Colville Bay
Crassostrea virginica
Canada's most sought-after oyster. Stunning jade shells, crunchy texture, and bright nutty-sweet flavors with a floral lemon zest finish.
Flavor Profile
Finish
Lingering floral lemon zest
Expert Notes
Considered by many to be Canada's finest oyster. Rack-and-bag grown by Johnny Flynn and culled mercilessly for quality, Colville Bays are distinguished by their stunning jade shells and transcendent brightness. They start with medium salinity, then fill your mouth with distinctive nutty, popcorn-like flavors, finishing with a lingering floral lemon zest. The combination of plump meat, crunchy texture, and clean 'distilled ocean' taste creates an addictive quality that makes you order another dozen. Origin & Characteristics
- Species
- Crassostrea virginica
- Native to
- North America
- Grown in
- Souris River, Prince Edward Island
- Size
- Medium-Large (3-3.5 inches)
- Shell Color
- Jade green to aqua-green
- Meat Color
- Plump, bright
What Experts Say
Across 10 sources, tasters describe this oyster as:
Unique notes: floral lemon zest, buttery salted popcorn, umami, effervescent, algae mineral
"A Colville Bay starts off with medium salt, then fills your mouth with nutty, popcornlike flavors, and finishes with a lingering floral lemon zest. Delightfully crunchy texture and sweet meat confirm their excellence."
medium saltnuttypopcornsweetfloral
"Like buttery salted popcorn. There's some magic at work in the Souris River–and quite possibly in Johnny Flynn's touches."
butterysaltypopcorn
"They were plump, bright-flavored (their distinctive characteristic, along with their moss-green shells), and incredibly sweet. I would have pegged them for a November oyster."
brightsweetplump
"A Colville Bay starts off with medium salt, then fills your mouth with nutty, popcorn-like flavors, and finishes with a lingering floral-lemon zest."
medium saltnuttypopcornflorallemon zest
"Delightfully crunchy texture and sweet meat confirm their excellence. A Colville Bay starts off with medium salt, then fills your mouth with nutty, popcorn like flavours, and finishes with a lingering floral lemon zest."
crunchysweetmedium saltnuttypopcorn
"Colville Bay are my favourite oysters in the world. I travel all the time—everywhere I go I taste their oysters. These are the best. They're so clean tasting, sweet, meaty and briny. I like that they're not watery. Sometimes I find fresh oysters hold too much sea water. These, never, because they're so plump they fill the shell."
cleansweetmeatybrinyplump
"It is the oyster for people who think they don't like them; salty, then—a surprise—sweet! Buxom and creamy at first, then suddenly the flavours pop like a little effervescence on your tongue."
saltysweetcreamyeffervescent
"A full, plump, meaty oyster that is crisp and salty sweet — darn near perfect."
plumpmeatycrispsaltysweet
"Hands down the cleanest, most well-rounded virginica I've ever had. Beautiful tear drop shape, larger than most Canadian maritime half shells, and nice sweet algae mineral finish."
cleansweetalgaemineral
"Delicious, buttery with a moderate salinity."
butterymoderate salinity
"Colville Bay's deep umami sweetness"
umamisweet
"Sarah's Shores offer a sweet and salty flavor that is truly unique to Colville Bay."
sweetsalty
About the Farm
Colville Bay Oyster Company
Est. 1993Family-owned business run by Johnny Flynn, a sometime-lobsterman and fulltime-oysterman, located in Souris, PEI. The company grows oysters in the pristine waters where the Souris River empties into Colville Bay on the southeast coast of Prince Edward Island, and is known for mercilessly culling for quality.
- Cultivation Method
- rack and bag
History & Background
Colville Bay Oyster Company has been growing top quality cultured oysters in the pristine waters of Colville Bay since 1993. The oysters are grown by Johnny Flynn near his home where the mouth of the Souris River empties into Colville Bay.
Recognized as Canada's most sought-after oyster, served as featured products in many of the finest oyster bars and restaurants across Canada. Exclusively distributed to Toronto restaurants by Oyster Boy.
Did You Know?
- Rowan Jacobsen of The Oyster Guide declared them 'quite simply, the best oysters in the world' in 2009
- The oysters maintain exceptional quality even in July when most oysters are at their worst
- They are bottom grown in an almost perfect balance of silty and soft sand
- The distinctive jade-green or moss-green shells are a hallmark of the variety
- Chef Susur Lee calls them his favorite oysters in the world
Sources & References
This information was compiled from 10 sources.
- Colville Bay - Prince Edward Island — The Oyster Guide
- The Best Oyster in the World — The Oyster Guide
- Colville Bay — OysteRater
- Colville Bay Oyster Company: Home — Colville Bay Oyster Company
- Colville Bay Oysters — Atlantic Aqua Farms
- To Eat Oysters Better, Treat Them Like Wine — New York Times
- Colville Bay Oysters — Colville Bay Oyster Company
- Premium Choice Oysters — Steelhead Food Co.
- Industries – Oysters — Aquaculture PEI
- Top 10 Oyster Companies in the World — Expert Market Research
You Might Also Like
38 Degrees North
US East CoastA balanced Chesapeake Bay oyster. Mild, slightly sweet with refined brine and a clean finish. Firm and meaty from floating cage cultivation.
Apalachicola
US Gulf CoastWild-harvested Gulf Coast oyster from Florida's legendary Apalachicola Bay. Small, intensely briny, and robust with a distinctive flavor that earned global recognition as the pinnacle of oyster quality.
Bagaduce
US East CoastA distinctive Maine oyster from the Bagaduce River. Medium briny with clean sweetness, pronounced umami, and savory smoky notes. Sun-grown in floating bags with gnarly shells and full meats.
Learn More
The Big Five: A Complete Guide to Commercial Oyster Species
Comprehensive guide to C. virginica (Atlantic), C. gigas (Pacific), C. sikamea (Kumamoto), O. lurida (Olympia), and O. edulis (European Flat)
Read article → Biology & SpeciesThe Atlantic Oyster (C. virginica): From Maritime Brine to Gulf Sweetness
Deep dive into America's indigenous East Coast oyster - flavor profiles, regional variations, and famous varieties
Read article → Merroir & EnvironmentWhat is Merroir? The Science of How Environment Shapes Oyster Flavor
Understanding merroir - the marine equivalent of terroir - and how water chemistry creates flavor
Read article →