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
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
