Ovation Teas

Backlog: After my first cup of this, I brewed it again, steeping for just 2 minutes in my Breville instead of the 2 1/2 minutes I steeped previously. This rendered a PERFECT cup of tea. No bitterness, beautiful flavors of fig and brown sugar. Delicious. The first cup tasted a bit more “toffee-ish” as it cooled slightly, as I think the combination of the bitter Assam bite and the brown sugar and fig created a sort of toffee flavor, and that toffee flavor was not as apparent in the second cup, but, it was still VERY yummy…

Next time I steep this, I shall have to remember to reduce the steep time, as the Assam in this does have a bitter bite to it. The fig is very dominant in the dry leaf aroma, but less apparent in the taste. Sure, the taste is there, but, just not as strong as the fragrance would lead one to believe. That could be due in part to the fact that the Assam has such a strong presence.

Before I rate this, I think I will wait until I steep it again. Perhaps I’ll have better luck with it with a shorter brew time.

SIPDOWN.
I really like this one!
It will be missed.

In an attempt to move and shake some tea and sipdown and trade…this was the one next on the list.

Sad but true.

Goodbye ole friend…

Kristin sent me some of this lil gem and I LOVE IT! It’s sweet and apple-Y and a bit of spice with lovely pecan notes! to sum it up but here are some additional notes on what’s going on here…

This smells really awesome! It’s like a warm appletini with pecans or maybe a creative hot toddy or hot “adult beverage” of sorts!

The apple is done perfectly for my palate! There is a bit of spice but not over the top – which to my palate and preferences is perfect as well! I really LOVE the pecan…it just might be my fave part – paired with the apple that is! There are nice hints of sugar, too, just enough to give it a POP.

This is wonderfully flavored!

I have to begin this tasting note with a caveat that I don’t usually like blueberry flavored things. I’m trying this one this morning because I have a groupon-style deal to this company that is expiring in the not-too-distant future, and I’m trying to decide what to order. It’s really tough! This company has a lot of blends that look tasty, not to mention the create-your-own blend option, but they don’t sell samples so I have to choose only a few. I’ve had one other tea from this company, the Brown Sugar Fig, which was also black, but I want to know how their Earl Grey base is. Also I need to try out their black tea base again… it’s a Assam/Ceylon blend, and I’m not the biggest fan of Assam.

However! This cup is very pleasant. The black tea base comes through as robust, but also very smooth and not bitter. It’s malty and plays well with the bergamot, which is bright and citrusy. The blueberry is omipresent and really the main flavor, but it’s not too overwhelming and I can still enjoy the cup. Of course now this only makes my ordering decision more difficult!

I tried this one with a little lower steep temperature this time since the assam seems to have a bit too much bite for my tastes. I love the concept behind Ovation Teas but I’m not sure if I’m in love with their black tea base.

So far so good! My first sips are yielding a slightly sweet, dried-figgy taste without any bitterness to the base. As it cools there is something that comes out… not quite a bitterness, but some kind of Assam-y-ness that I just don’t find very tasty. I don’t think that the base is low quality, I just think I generally dislike Assams. C’est la vie, you live and learn. I still enjoy the teas enough that can drink them, but I don’t think I’ll be craving them often (and some are probably good candidates for taking home to drink with a bit of milk and sugar).

I’ve been drinking a lot of flowery teas lately, and this afternoon I decided I wanted something with a bit more heft. I was going through the tea samples I got from SimplyJenW and this one definitely jumped out at me. Figs are one of my favorite! I’m so happy it’s fig season now and I can get them at the grocery store. I’ve really enjoyed the fig flavoring in some of the Dammann Freres teas I’ve had, so I’m excited to try this one with it’s unadultered fig. Also I have a groupon-type deal for Ovation Teas, and I’m glad to be able to try some of their teas before I buy!

The dry tea smells great, very much like sweet dried figs. The tea is speckled with rather large chunks of dried fig, I got two in my cup this time, which is promising. Steeped, I lose some of that rich, figgy aroma as the black tea base comes out, but I can still detect it when I breathe in deep. The flavor is sweet and nicely figgy. It’s not overwelming, but I definitely am getting the fig-in-tea flavor, as well as nice rounded eating-a-dried fig notes. The brown sugar flavoring just seems to accentuate the fig and give it more of a fig newton filling type of flavor. I am getting a hint of bitterness in this tea base, which means I will have to remember to brew it at a lower temp next time. The only thing I worried about with this one was the Assam, which I don’t think I’m partial to, but as long as I can prevent the bitterness I think the black tea base tastes fine. Thanks so much for the sample, Jen!

The dry leaves are a lovely combination of texture and color. I love the cute little downy balls contrasting with the more mature straight leaves. There’s strands of some yellow petal (marigold?) and little nuggets of orange rind. And for accent, jasmine buds are scattered about. It’s art, people!
It also smells wonderful, there’s the perfume-y fragrance of jasmine with the more lively spark of citrus, all mingled with the sweet grassy scent of a quality green tea.

The brewed liquor is an amber yellow. The taste is light and smooth but also surprising and pleasantly familiar. At first, the citrus and jasmine green flavors don’t seem to blend well together, but they really do. The flavors go back and forth on the tongue and stays interesting all the way to the bottom of the cup.

I think I probably didn’t use enough leaf, but that will be remedied with the 2nd steep by using less water.

Backlog: I had this a couple of weeks ago, and it was pointed out to me that I neglected to write a tasting note for it.

I really enjoyed this. It is very fruity, but I’m glad to say that the green tea flavor is not muted by the fruit flavors. Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/08/22/green-tea-fruit-smoothie-from-ovation-teas/

PS: Please note that the special offer from Daily Gourmet has since expired.

This was a sample from the lovely SimplyJenW! Thanks a bunch!

Overall, this tea was pretty much right up my alley! The aroma of the brown sugar and figs really takes this tea and makes it into something a bit special. I tried the tea sans additions and it was just okay. But making a tea latte by adding milk and sugar really suits this one! Delicious, sweet, and creamy! Thanks again Jen!

Pro: strong flavor. Con: needs milk to cut the bitterness.

The fig comes across very strongly in this tea’s aroma and taste. If you love fig, this is the tea for you! Unfortunately, I don’t think I do and it took this tea to figure that out.

The black tea base is complementary to the flavorings. I’m not getting much in the way of brown sugar here. I think the fig overpowers it, so I added my own sweetener.

This was my first Ovation Tea experience, and it was a good one to start with. The high quality of their teas definitely comes through.

Thank you, SimplyJenW, for giving me the opportunity to try this! I was hesitant to order from Ovation Tea since they don’t sell small samples. But now I can be confident that the money I spend will be worth it. Thank you! :)

Experience buying from Ovation Teas: Overall, positive. < more details later >

Date of Purchase: Summer 2011, in response to a promotion on Steepster.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: attractive looking: lots of light-brown colored bits of flowers and full cardamon seeds mixed in with the darker colored tea leaves and cacao nibs; smells spicy, with chocolate overtones.

Brewing guidelines: Ceramic sixteen-oz cup and lid, tea in metal basket strainer; heated unsweetened soy milk added before steeping; stevia added; my standard black tea steeping times and temperatures (see my profile for details).

Blends well with: I blended this successfully with the Laoshan Chai and with the Java OP I have.

Value: Not bad, especially when you buy it by the pound (I think it is ~ $30/pound).

Overall: I am not a big chai drinker, but my wife is, and we both like this chocolate flavored chai; the chocolate notes this tea brings compliments the traditional chai flavor. For some reason some chai’s give me a dry mouth feeling that I don’t really care for (as with this one). Still, this is a tea my wife drinks often, and sometimes I join her.

Tea of the afternoon…..

This one is pretty good. It is nice to have a variation on Earl Grey every now and then. The blueberry is in balance with the bergamot, and both are present but not overpowering. The presentation is very pretty with the orange peels and flower petals. I think it will take a few more tries before I have a good read on it, but will go with a tentative rating for now.

24 oz teapot, 6 actual tsp tea, freshly boiled water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

Backlogging tea of yesterday evening…..

I have a new batch of this! Ovation has gone to a more coarse and organic honeybush base. It is just as good as I remember, but there are not as many bits escaping my infuser basket. Chocolate notes are light, the caramel is a little more prevalent. There are also pecan pieces in the tea along with the cocoa nibs and caramel pieces. Nice and cozy on a cold winter night.

I do have to comment on Ovation’s customer service. I had a mixup in tea base, and they were very prompt in answering my email, and sending out a corrected batch. Very friendly and helpful, as well as taking care of the issue very quickly. Thank you, Melanie!

Now…..is there anyone who wants some Chocolate Pecan Rooibos? I have several ounces to spare and it is not for sale on Ovation’s website….it is a very limited offering. ;)

Tea of the evening….

This one is growing on me. It ia pretty good for a honeybush blend, even though there are others that I like better. The chocolate flavor is light, but natural tasting, and all the other flavors go with it nicely. I may even repurchase….

Steeped the usual way for 7 minutes…

I added just a bit more tea this time and it was better. Still light on the chocolate and pecan with the caramel taking the spotlight. Enjoyable enough, but I will probably not repurchase when this pouch is gone. I will want to try something else. I think chocolate flavoring is better left to black tea or roasted yerba mate.

24 oz teapot, 6 actual tsp tea, freshly boiled water, 7 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

As for the company overall: My experience with this company has been good. However, I do think trying a tea at the $6 mark is kind of over the top. In my opinion, it keeps me from trying more. The blend your own flavor is fun, but I wonder if she would consider offering different pricing for a reblend of your mix in larger amounts. I will probably never order without some kind of discount or free shipping perk.

“Tea” of the evening…..

I got a small order from Ovation today to try out a few more things. I am interested in some honeybush blends as well as a few of the black ones. This one is light on the chocolate flavoring. It is slightly detectable with the sweetness of the honeybush in the background. I do get some pecan notes, and the strongest note, albeit still a subtle one, is the caramel. I do find the tea pleasant and great for an evening blend, but I won’t likely try any more blends with chocolate flavoring. A little more tea might have helped, but it is still good as is.

24 oz teapot, 5 actual tsp tea, freshly boiled water, 7 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

Yum Yum Yum! This is so good.

Rich, creamy chocolate and sweet, tangy orange. The black tea is pleasantly mellow.

I am off to write a review of this tea for SororiTea Sisters!

I recently sold my Earl Grey Sampler on Tea Trade, and after portioning that sampler out, I had just enough for one more pot of this tea, so I decided to start my day with this. Yummy!

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/08/21/blueberry-earl-grey-from-ovation-teas/

This is much better this time around. I think last time, I slightly over steeped, but this time, it is just perfect. YUMMY NUMMY!

The blueberry flavor shines through, and plays with the orange and bergamot orange flavors well. The bergamot is not as prominent as the blueberry… but it works.

The black tea is strong and a little malty, a good base for the flavors. I like.

Hmmm… I’m not sure about this one. I mean, it’s good, don’t get me wrong. It’s really tasty… it’s just different. The bergamot is a bit obscured with the strong blueberry notes. But, as it cools, the bergamot seems to pop out a little more.

I think I’m going to try this one again before I rate it.

Yup! Still a semi-funky aroma but the taste is alright. It’s somewhat savory…very much something you could cook with! The ginger and the peach almost cancel each other out and I think that is why I have been pondering this for so long. It seems to create it’s own flavor – meshing the two ingredients together that is. Not bad!

Backlogging…full review pending…initial thoughts…aroma is a little funky but the taste is nice…stay tuned…

I still really like this! Lovely! Tangerine is AWESOME :) See previous notes…just finishing a cup before I call it quits for the day!

Sending the rest of my stash to Hesper June :)