Octavia Tea

I wasn’t expecting much with the campy name, but this is competing with Gyokuro Yamashiro for the best green tea I’ve had. It’s buttery and even almost kind of sweet. I’ve never had a matcha/full leaf mix before. Too bad I only had a sample package of this! I’ve only got enough left for maybe one small cup. It’s expensive but I may have to get a tin of this…

Augh this tea smells soooooo gooooood. I don’t even know how to describe it except to say that it smells like berries and white tea, but that’s pretty obvious. But trust me it smells awesome. This is actually similar to my other Octavia white tea experience where it smells amazing but tastes weak as hell. What little flavour there is is actually very nice though. The white tea isn’t overwhelmed by the flavouring which often happens with whites, and it mixes really well with the berries. I did my usual short steeping time for flavoured white teas and used quite a bit of tea, but maybe next time I’ll try a longer steep.

Side note, I totally broke my clear David’s mug today. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
At least I got a lot of use out of it. And I still have its infuser and the lid so… it’s still a nice infuser. And this will give me an excuse to buy the new watercolour print one… but I really like clear mugs so maybe I’ll look for a cheap clear mug too.
Love of teaware + small apartment = bad.
Love of teaware + small apartment + clumsiness = good. Except for the whole spending money thing.

I drank this last night after a day full of (unsweetened) black tea: English breakfast, Irish breakfast, then French breakfast. So drinking this was like going to a rose garden after a day of something bold and brisk like uh… chainsaw shopping. I brewed it for 3 minutes and it came out just a little bitter, so I’ll try maybe 2 minutes next time. The dry leaves smelled like a bottle of vanilla extract to me, which I love. It showed up a great dark red colour and I got black tea + vanilla but without any creaminess. I think the rose petals are mostly there for show. I didn’t get any caramel, but maybe next time with a shorter brew? I only have a sample size but I think I might order a tin of this. It did make me picture some twee Parisian ivy-covered balcony.

Very very spicy and the orange oil is there too. I wouldn’t say it reminds me of pie at all. This would probably be good as a latte. I’m not really feeling it that much right now but I have a feeling I would love it in the fall.

I wasn’t expecting to like this one because I thought the dry leaves smelled weird and kind of alcohol-y. But it was actually amazing! The only chocolate teas I had tried before this one were from David’s, with the little tiny dark chocolate chips. This one had chunks of a lighter, milky chocolate and it made a huge difference in the taste. At first I thought the creaminess was caused by the vanilla, but I even tried a chocolate chip from a David’s tea and then a piece of chocolate from this tea to compare and it’s definitely the chocolate itself. I really like the milk chocolate, it makes it seem like more of a wintery tea. I didn’t taste the mint that much, I think I got it more in the feel than the taste. The second ingredient after rooibos is apple pieces! What?? I tried to taste the apple in this and didn’t get it at all. I wonder what they’re doing there? Despite the apple pieces and the melty nature of chocolate, this was good for a second steep too!

These are excellent pearls, I am very impressed by the fact that I poured the pearls out into my hand to examine them and there were very few broken and/or crushed tea leaf particles amongst the very uniform sized and shaped pearls. Quite often when I come across a jasmine pearl the leaves have some “leaf debris” … broken bits and pieces of leaf that end up sifting their way through the lid of the gaiwan and ending up in my strainer. (I strain the tea “twice” – once through the lid, which I then pour through a strainer, so I do not end up with these errant bits in my cup)

And the flavor is divine! A good balance of flavor – the tea tastes light and a touch buttery while the jasmine is sweet. No sharp or artificial jasmine notes. Nice.

SIPDOWN…this one will be missed! This is WONDERFUL! See previous notes :)

I got a sample of this as part of a Christmas present and tried it last night. I should probably say that I have a cold so my senses may be dulled!
This is one of the darker white teas that I’ve seen, both the dry leaves and the steeped tea. It smells amazing and light and extremely blueberry-y, but it didn’t really taste that way. It was a very light and mild taste, the blueberry was there, and a little of the white tea, but it was a little mehh for me. The second steep was basically the same, maybe a bit lighter still. But I’m looking forward to trying this one without having a cold!

Continuing with my “Diving Into My Random Stash” Game…I found this lil gem…it’s wonderful…I LOVE IT! Unfortunately, this is my last little bit…SIPDOWN…YUM…might have to reorder this one…upping rating…I see an Octavia Order in my future…hopefully…

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The Octavia Tea Company, Amber Dragon Oolong tea, 100% Organic

Infused for 4 minutes in water slightly below boiling

Nice tea, Crisp body, hints of woodiness and cocoa flavors.

Pictures here: http://vassbox.tumblr.com/post/12573900448

I give it 80/100. Nothing too special but a nice anytime tea.

The last of this tasty sample. Grandpa-style in a bowl. Delicious way to drink tea.

I just tossed a few of these pearls in with a re-steeping of English Tea Store’s Angels’ Dream tea. I was hoping that the floral, green tea flavour will meld wonderfully with the blackberry and maple flavours.
Perhaps it was not a wonderful melding, but it certainly is different and tasty.

Grandpa style!

This is a tea I save for the special occasions. If you are a fan of the lychee fruit, this is one to keep in the cupboard.

The aroma is very pleasant, with strong fruity notes and hints of floral. Lychee is the clear star of the show. You can taste it prominently with each sip, and a lingering sweet and creamy aftertaste will always be left in your mouth.

I made this according to the suggestions of all who liked it. Boiling water and steeped for 3-4 minutes, but mine came out SO bitter! I finished the cup, but I had to force myself to do it because I don’t like tossing out tea if I can help it. I have another cups worth of a sample to try again. Maybe I should let it steep more/less thoughts?

Thankfully this was just a sample size!

Doing a bit of mixing…this plus an earl grey black tea.

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Sadly the last of this sample, you will be missed.

This is an awesome Raspberry Champagne tea… I think it’s my favorite one that I’ve tried thus far. It is light, crisp and sweet. If I hadn’t read the ingredients and saw that it had hibiscus and stevia in it, I wouldn’t have guessed it. I can’t taste the tartness of the hibiscus, it only adds a light color to the cup. I can’t taste that funky aftertaste from the stevia. I taste raspberry and the light, crisp taste of champagne, as well as the jasmine and osmanthus. The honey tones are delightful.

Definitely the best Raspberry Champagne I’ve yet to encounter. I love it.

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This is a tea I got awhile back from TeaEqualsBliss thank you very much. Smells like a white tea with a touch of black teaness. Look wise is a white tea but dark leaves in to. This tastes refreshing and light and a medium tasting white tea with abit of floralness to it. And also a little black tea taste like to. I think this tea is really good tasting and I am happy that TeaEqualsBliss was kind enough to send me abit of it.