugar definitely lends that sense of authenticity to it. The black tea base doesn’t really shine through, because of all the other ingredients, but the coconut flavour does add a sense of ‘lightness’ to a tea blend that might otherwise feel really heavy and rich. I feel like that black tea base just kind of holds everything up without being too obvious.

A Second Cup?

I did attempt a second resteep of Pumpkin Caramel Danish, but found that it didn’t really do well with trying to extract more flavour out of the ingredients. I would recommend Pumpkin Caramel Danish for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Caramel Danish. I think the blend is really artfully done – with the balance between the spice notes and the coconut, apple, and brown sugar. The addition of brown sugar really makes it a dessert blend, while I think that if you were to turn this into a tea latte, the use of a vanilla syrup or vanilla flavoured agave, would really kick it up a notch in making it really taste like a pastry. That said, the balance of flavours is really good, and it’s a great candidate for a tea latte since the use of a black tea base lends itself really well to that.

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Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Pie Tart

Pumpkin Pie Tart by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Pumpkin Pie Tart came to me as part of the September/October subscription box from Dessert by Deb. This seasonal green tea offering comes in a sealed, resealable bronze-copper matte pouch with a familiar colourful label on the front. I quite appreciate the colour pouch that Deb decided to go with because it lends itself quite nicely for an autumn themed tea collection since it’s a very autumnal appropriate colour.

Pumpkin Pie Tart consists of organic: green tea, apple, Canadian maple, cinnamon, coconut, pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, mace, nutmeg, and cardamom), cloves, and calendula petals. That spice blend does a great job in coating a lot of the other ingredients, especially the dried apple pieces. It basically smells like I opened up a can of pumpkin pie spice mix, and really reminds me of pumpkin pie because of the blend. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom are my must-haves when it comes to a pumpkin spice blend.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Pumpkin Pie Tart in 200°F (93°C) water for 5-6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes with the recommended temperature water.

First Taste

Pumpkin Pie Tart steeps to a really pretty golden yellow-orange colour. There is some dusty bits that escaped through the stainless steel infuser, but I don’t think it’s the actual tea leaves themselves and it’s the spices since they’re so fine. The aroma is pumpkin pie spice, definitely. The flavour of the green tea blend is interesting – I get a lot of the spice blend, and then there’s a nice level of sweetness that I think comes from the Canadian maple and possibly the apple. There’s a fruity background that isn’t as strong as the pumpkin spice blend, and slight sourness that I think comes from the apple as well. I don’t really taste the green tea base, but that’s because the spice blend is just that much more overwhelming in flavour. The sweetness from the maple definitely make it tastes more like a dessert, and it has a nice thicken mouthfeel to it as well.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Pumpkin Pie Tart once, but found that the spice level just wasn’t as present as I would have liked, especially when compared to the initial steep. I would suggest steeping Pumpkin Pie Tart just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Pumpkin Pie Tart. The spice blend is well balanced with the apple and Canadian maple – it helps create some interest in the flavour profile. While the green tea base wasn’t very flavour forward, although who can blame it when its competing against ginger and cinnamon? I think it’s quite a creative way to blend pumpkin spice with a green tea base, I usually see the pumpkin spice blends with black tea or rooibos. It is definitely a nice blend for the fall, the spices have a pleasant warming quality. I’d love to see this one turned into a tea latte with some vanilla extract for extra coziness.

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Dessert by Deb’s Grapefruit Mint Granita

Grapefruit Mint Granita by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Grapefruit Mint Granita is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

What a name! Grapefruit Mint Granita to me invokes the idea of an icy, fruity dessert with the cooling effects of mint and a punch of citrus goodness from the grapefruit. Granita, of course, being a frozen icy dessert from Italy, it really does invoke a certain picture in my mind of how I expect this green tea blend to taste.

Grapefruit Mint Granita came to me as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box and it is a subscriber exclusive currently. It came in a matte gold foil pouch with a colourful label. The aroma of the dry leaf is mostly mint, with hints of citrus in the background. I don’t really smell the green tea base, because the mint is that much stronger in fragrance.

This green tea blend consists of organic: green tea, hibiscus, orange peel, rose hips, spearmint and peppermint. No wonder the mint is so fragrant, there’s two in this blend!

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Grapefruit Mint Granita in 200°F (93°C) water for 5 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did this as a preparation for iced tea. I did an initial steep of 5 minutes and then poured it over a glass of ice.

First Taste

Grapefruit Mint Granita steeps to a pleasant punch of bright pink, many thanks to the hibiscus for that. The aroma of it is primarily mint with a hint of citrus in the background. The green tea base is lost, because of the strength in the mint and citrus in comparison. I found that the flavour to be an interesting balance between the minty freshness that was throughout the sip, but really highlighted itself in the aftertaste, with just a touch of the citrus that mingles in the background. There is a certain level of tartness that I attribute to the hibiscus, but I really found myself searching for the green tea and was hoping for a stronger citrus flavour to help make it seem like there was grapefruit in the blend.

A Second Cup?

I attempted a second steep of Grapefruit Mint Granita and found it quite minty still, but fell even shorter on the delivery of citrus goodness. I would recommend Grapefruit Mint Granita for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Dessert by Deb’s Grapefruit Mint Granita was just okay. The mint was an easy ingredient to find in the steeped tea, but I didn’t find myself thinking Italian iced dessert, or grapefruit. Certainly a bigger punch of citrus could make those dreams come true, for sure. I think it’s a lovely refreshing iced tea, and definitely should be had iced versus hot. I would consider steeping this in a pitcher and cutting it with some lemonade or grapefruit juice, I think it would just add a little something something with the burst of acidity and citrus flavour while the green tea would add the mint flavour and some extra freshness to it.

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