No, I don't mean cookies that Chinese have as they drink tea... I literally mean Chinese tea-flavoured cookies. I saw online that Kee Wah had these Chinese tea cookies, and so got someone I know to buy it back from Hong Kong... no regrets at all!
For some reason, everything about them strikes me as Chinese as opposed to, say, American. They are thin, smooth, perfectly circular, perfectly tapering edges, and not very sweet... like smooth Chinese lacquer or jade accessories. (Whereas American cookies tend to be thick, rough and rocky-looking, hand-rolled in unevenness, and really sweet.)
They came in four flavours - black tea, oolong tea, jasmine tea and green tea (the fragrant Chinese version). All the flavours were really fragrant, really like drinking a well-brewed and high quality bubble tea where you can savour the differences in each type of tea leaf.
The cookies were all very crispy and crunchy, although in a finer, more delicate way than the hearty crunch of American cookies. I would think these were made from a similar batter as the crispy top coating of a Hong Kong polo bun.
Black Tea Cookie
This had a strong and very fragrant black tea flavour... don't know how to describe it. It's probably the most standard of the Chinese teas, so I'll make reference to this when I talk about all the other flavours.
As you can see, the cookie was relatively dark and had a reddish hue. (I tried to reproduce the hues as much as possible in the images. You can also see the tea leaves in the cookie itself.
Oolong Tea Cookie
This had a lighter and sweeter fragrance than the black tea cookie.
It was also slightly paler in colour and less red.
Jasmine Tea Cookie
This had a mellower fragrance, and it struck me as more soothing... if you're familiar with the jasmine fragrance, I guess you would know what I'm talking about. Its fragrance was also slightly milder than the black tea and oolong tea cookies.
Perhaps because of the milder fragrance, the cookie also came across as less sweet to me.
In terms of appearance, it was as red as the black tea cookie in hue, but paler.
Green Tea Cookie
It really tasted like fragrant Chinese green tea, with a soothing or calming aftertaste. Some part of it reminded me vaguely of baby soap haha.
This was obviously green, with no flecks of tea leaves.
And here's how the packaging looks life, for reference. Each box came with two packets of each flavour, and each packet contained three of these delicate cookies. They were pretty delicate... slightly under half of them had cracked in transit. I believe you can see a crack in one of the oolong tea cookies. Anyway, I thought it was reasonably priced for a nice gift for friends... about S$20 per box.
What really impressed me overall was how fragrant and authentic the tea flavours were, and how you could clearly taste the differences, as well as see the differences in the colours and textures of the cookies. It's like fine Chinese tea appreciation, only cookie version.
And perhaps with the flavours mingling with the wheat in the cookie, it may also make for a better tutorial than sipping different teas in terms of helping you appreciate the differences.
The only downside to this is that they used shortening to bake the cookies. So that means that I won't buy this again. But I would definitely recommend anyone to try this once... hydrogenated fats don't make a huge impact after a one-off consumption.
For some reason, everything about them strikes me as Chinese as opposed to, say, American. They are thin, smooth, perfectly circular, perfectly tapering edges, and not very sweet... like smooth Chinese lacquer or jade accessories. (Whereas American cookies tend to be thick, rough and rocky-looking, hand-rolled in unevenness, and really sweet.)
They came in four flavours - black tea, oolong tea, jasmine tea and green tea (the fragrant Chinese version). All the flavours were really fragrant, really like drinking a well-brewed and high quality bubble tea where you can savour the differences in each type of tea leaf.
The cookies were all very crispy and crunchy, although in a finer, more delicate way than the hearty crunch of American cookies. I would think these were made from a similar batter as the crispy top coating of a Hong Kong polo bun.
Black Tea Cookie
As you can see, the cookie was relatively dark and had a reddish hue. (I tried to reproduce the hues as much as possible in the images. You can also see the tea leaves in the cookie itself.
Oolong Tea Cookie
It was also slightly paler in colour and less red.
Jasmine Tea Cookie
Perhaps because of the milder fragrance, the cookie also came across as less sweet to me.
In terms of appearance, it was as red as the black tea cookie in hue, but paler.
Green Tea Cookie
This was obviously green, with no flecks of tea leaves.
And here's how the packaging looks life, for reference. Each box came with two packets of each flavour, and each packet contained three of these delicate cookies. They were pretty delicate... slightly under half of them had cracked in transit. I believe you can see a crack in one of the oolong tea cookies. Anyway, I thought it was reasonably priced for a nice gift for friends... about S$20 per box.
And perhaps with the flavours mingling with the wheat in the cookie, it may also make for a better tutorial than sipping different teas in terms of helping you appreciate the differences.
The only downside to this is that they used shortening to bake the cookies. So that means that I won't buy this again. But I would definitely recommend anyone to try this once... hydrogenated fats don't make a huge impact after a one-off consumption.
If you're interested in other Chinese-tea flavoured snacks, check out chrysanthemum tea chocolate, jasmine green tea chocolate and green tea yuzu swiss roll.
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