70
drank Ginger Peach by Octavia Tea
16650 tasting notes

Sipdown (113)!

This is one of three extra samples in my order from Octavia Tea. Honestly, I really did consider adding it to my order but Blood Orange won out in favour because of the lack of ginger in that one. Still, I was happy to see this in the box anyway!

Dry, this smells of solid ginger. Really, we’re talking so much ginger and I’m not just saying that because I’m not a lover of the stuff. And taste wise, as expected, this is heavy handed with the ginger – why wouldn’t it be? I mean, it’s a ginger peach tea with lots of ginger in it: this is not a shocking discovery. But it’s not all ginger: peach notes are present underneath that layer of ginger, especially on the back of the tongue after those first few initial seconds of ginger overload. Don’t gulp this one down. You need to go sip by sip and not rush the cup, otherwise you’ll miss the peach in it!

Worth note: I lost track of time steeping this and it got a couple extra minutes because I was focusing on my cooking and not my tea. This may have contributed some to the ginger imbalance, but not positive on that given the dry smell and generous amount of noticable ginger in the dry leaf. And, despite extra steep time this wasn’t even a bit bitter, so I’m impressed with that.

So overall; despite the fact this leans more heavily to ginger than peach I didn’t mind it no matter how my review seems to sound otherwise. I read this review to my Dad, since I’m writing on my laptop during the drive home and he said “Wow, you really hated it”. I didn’t hate it…

So far I’ve tried two Octavia Teas, and while I haven’t found one I’d reorder I definitely wouldn’t call either of them misses.

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Bio

Hello! My name is Kelly, though many people in the tea community call me Ros or Roswell.

I am a mid-twenties tea addict, blogger, and all around nerd. I grew up in the Prairies, but a few years ago I relocated to Quebec to pursue a career with DAVIDsTEA in the tea industry! I’m still working on getting my French language skills down…

My first introduction to tea, in any form outside of instant and bottled iced tea, was about seven years ago when I happened to stumble upon DAVIDsTEA while looking for a birthday present for a friend! I tried their Birthday Cake rooibos blend, and I’ve been hooked on tea ever since! In those seven years; I was introduced to the online tea community, expanded my interest in flavoured teas to include a deep love and appreciation for straight teas and traditional brewing methods, got a tea themed tattoo, started reviewing teas, amassed a sizable tea and teaware collection, became a TAC certified Tea Sommelier, & even came full circle by beginning a career in the tea industry with DAVIDsTEA!

I consider myself a Jack of all Teas, and strive to have a knowledge and appreciation of all tea types, formats, and styles of drinking. I don’t like to feel boxed in to just being a “flavoured tea” or “straight tea” drinker – my expectations may vary depending on the type of tea or how it’s been processed/prepared but if it’s good tea, it’s good tea no matter how it’s been made!

You name it, I probably drink it- and I’ll absolutely try anything at least once.

My default method of preparation is hot, Western style, and straight – but I’m not opposed to additions if I’m in the right mood. If I ever add something to a tea or use a different method of preparation I will ALWAYS call it out in the tasting note though.

I like to listen to music when drinking tea, especially when I’m brewing a large pot at a time or steeping Gongfu. Often I curate very intentional tea and music pairings, and sometimes I share them here in my tasting reviews. Music is something that I find can deeply affect the experience of having tea.

I’m also one half of the “tea and fandom” podcast GeekSteep where, weekly, we discuss newly explored fandoms over tea as well as try to figure out the perfect tea to pair with each fandom. You can find us on Spotify and Apple & Google podcasts.

Favourite flavour notes/ingredients: Pear, lychee, cranberry, cream, melon, pineapple, malt, roasty, petrichor, sweet potato, heady florals like rose, hazelnut or walnut, sesame, honey (in moderation), and very woody shou.

Least favourite flavour notes/ingredients:
Lemongrass, ginger, strongly spiced profiles (and most Chai in general), mushrooms, seaweed, chamomile, stevia, saltiness or anything that reminds me too much of meat that isn’t supposed to taste like meat…

Currently exploring/obsessed with: Sheng from Yiwu, Yancha (Qilan in particular), anything with a strong sweet potato note. Also, I need to try ALL the root beer teas! Searching for a really good caramel flavoured blend, ideally with a black tea base.

Please contact me at the instagram account listed below if you would like me to review your teas.

Currently I’m employed in the tea department of the DAVIDsTEA head office. While I’m still sharing my own personal thoughts on new & existing DAVIDsTEA blends, I am no longer numerically rating them due to the obvious conflict of interest. Any comments expressed are a reflection of my own thoughts and opinions, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the company. Any DAVIDsTEA blends you currently see with a numeric score were reviewed prior to my being hired there and have not been adjusted since becoming a DAVIDsTEA employee.

Location

Montreal, QC, CA

Website

https://www.instagram.com/ros...

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