Tea: Ancient Yunnan
A Yunnan Gold from Octavia Tea - 
Organic
| Brand: | Octavia Tea |
| Style: | Yunnan Gold |
| Region: | Yunnan, China |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Loose? | Loose |
| # Ratings: | 2 View All |
| Product page: | Ancient Yunnan |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 27 of Yunnan Gold
✓ 42 of Yunnan Red
✓ 40 of Octavia Tea
✓ 81 from Yunnan, China
✓ 382 from China
Review of Ancient Yunnan
November 22nd, 2014
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 8 of 10 | 5 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 80 of 100 |
| Excellent | Excellent | Good Value |
Sampled in Velvet Sky Bakery in Jenkintown.
A smoother-than-average Yunnan black tea (Dian hong) with a classic character, slightly nondescript, but with a hearty, warming quality that makes it very pleasant to drink. Not quite as mind-blowingly awesome or weird as some of the ancient-tree Yunnan teas I've had, but very enjoyable.
Aroma is subdued, and very balanced, but complex: notes of fruit (raisin), wood smoke, and malt. There are a few resinous notes in the aroma too, hinting at eucalyptus. Flavor is bold but relatively smooth...a strong tea, but not overly bitter, and with just the right amount of astringency to make it very rich and thick. Finish is less peppery than most Yunnan teas.
Easily brews two cups. I liked a briefer first steeping, 2-3 minutes, followed by a longer (4-5 minute) second cup. Probably would brew more cups if you used more leaf and a shorter infusion.
An excellent winter tea; I could see drinking this every day in winter, although I would probably not enjoy it quite as much in summer, but this is the type of tea I'd never complain about drinking.
Add your own review
Comments:
 | Alex wrote: on June 12th, 2018 |
"Not quite as mind-blowingly awesome or weird as some of the ancient-tree Yunnan teas I've had"
What would you say is a good example of that?
 | Alex Zorach wrote: on June 13th, 2018 |
Unfortunately the tea I had in mind most when I wrote that comment, was the Ancient Gan Tong tea from Wild Tea Qi, and they no longer sell it...but I've generally liked the teas from that company, and while I haven't tried them recently, they seemed to be getting better over the years I sampled them.
I've also had some Pu-erh teas from TeaVivre that were like this...two of them had a peculiar concord grape aroma, the most notable was the Xi Gui Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh Cake 2013, I don't know if this is still available or not but they probably have something similar.
| Alex wrote: on June 13th, 2018 |
I actually almost got a sample of that cake, but I had heard mixed opinions about Teavivre's pu-erh, so I decided it would be better to get my first sheng from somewhere that's known specifically for pu-erh. I'll try it if I order from Teavivre again, which I probably will because of their roasted Dong Ding and Bi Luo Chun.
