Camellia Sinensis

Since December 2012 when this was purchased and sipped, I’ve gone through about 2/3’s of the bag. The website description is pretty spot on; spices (cinnamon) and a sweetness are very present in each sip.

Observations from my steeping today, brought up a lot of old memories I’ve had drinking this. It’s a very flavourful cup, but it doesn’t perform so well with short steeps (kinda stretching if I go past 6 short infusions). The spices notes are wonderful, and they give off a nice “warmth”, but I still prefer their Jin Die tea over this for that particular quality.

Overall it’s a good tea and my expectations were met, but there are other teas from Camellia Sinensis I’d order again over Luku Hong Cha.

Steep parameters:
500ml water, 5g tea leaves, 1 steep (4min)

oy…this is not the oolong for me. overly floral and particularly “green”

Red rooibos blended with vanilla and raspberry sounds like a tasty evening treat. I got this from a sampler set/gift box from Camellia Sinensis.

Dry, the vanilla and raspberry aromas are quite distinct and overwhelm the rooibos, which finally comes through harmoniously while steeping. The finished cup is a very appealing blend of scents of the honey-like sweetness of rooibos, vanilla and a fruity accent.

The taste of the cup is similar, if a little weaker than anticipated: sweet, fruity, decadent and relaxing. The next time I make this, I will likely add more leaves. Regardless, it is rare that I feel a sweet tea (or “tea”) doesn’t need any sweetener, but this one is perfect.

One last note: while the Camellia Sinensis English website calls this blend “Strawberry & Vanilla Rooibos”, its description, as well as its original French name (“Le chaperon rouge (Rooibos framboise & vanille”) points towards a raspberry flavour, not strawberry. This is an error on their end, but I decided to copy their translation regardless.

This tea has intrigued me ever since I first saw it. It’s a black tea from Japan, which is unheard of as far as I’m concerned.

Nadeshiko smells like dried fruit. Raisins, dates, figs perhaps. Dry or submerged in boiling water, this is the dominant aroma. The scent of roasted cereal appears as the leaves brew.

The resulting liquor is a deep, dark red. It tastes familiar to Japanese green tea drinkers, with the cereal aroma coming out quite strongly, while the fruit smell remains in the background, mildly astringent, and as an aftertaste. Comforting and subtle, this is well worth trying, and easy to drink at any time of the day.

Nadeshiko is hard to compare with other teas, as its taste is closest to that of black tea, but it is produced more similarly to pu’erh. It is classified as a “rosé tea” by its distributor.

This is my first genmaicha, and it has quickly become one of my very favourite teas. It’s delicious at any time of the day, and it’s not picky with water temperature.

There is a faint vegetal aroma coming from the package. After scooping a couple of teaspoons and rinsing the leaves with hot water, the nutty, sweet smell of the toasted rice comes through, masking the grassy notes of the tea leaves.

The recommended steeping instructions on Camellia Sinensis’ website were a temperature of 90°C for 3-4 minutes. This resulted in a light, sweet brew that was relaxing and easy to drink, and retained the heavy aroma of the rice. Another set of instructions I tried came from the Nihoncha Instructor Association, which recommends a short steeping time with boiling water. Following these guidelines the tea came out stronger, but not bitter. Both methods taste great, and the better one should come down to personal preference.

I have no other genmaicha to which to compare this one, but it’s one of my favourite discoveries.

No notes yet.

First tasting of this particular Dragon pearl tea. Very subtle, soft. Just what I wanted

No notes yet.

I bought this tea because I was looking for a light Chinese green. Something smooth, not fruity and definitely not bitter. When I brought it home, I read the online description and immediately regretted choosing it, because of the bitter aftertaste that they described.
I steeped the tea as they recommended and poured one cup after 3.5 minutes and then one at 4.5 minutes.
The first cup (3.5 mins) starts off very subtle almost sweet, but when you swallow you are left with a delightful vegetable after taste. It’s a perfect green tea for mid afternoon.
The second cup (4.5 mins) was slightly stronger, but still smooth. A slight more present after-taste that I would maybe try to eliminate next time.

Verdict: Delicious, worth trying at different strengths, but I would go for less than 4 minutes next time.

On Sunday, after brewing the Countess of Seville, I decided to brew the Jasmine Pearls. The jasmine scent os prevalent and the water clour is a light green/white.

The flavour is light and delicate, yet strong and caressing taste. The taste is very pure.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around all the different kinds of Long Jing. This is my frist time (knowingly) trying Shi Feng. The leaves are very very flat and consistant dry. Beautiful to look at wet. They are very whole with minimal torn or broken pieces.

I’d say it’s lighter and crisper tasting with a milder aroma then other Long Jings I’ve had, such as Peet’s. The color is pale gold.

It’s very refreshing and really satisfies my Long Jing craving. I’d go as far as saying it’s the best Long Jing I’ve had, although I’d like to do a side-by-side tasting someday to prove that.

Received my package this morning containing the pu-erh and Okakura Kakuzō book of tea which was a good thing with a temp of -42 Celsius with the wind a tea and a book was in order to unfreeze me.

Don’t know much ( for not saying nothing at all ) about Pu-erh but for some reason i keep getting the impulsion to try them. Did choose that one totally randomly liked the name or the picture i don’t really remember. Always found that most Pu’erh smell like stable but not in a bad way a aroma more like horse and fesh hay ( maybe i’m just weird ).

no instruction was giving to make it gongfu style so i kinda have to improvised on that one but that part of the fun of tea to try new thing to taste it.

I did the first steep 15 second that was noway enough time the tea as a beautiful color but nearly no taste

Second steep was 30 second the tea is way more dark now nearly as dark as coffee little earthly taste with lot of astringency ( but really a lot )

try the third at 30 second also the taste and the felling was much like the second steep

since they suggest 4-5 minute steep in a western steeping style ( that the way i will do it next time ) i did the last steep at 45 second no more astringency this time but still just a hint of earthly taste i may did something wrong i will make my next tasting according to the instruction they give to me to compare the taste of the two method but for now my head is way to light to read my book or drink more tea

Another Solid Wulong from Camellia Sinesis. Complex, fresh, on the green side. Coconut oil aroma. Full flavored and thick mouthfeel. I really like this tea lot. I did rank the 2012 Dong Ding Mr Chang a bit higher.

This is up there as one of the best Oolongs I’ve tried. Very floral.

I had some of this divine drink yesterday :) It was so soothing and relaxing to lay down and read while drinking this tea. I really love the feeling I get from drinking this tea.

So I tried this tea New Years eve at a cafe. I have been dying to try this tea company for a while so I was glad that this cafe carries it. I decided to go with the dragon pearls to see how it tastes. I loved it. I got worried at first because it didn’t color as it steeped. But when I tried it, it was like sipping heaven. I just adored it. I love this tea so much that I bought a little tin of it. Cannot wait to go home and brew this. Happy Belated New Year :)

I had a great New Year’s Eve with my friends last night. It’s when we do our Secret Santa style gift exchange. I have awesome friends who gave me awesome gifts. We stayed up way too late. So I’m still groggy right now, but I did manage to haul myself out of bed at around 11am and started using my awesome gifts. :) Feta and olive waffles on my new waffle iron! Yay! Husband was simultaneously please and disappointed because they were tasty but not meant for maple syrup. haha What can I say? I prefer a savory breakfast.

So after my tasty waffles, I got pretty thirsty and started thinking about what tea to drink. I got a sample of this from TeaEqualsBliss, like, forever ago, and I was in the mood for a green oolong. So here we go!

I love the floral hit in the first steep of pretty much every green oolong. Then in the after taste, you can start appreciating the other flavors. I’m getting apple skin and peach. Lovely creamy texture. I’m also getting the coconutty milkiness other people are talking about. I’ve never had a green oolong with the particular natural flavor.

Steep two was like cooked buttered greens. Still floral. Such a nice oolong! Judging from Tea’s notes, I’d say this oolong is at least 2 years old. It’s aging quite well! I can only imagine how it must have tasted when fresh. :)

Thank you for allowing me to try this!

Also, Happy New Year to all!

No notes yet.

I was recommeded this ‘shou’ last time I went to their store. So far, I’m enjoying this.

I easily got 6 great steeps out of it in my yixing, steep times ranging from 15 seconds to 40 seconds for the last one. I’m sure you could get more out of it.

It has an earthy smell, as you’d expect, with a tiny hint of green (ish) tea. I get the same ‘hint’ in taste as well: It’s surprisingly refreshing, and sweet. This ‘fresh’ sensation will stay for a few minutes.

It’s been awfully cold and rainy lately. We even had our first snowfall (~2cm) a few days ago. Winter is coming as they say in Game of Thrones. I don’t remember having snow that early, it’s not even Halloween yet. It’s alright, this tea provides me the warmth I need to get through winter.

A friend ordered several ceramic storage vessels and two yixing (one of which was the one she gave to me) from Camellia Sinensis and they included a sample of this tea with her order.

I am out of practice with Chinese green teas…

The cup was pale yellow and had a gentle roasted note amongst all the fresh, green flavors. None of the deep, bass note green flavors one finds in a shaded tea or a dragon well, but gentle, sunny meadow flavors.

It is, I think, sadly, the wrong time of year, even in Houston, for this kind of cup. I could see this being a fantastic way to wake up in Spring, however, which is when this tea is first harvested.

Backlog: Yesterday afternoon, my Matcha was this Matcha… I had just enough left for one chawan and it was a delicious way to say goodbye to this yummy Matcha. Here is my full-length review for it: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/05/02/matcha-sendo-from-camellia-sinensis-2/

I am working my way through this leaf much faster than I intended, but I am enjoying it so much I simply cannot help but keep drinking it.

If I have any complaint it is that it gives up far too few steeps. Despite my yixing’s young age, with each day’s use my other teas provide more and more steeps with each round, and yet this leaf still struggles to make a full ten — let alone reach for fifteen or more as great pu-erh often does.

I can’t help but wonder if such old leaf requires an old yixing to support it.

I suspect I need to content myself with younger leaf until my pot has become venerable enough to be worthy of such a tea as this.

At least it will be easier on the wallet in the meantime…

Almost forgot to log this one – see previous notes – but this time around – I still really LOVE this – but have had many more matcha since and knocked just a few points off because there are many that have reached or passed this one in taste – according to my personal taste buds, anyways…but this is still among my fave’s…just not a 100 anymore…still high 90s!

I had a full session of steepings with this tea yesterday, and I’m beginning another of them now.

The sweet, chocolate of the dry leaf is a shock and pleasant surprise every time I open the tin.

Even more surprising is how this sweet leaf instantly transforms into a musty, loamy, verdant forest floor as soon as it hydrates. My yixing right now smells like Dogtown Wood (outside Gloucester) Massachusetts in early November.

No surprise then that the cup itself mystically fuses the two. Porcini ravioli followed by cannoli with chocolate shavings. A walk through wet Autumnal leaves with a mug of cocoa. Debussy on a cloudy day.