Octavia Tea

Thanks for the samples, Octavia tea!  I’m trying to get to the last couple!  This is an oolong that I would guess without knowing the name is a very long leafed black tea, mainly because I’m not usually drinking this type of oolong, so it would be at the back of my mind.  But Octavia sent it along and I’m happy to try it!  The dry leaf has an aroma of very tangy peach and after a rinse, that is exactly what it tastes like.  Very tangy peach.  The second steep is much less peach and more of a roasty earthy mineral flavor with an aftertaste of peach.  The third steep is almost a combination of the tangy peach first steep and the roasty second steep.  The first steep was my favorite.  I’m glad I used two teaspoons.  If I had to compare this to another tea, it would be Teavivre’s Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree Black which is one of my favorite teas, so that is saying something for this tea, though this oolong might not be on the same level as the other.  But this is very good if you’re craving this kind of tea!
Steep #1  // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 19 minutes after boiling  // rinse // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 15 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled  // 2 min

Thanks for the samples a while ago, Octavia tea!  I’m trying to get to the remaining couple of teas before they get any older.   This is a small leafed black tea that should have citrus peels in it, but I’m not really seeing any in my sample.  I’m trying and trying to find any citrus flavor here at all, and I’m just not tasting any of it.  As a black tea, it’s delicious enough.  Robust, malty, brassy with a very dark brew.  It isn’t QUITE a CTC base, but the leaves are finely chopped.  I like this as a black tea, but if it claims to be citrus, I really am searching for that citrus. 
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 4 minutes after boiling //  3-4 min steep

additional notes: This is a Ceylon I can stand behind.. but possibly that is just because I’m overleafing it. There is some flavor there that a typical Ceylon wouldn’t have. If I had to stock up on a plain Ceylon, it might be this one (first choice though would be most of the amazing stuff over at teakruthi…. they specialize in Ceylon and they have some great teas.)
2024 sipdowns: 77

I still have a handful of Octavia samples to write up.  Thanks, Octavia!  They are having a 25% off over $45 sale for a few days with code ‘WELLNESS’ however their free shipping code doesn’t work along with it.  The leaves don’t really look like the photo – mine are much shorter and no gold…  I’m not one for Ceylon, but his one is robust and full of flavor (what I don’t usually expect from Ceylon).  It’s almost like an Assam in flavor profile.  Strong, brassy, malty.  The second steep is brisk.  I’m glad I only used one teaspoon.  Flavors of bread turn into thick rye bread when cooled, maybe a bit of red wine with a hint of dried hay.  Definitely a Ceylon black I really like! 
Steep #1  // 1 heaping teaspoon for full mug // 15 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 3 minutes after boiling //  3 1/2 min

I don’t love turmeric in teas, but there were few enough non-caffeinated teas in the tea box that I figured I might as well try them all. It’s not too bad, but as usual, it would be more pleasant if it were just ginger. Instead it’s slightly dirty ginger. It’s warming with just a touch of spiciness. The more I drank it, the more I did start to enjoy it, strangely. I guess what I’m saying is I wouldn’t not drink this again.

An Ode to Tea challenge – D

I didn’t really want to let this tea go, but I didn’t have too many other teas to finish for ‘D’.   It’s definitely rosey!  I still have some Teavivre Rose Puerh that can fill this spot in the cupboard though.
2021 sipdowns:  64

Thanks so much for the samples, Octavia Tea!  Another I had on Valentine’s Day.  I didn’t intentionally wait to try this on Valentine’s Day but it seems a goodaday as any.  The cutest tiny heart shaped ripe pu-erh that unravels into small pieces of pu-erh and plenty of tiny rose petal pieces as well.  The rose flavor is certainly there in the cup.  The pu-erh is definitely dark yet none of the negative pu-erh qualities at all.  The third steep I really let loose for a very long time (15 minutes), and surprisingly for a pu-erh it did have a touch of bitterness.  User error.  But this might be the longest I’ve ever let a pu-erh steep.  Dark enough, smooth enough, and rose enough.  There is nothing to dislike in this unique offering. Back to the regularly scheduled teabox teas….
Steep #1  // 1 piece for full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // rinse // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 1/2 min steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 15 min steep

An Ode to Tea challenge #2– R

additional notes: Finished this sample, a little bit bland and flavorless to be honest, and I don’t consider this older. The leaves aren’t that golden to me, which I know wouldn’t have aged as well, so I’m not sure what happened. I know I used enough leaves. Anyway, one less tea around…
2021 sipdowns: 101

Thanks again for the samples, Octavia Tea!  I was craving a sweet yet robust assam today, and this was perfect for that craving.  The medium sized leaves aren’t as golden in color as the name would suggest.  An occasional leaf has the occasional bit of gold.  This is everything I could ever wish an assam to be — it hits all those assam flavor notes.  It’s a perfect flavor profile for assam.  Robust yet bright, deep but with fruity and bready characteristics.  The mouthfeel is thirst quenching, if that makes sense.  Great with breakfast (first steep) or dinner (second steep).
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 heaping teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled  // 3 minute steep

I don’t have any French teas (I tried samples of several for the first time last year, courtesy of Dustin and Cameron! But, in a surprising turn of events, I actually finished them off in a timely manner and didn’t horde them.) So I’m using this for the sipdown prompt “Drink a French tea” since it has “French” in the title.

This is such a lovely vanilla rose black tea. It reminds me a lot of Tea Chai Te’s “Vanilla Rose Chai” or 52Teas’ “Breakfast in Bed” but sans any spices. The base is sweet with just a hint of smokiness from the Chinese black, which comes out with a sort of honey/caramel note mixed with the vanilla. The rose is sweet but it is not strongly floral (since I love rose I could’ve done with even more, but this gentler touch is still very pleasant).

I picked up 1 oz. of this tea last summer during my Oregon Coast/Portland vacation, from a lovely chocolate shop called Cannon Beach Chocolate Cafe. I thought I should finally get around to writing up my tea drinking from that trip/the PDX Tea Fes… part of me was thinking, “It happened last July, who cares now?” but if eastkyteaguy can catch up on backlogged reviews, why can’t I? Since I had the dry leaf of this one I decided to make up a cup to enjoy while working on my write-ups.

I’ll admit, when I saw this chocolate shop had a (small) selection of Octavia teas (and you could purchase by the ounce!) I had to have a cuppa. I was most interested in this one since tea-sipper loves it so much.

The tea has a strong vanilla aroma, and I pick up hints of caramel/molasses in the aroma as well. The tea is medium bodied, so not as strong as most breakfast teas, and the base tea (a blend of Dian Hong and Ancient Yunnan Broken Pekoe) has notes of malt, honey, and orange rind, with a subtle smokiness. The vanilla flavor is smooth and brings out a somewhat caramel note from the sweetness with the base tea for me. When I tried this initially at the shop, I didn’t pick up any florality from the cup, but today I am tasting a very subtle rose sweetness near the end of the sip. It is not a strong, defined rose flavor, more of a whisper. The tea is quite smooth, with a very light astringency toward the back of my tongue/mouth after the sip.

It is a very satisfying tea and I’m glad I picked up a small amount so I could revisit it!

Another sample from Octavia Tea! Thanks so much! Mango teas are some of my favorites, so I had to try this one. Summer is waning so I have to revisit the mango and melon teas in my collection! This is a lovely looking white tea with itty bitty pieces of mango. Mango and melon have always paired well with white teas and this is no exception. Somehow to me, this tastes more like melon, or it’s switching between the two flavors. Possibly the white tea naturally tastes like melon. But then the hairs on the white tea give the tea a starchy quality like mango occasionally has in the fruit itself. It’s refreshing, light, and definitely fruity. I bet this is even better when you use around three teaspoons for a mug but I didn’t want to do that to my sample. I do give the tea points for actually including mango in the blend and not just flavoring.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 26 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep

Thanks again for the samples, Octavia Tea! I usually wouldn’t choose an English Breakfast myself, but this particular one couldn’t be better. The leaves are smaller, almost like a CTC leaf, but I think that is what an English Breakfast tea should be. No weak breakfast teas for me, please. I certainly would love to drink this during breakfast! I steeped up a teaspoon and a quarter and the brew was mighty dark — not too dark to be astringent though. The flavor is a great example of what to expect from this type: malty and sweet, yet bold but not bitter. The first cup tasted like tomato soup, which led me to believe that it was an assam, so I wasn’t surprised to see the origin for this tea on Octavia’s website as being Assam, India. I believe an English Breakfast shouldn’t only be from Assam (a typical blend is also from Kenya and Ceylon, according to Wikipedia) but this is such a great tea, I won’t complain much. A kick in the morning and very tasty!
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoons for a full mug // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

additional notes: As a ripe pu-erh, this is enjoyable, but if it is Octavia’s only ripe pu-erh, it might be the only ripe pu-erh that some tea drinkers will be introduced to. I was iffy about using the remainder of my sample pouch, almost two teaspoons, but don’t regret it now, as it made for a richer sipdown. Nothing offensive to this pu-erh but the first steep was a little thin for my tastes. Though reading my first note now, I did notice that two teaspoons is essential, so maybe this steep session wasn’t QUITE two teaspoons….
2022 sipdowns: 136

Holiday Tea 2022 # 39: Bird & Blend – Moondrop Dreams (advent)
Holiday Tea 2022 # 40: Angry Tea Room – Gingerbread Cookie

Thanks so much for the samples, Octavia Tea! To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much in a pu-erh from a tea shop that doesn’t specialize in pu-erh, or at least carry more than a handful of them… but I WAS WRONG. This ripe pu-erh is amazing. None of those unlikable pu-erh characteristics in scent or flavor. It’s delicious the entire steep session. Just the pu-erh I was craving yesterday. Two teaspoons is the essential amount for a mug. The scent of the dry leaves is like a bread baked with hay. The flavor is much the same, but with sweetness, starchiness, and even at times a bit of a creamy taste and mouthfeel. I think I could have steeped more than three delicious steeps with these leaves. It’s very smooth but at the same time very dark and everything I always want in a great ripe pu-erh. I don’t bother with the highest quality pu-erh, but I’ve had enough pu-erh to know that this one is good enough for me to be a favorite.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // rinse // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 7 minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

Thanks for another sample, Octavia Tea! I was not enthusiastic about this one, as I’m not a fan of turmeric. The couple of times I had a turmeric tea it was too bitter with an odd dusty quality. I couldn’t tell what the appeal of turmeric was. But apparently it’s a healthy. I usually don’t like ginger either. And ginger and turmeric come from the same plant family so it’s no wonder I don’t like them. So this tea might not have been the one I’d choose to reach for. Anyway, this is the best a turmeric cup can possibly get and was actually enjoyable, resulting in a flavor that was mostly licorice. The licorice was probably included to make the turmeric smoother. The golden brew was earthy and sweet. Not too many of the citrus ingredients came through in the flavor: Licorice first, turmeric second. I expected a much worse result.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // just boiled // 6 minute steep

Thanks again for the amazing samples, Octavia Tea! This is a classic Chinese Yunnan tea: Black leaves with touches of gold. One heaping teaspoon seems to make the perfect brew. This is everything I want and expect in a classic Yunnan tea. The brew is black as night, the mouthfeel is smooth and silky, no astringency or bitterness can be found. Even the third steep in which I only filled the mug half full was very delicious and full of flavor. Lovely chocolate notes with hints of sweet potato and even a bit of a starchy quality. It’s a lovely tea. I really like it. I’d stock up on this one. The cupboard must always have at least one Yunnan!
I’ll also say: I do like many of Octavia’s teas, but their sizes are a bit awkward. They have a sample size that has a few teaspoons, then a tin with 1-3 ounces of each tea depending on the tea, then the other option is a full pound. (I like their packaging for the samples though – very thick and resealable!) So I wish they had a two ounce pouch option or something. That is my one complaint of Octavia’s awesome teas so far!
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep
Steep #3 // (half mug) just boiled // 6 minute steep

I’m sad this has never received any other tasting notes from others.  Very comparable to Lupicia’s Earl Grey Chocolat if anyone is looking for something similar to that.  It’s amazing that chocolate and bergamot work this well together.  Will miss this one!  But I have some of the Lupicia around.
2022 sipdowns: 112

How am I the first to write a tasting note for this one?!? Another from Octavia Tea… thanks so much! I was intrigued by this one and for good reason. I have no idea how bergamot works so well with chocolate, but it just does. Maybe it’s like those chocolate oranges. They seem like an odd combination, but they work. There are so many chocolate chips in the blend… BIG chocolate chips. Also plenty of rose petals. So not a lot of room for the black tea leaves, at least in my sample. For that reason the color of the brew looks more like a milk chocolate than a dark chocolate but the flavor is divine. Plenty of that chocolate melted. But there is also a lovely bergamot, sweet, that pairs very well with the chocolate. Basically the perfect type of bergamot that will work with chocolate. I’m not tasting very much rose from the petals, but it’s fine with me if I’m tasting mostly bergamot and chocolate. Also included is some carob, that gives it that extra level of flavor, a nice tang of bittersweet. I like that the base tea is Chinese black tea… if I had to say which base is most like chocolate on its own, I would say a Chinese black. So it’s a good choice here. All of the ingredients really compliment each other. The second cup was just as delicious, probably allowing the chocolate chips to melt the rest of the way. If you like Lupicia’s Earl Grey Chocolat, you’d probably like this. (Incidentally, to make sure I had the name correct on the Lupicia, I noticed I also gave that tea a rating of 94.) This cup is quite the indulgence, absolutely delicious, a dainty appreciative slow sipper. A favorite from Octavia, definitely.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 19 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4-5 minute steep

Another fantastic sample from Octavia Tea! Thanks again! I’m very picky about my Earls but this one passes the test. The base tea is robust and strong. But the bergamot is also strong, doesn’t waver in the face of this strong base! I like the strong citrusy aromatic bergamot here. My favorite Earls need to have the distinct base tea battling a tough bergamot and this Earl definitely does that. My absolute favorite Earls need to have a cream flavor, but I will admit this isn’t supposed to be creamy anyway. The photo of the tea looks like a Yunnan with occasional golden leaves, but my sample had no gold at all and was a pure black tea. The description does mention the base tea being Yunnan. I’m not sure if my sample still is… if I had to guess I’d say it was Assam. I’d probably like bergamot better with Assam rather than Yunnan anyway. Both steeps were delicious and full of flavor. Not my favorite Earl ever, but that is an impossible bar to reach anyway.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 19 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

Another tasty sample from Octavia Tea – thanks again! This is one of those lovely oolongs from Taiwan. The description says this is also called “Jade Oolong” or “Four Seasons”. One heaping teaspoon of bright emerald unravels into a full infuser basket of leaves. The flavor was a tiny bit astringent so I don’t think I need to use a full teaspoon for a mug. But the flavor otherwise was sweet, fruity, floral, slightly creamy and buttery and overall a high quality Taiwanese oolong. This seems to combine 99% of the flavor notes that most green oolongs usually have: fruity, floral, sweet, creamy, buttery. It’s almost like an oolong of broad flavor categories rather than specific flavor details. Getting rid of that astringency by using less leaves would make it even better. I will admit this is a tough one to describe other than delicious. (But sometimes it’s okay to just note how good a tea is… or isn’t?)
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 12 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 2 min

Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 1/2 minute steep

Thanks again for the samples, Octavia Tea! The idea of a strictly peach oolong does seem AMAZING in theory. As it’s marketed as a peach oolong, I don’t see or taste much in the way of peach or oolong. There are too many other ingredients here. I see the occasional long piece of oolong leaf primarily after the tea is steeped. Otherwise, it’s a fruity cup with plenty of lemongrass, tiny apple cubes, hibiscus, and an occasional orange slice. The description also mentions peach, so maybe they are indistinguishable from the apple cubes. I used 1 3/4 teaspoons to make sure I had a decent amount of the ingredients in the cup. Overall, it certainly tastes fruity, but a bit too much of the hibiscus drowns out those other flavors, definitely overpowering any oolong flavor. This one certainly tastes better in the summer than it would in the winter. Since lemons are cheap right now (ten for a dollar!), I added a bit of lemon to the second steep and it tasted delicious with that citrus wedge that was already in the infuser.
Steep #1 // 1 3/4 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – May Tea #9: – A lemon tea

I didn’t really want to finish this one!  But I guess I have a little bit left of Moondrop Dreams  and Tealyra’s Lavender Lemon Potion — I like both of them more.   The dregs of this sample seem like mostly stevia and I’m sure the lemon myrtle profile is not helping that.  But I just love lavender and lemon as a combination, the more blends the merrier.
2022 sipdowns: 66