Tag: Subscription Box

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Dessert by Deb’s Thai Coconut Milk Tea

Thai Coconut Milk Tea by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Thai Coconut Milk Tea is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Thai Coconut Milk Tea came as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box, and the name really intrigued me. As you may know if you’ve been following my blog and Instagram (@onemoresteep) for a while now, I’m a huge fan of Hong Kong Style Milk Tea. It’s something that I’ve grown up drinking. But Thai milk tea? Not something that I’m too familiar with. I think I tried it at a Vancouver Tea Festival, but not something that I’m super familiar with.

This black tea blend came to me in a sealed, resealable golden pouch. When I opened the package, the thing that really caught my attention first was the smell of the coconut and lemongrass. I do love the brightness of lemongrass, so it’s a pleasant aroma. Thai Coconut Milk Tea consists of organic: black tea, coconut, lemongrass, vanilla, and toasted coconut. It’s quite a pretty dry leaf:

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Thai Coconut Milk Tea in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 to 7 minutes, and to enjoy this black tea blend as an iced tea latte. I opted to follow the steeping recommendations and do a steep for 6 minutes. I added the tea to ice in a tall glass, and topped it off with organic unsweetened soy milk.

First Taste

Thai Coconut Milk Tea steeps to a light golden yellow. There’s a nice fragrance of coconut and lemongrass, I don’t really notice the black tea base when I tried it straight. It’s kind of nice, but not too exciting when drank plain. After topping off the tea with some soy milk, the colour turns to a milky light tan colour (perhaps too much milk to tea?). The flavour is nicely coconut and lemongrass, with hints of black tea which shines a bit more than it did when I tried it plain. It’s not as sweet as I was expecting, but there were any super sweet ingredients in the blend, and nor did I add sweetener.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Thai Coconut Milk Tea once, but found that the flavour with the coconut and the lemongrass wasn’t really present compared to the initial steep. I would recommend just the initial steep if you’re interested in having it as intended (as an iced latte).

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Thai Coconut Milk Tea. For a nice at-home iced tea latte option, I found Thai Coconut Milk Tea to be pleasantly flavourful. I think the black tea base could be stronger, but the coconut and lemongrass notes are pleasant. I would recommend to prepare it as intended (iced latte versus straight/plain), and perhaps adding some form of sweetener to really have a nice tropical milk tea vibe (rock sugar would be a great option!).

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Dessert by Deb’s Jasmine Rainbow Punch

Jasmine Rainbow Punch by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Jasmine Rainbow Punch is a green tea blend that I received as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box – fun fact, this is not a subscriber exclusive. It came in a matte gold bag with a very familiar colourful label on the front. At first glance at the name, I thought that it might be a fruit tisane but it’s not, Jasmine Rainbow Punch is green tea blend! Music to my ears because green tea does lend itself well to go with fruity notes.

Jasmine Rainbow Punch’s pouch is sealed and resealable, which is one of my preferred packaging features. The dry leaf is quite pretty! It has a bright citrus and floral aroma to it. Jasmine Rainbow Punch is certainly a rainbow of colourful ingredients and consists of organic: green tea, jasmine, apple, hibiscus, rosehips, orange peel, oranges, calendula petals.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Jasmine Rainbow Punch in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to follow the recommended steeping temperature and steeped for 5 minutes. The packaging also says to drinks as an iced tea, so I followed that as well.

First Taste

Jasmine Rainbow Punch steeps to a bright, deep pink colour. I credit that to the hibiscus, because I know how colourful that flower can be. The aroma is floral and citrus from the orange. I did take a sip of the hot tea, and found it to be kind of meh. Then I poured it over iced and it really did wonders for the tea. There’s a pleasant citrus flavour, the floral notes from the jasmine are brightened up when iced, and I found it to have a nice mix of fruity sweetness and tart from the hibiscus.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Jasmine Rainbow Punch, but found that the flavour to be lacking compared to the initial steep. I really enjoyed the brightness in the initial steep, but the second steep wasn’t just living up to my expectations – but I wasn’t too surprised as fruit in blends don’t tend to hold up well to being resteeped.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Jasmine Rainbow Punch. I really enjoyed the initial steep of these leaves – it just has a nice brightness, lovely citrus notes that are so inviting. The directions to enjoy as an iced tea were true, as I greatly enjoyed it as an iced tea and found it a bit meh while hot, but it wasn’t meant to be drank hot. I would even go as far as recommend having it with a slice of lemon or mixing with lemonade to add even more brightness to it.

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Dessert by Deb’s Marshmallow Crispy Square

Marshmallow Crispy Square by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Marshmallow Crispy Square came in my Dessert by Deb subscription box and this one is not a subscriber exclusive so you’re able to get it from her website. Coming in a shiny metallic pouch, Marshmallow Crispy Square can be seen through the clear plastic window. At first glance it looks like a genmaicha (a Japanese green tea with roasted/popped rice), but there’s a bit more to it than that.

Marshmallow Crispy Square consists of organic: green tea, popped rice, coconut, toasted coconut, and palm sugar. It definitely smells like a genmaicha – it has some great popcorn notes from that rice, and there’s the coconut for some added interest that just makes me want to try it out.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Marshmallow Crispy Square in 95°C (200°F) water for 5 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep with the recommended water temperature for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Marshmallow Crispy Square steeps to an orange-brown colour. It smells like a genmaicha. The flavour is sweet, has those familiar popcorn notes from the popped rice, a nice amount of umami from the green tea base, and then there’s the coconut. It’s not as forefront as I expected in the flavour profile, but I think that’s because the popped rice is so strong – which isn’t a bad thing! There is the natural sweetness from the coconut, and it has a nice flavour, just playing in the background and it adds a nice tropical pizzazz to the tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Marshmallow Crispy Square and found that the flavour wasn’t quite what it was in the initial steep. I found it to be less sweet, with less coconut notes and muted of the popcorn flavours. It was a decent resteep, but I prefer the initial steep much more overall.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Marshmallow Crispy Square. While I didn’t really get the marshmallow notes, I definitely found the popped rice did a great job of providing the aroma of the iconic cereal in the treat. This is a lovely twist on a classic traditional Japanese tea, and as a fan of genmaicha it was a nice tea to drink. It does lovely as a hot tea, and I think it’d be nice iced (I do love an iced genmaicha!), I think the coconut would really shine in an iced tea preparation.

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