Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Tea Review: Octavia Oolong

Thirsty Thursday #10

Octavia Tea

Eight Immortals Dancong

Hi! A friend asked about oolong tea so I thought I'd try to find the best one to send her.
I always call this one Eight Immortals Dancing. I know that's not the actual name. It's really dancong; which is pronounced dan-tsong.
The back of this package is clear so you can see the lovely leaves. These leaves are from a hundred-year old tea tree. Isn't that cool!

The description says, "This classic dancong offers a creamy, velvety texture with generous notes of warm, buttery cinnamon buns and a lingering, orange-flower-honey finish." It smells really nice.
The description also mentions this is best brewed in a Chinese guywan. Since we don't have one of those I'm going to use our Tokyo teapot instead.
I've put 2 tablespoons of leaves in the infuser. The instructions say 1 tablespoon for each 8 ounces of water. The post holds 15 ounces.
Xyra has poured the water over the leaves and I am setting the timer for 4 minutes. That's just between the 3 and 5 mentioned.
While it steeps I've collected three cups for tasting.


[Timer beeps]

Look at the beautiful color.
I can smell the orangey flowery part.

This first sip is plain. I actually prefer oolong tea plain; depending on the blend it is the best way to enjoy all the flavors and aromas. I'm not getting the cinnamon buns, but am getting the flowery part.

I added sugar for my second taste. (The photo for that is terrible so I'm leaving it out.) Not bad. Kind of enhances the honey part.

Now with sugar and milk. Um, no. It's not horrible. You do get a creaminess, but it is smoother without.
Here you can see how the size of your teacup can influence the color of the tea. Xyra's mug is a deeper amber.
Now here is something neat. check out how the leaves unfold after steeping.
Cool, right?

Octavia Tea's Eight Immortals Dancing, oh, I mean, Dancong (giggles) is a very tasty tea. Smooth. Makes you sigh after a sip. We save this for special days.


Do you have a favorite oolong? What is it?

So glad you stopped. Come again soon!


#OctaviaTea
#TeaNerd

Note: Tea Time with Melody Q is not affiliated with American Girl, Octavia Tea, or The Tea Nerd. The tea reviewed was purchased for our collection with our own money. The review was unsolicited and comprised of our own thoughts and opinions and words.  Links are provided for educational and informative purposes; no purchase is required or suggested to enjoy the post. Should you be inspired to larn more or try it for yourself, the links will help point you in the right direction. 

8 comments:

  1. Thanks, now I have "eight immortals dancing" running through my head, making up additional parts such as "seven Slytherins seething, six willows weeping, five golden snitches!..."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shouldn't that be six willows womping? ;-)

      Delete
    2. :-D Too funny! Did you watch "Harry Potter and the Birthday Weekend" on Freeform? We caught most of it.

      [Note: That's not a new movie; it's the title Freeform gave to their Harry Potter Weekend that started July 29.]

      Delete
  2. Thanks , I've just been searching for info approximately this subject for a while and yours is the best I have discovered till now.

    However, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you sure
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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I see this is readily available on the Octavia Tea site. I hope you find it to enjoy.

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete