Camellia Sinensis

Well, after I had measured out the leaf for this cuppa I moved over the rest of this tea out of the tin and into a sample baggie – which means a sipdown will be coming soon.

Today, it’s reminding me a lot of those Sweet Tart candies but with a very floral/rosey edge to the flavour. I think it’s likely the combination of hibiscus and lemon in the blend that reminds me of those candies, though. I do enjoy them though in moderation, and so as a fun, midday cuppa this ‘refined and elegant’ candy flavour IS working for me.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozv4q2ov3Mk&index=1&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Maybe you guys wont relate to this – but I think every summer you sort of just have that one song that really sticks out that you could play on repeat a dozen times and never get sick of. It’s basically your ‘Summer Anthem’ for the year, right?

I think last year my summer song was probably either Jenny or Bouncer by Studio Killers and this year I was kind of feeling The Hunna’s She’s Casual but it wasn’t sticking the same way that summer anthems usually do. Then my brother showed me this one, and fucking hell this is SUCH a good song. Like, it’s a fucking bop.

This is it – summer anthem 2017! (I just wish Big Sean’s verse was a little better)

Anyway; right now it’s REALLY suiting this tea. Particularly I think Katy Perry’s voice is really resonating with me and the candy like, fresh fruity flavour of the tea. Mmm!

Summer Tea Cocktails!

- One parts lemonade, two parts vodka, two parts tea
- And a handful of crushed/muddled cherries! (Pitted of course)
- Super refreshing, with lots of sweet red fruit notes
- And a soft, rosey finish!
- Remains light and fresh from the white tea
- With a smooth but nuanced fruit counterpart
- You can clearly taste the lemon, orange, cherry, hibiscus, rose, and apple
- Hints of tartness from hibby and lemonade; but only in a playful way
- Epitome of summer cocktails!

Picture here: https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19748356_10210820652166311_8136803452577778513_n.jpg?oh=dd17a146751dcb0bddd6e7cb43882d9a&oe=59C70975

Today’s cold brew.

It’s really tasty, and I’m loving the fresh floral notes and aromatic fruits with that slight orange/lemon tartness to the finish. That said, I have some nasty heart burn at the moment and for whatever reason this tea is doing it zero favours. Each sip burns just a touch on the way down, and for that reason I feel like I’m going to have to pop the rest of the brew in the fridge and finish it tomorrow despite enjoying the profile a lot tonight.

This is a queued tasting note.

Had this one cold brewed the other day, but I was so tired when I drank it that I mostly did so without any real conscious thought. The only thing I wrote down for notes was “pleasant fruit and Gaga”. At least I remember enough to know the last part of that statement is a reference to the fact I was listening to this song while drinking it…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB94lvJbETE&index=1&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Cold Brew!

I need to stop telling Trey when the pitcher of tea is ready in the fridge ‘cause I swear he’s drinking almost all of it and I’m getting like a cup of tea out of each pitcher…

Still enjoying this one, though it felt a little out of touch with the season tonight. It’s very floral but that smooth, romantic floral quality is equally matched by pleasant red berry notes, fresh red apple, and a hint of sweet lemon. I really like that this brew had the brightness of the added ingredients like rosehips and hibiscus without the tartness of it. I mean, I’m thinking about it right now – and I can’t recall ever having a problem with Camellia Sinensis over doing it on the rosehip or hibiscus?

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq5ItFCyg9E

This cold brew was really floral and fruity in a really fragranced and almost perfume-y way but it wasn’t bad by any stretch. It’s kind of hard to describe, but the way the floral notes come off is almost effervescent in a way – and it reminds me strongly of CS’s (discontinued) Des Roses et Des Bonbons blend; the rose in the two blends must be the same or similar? I definitely think I’m also tasting the white hibiscus though, which presents differently than the garish hibiscus tea drinkers are more commonly presented with.

This is a queued tasting note.

Tried this one hot the other day;

I think I liked the cold brew a little better because the flavours were a little smoother/ran together a bit more seamlessly but the hot cup was good too. This is sweet and fruity in the same way that I get from Sweet Tart candies. Probably the lemon providing that playful, light tartness. However, it’s also VERY floral – in particular quite rosey. In the hot cup there was some disconnect between the floral and the fruit but still both aspects were enjoyable nonetheless.

Definitely surprised this one wasn’t already reviewed here on Steepster…

- Cold Brew
- It’s very interesting to me this tea doesn’t have fruit other than lemon or apple
- Because the flavour is like a jumble of red fruits/berries with lemon/citrus
- Very summery, sweet, and rich with a balance of natural and candy like notes
- Kind of reminds me of Sweet Tart candies?
- The hibby DEFINITELY doesn’t read as overly tart or gross
- In fact, it’s a little hard to tell it’s there?
- There’s more rosehip sweetness/tartness than anything else
- Also a floral undertone; but definitely more fruity than floral
- Definitely, as far as the ingredients are concerned, a bit of an enigma?

March Sipdown Madness

This tea, unfortunately, lost its match up against Adagio’s Fujian Rain.

When I started the face off, I had absolutely no clue which of the blends would win because they’re very different in terms of flavour while both living in that space of a “soothing/calming” kind of profile for me. Neither cup ended up seeming representative of the tea at its best, and so I ended up picking the one that was “better” under those less than ideal/perfect steeping results…

Because this cup was really just so incredibly basil heavy (a delicious basil, mind you) I ended up choosing Fujian Rain instead. Tough, tough call though!

March Madness Sipdown

This was the second tea in my first face off – paired with DT’s Chocolate Covered Banana.

I enjoy this tea a lot and, over the years, have gone through a lot of it. It’s soothing and comforting and strikes a pretty lovely balance between floral and sweet rose notes and savory, herbaceous basil. The only real negative to the blend is that because of the weight and cut size of the ingredients, it’s hard to produce a consistent cup of it. Also, it’s intended to steep purple and the liquor colour also varies a lot from cup to cup. However, when you get it right then you really get it right. Such good pay off!

This cup was delightful and so this was the winner of this first face off.

Cold Brew!

Delicious and refreshing, but disappointing in terms of liquor colour – sort of a weird green/blue but very dull/flat. Why can’t I get this to steep brilliant purple any more!? Regardless, the heavy basil flavour is so tasty.

It’s been a while since I last steeped this one up – but I’m on a bit of a basil kick right now, I think, so I found myself really craving it today. I steeped up a Western mug (I’m curious if I could Gong Fu this though?) of this, in a glass mug so I could look at the pretty infusion colour. Definitely purple this time – but more of a reddish purple. Taste was so basil heavy; definitely not much of anything else coming through flavour wise. It was delicious though; as I said I’ve been REALLY into basil lately so I found this really satisfying.

I don’t know why, but lately I haven’t been able to achieve the beautiful purple hue with this blend that I have in the past – it turns out a muddy green/blue colour. It’s not a big deal; I love the blend for the taste of the tea too and not just the colour. However, it’s a really special moment when you get an infusion with both.

Taste was magical, soothing basil though! Hard to not be at peace when drinking a warm mug of that…

Iced latte.

Coolest part about this one was the really, really sick sort of ‘Barney’ purple to periwinkle to white gradient of the liquor before I stirred the whole thing up. I mean, it was very pretty looking! I snapped a few pictures but they definitely don’t do it justice. Flavour wise though, it basically just tasted like basil and milk which sounds very weird but actually worked pretty nicely. I was also snacking on some fruity rose candies, and they were nice ’cause they provided a nice, sweet contrast.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/BelVicvlMXZ/?taken-by=ros_strange

100% brought this one in to work with me to show off how fucking pretty it looks. It worked.

Strong notes of both basil and anise, hints of rose.

Deliciously sweet and savory with REALLY strong notes of basil and then hints of floral rose, raspberry leaf, and anise. Very pleasant, and a really nice dark blue/purple colour. I enjoy this tea a lot, though I do dislike that the exact shade of the liquor is pretty inconsistent, though always pretty.

Cold Brew!

Drank this one with supper tonight; nothing fancy like the brie I had on the weekend though. Instead this was just hamburger helper with diced bell pepper cooked into it for added veggies, and a mozza cheese “crust” over the top with a light fig balsamic drizzle for added pop of flavour.

I wasn’t intentionally pairing the tea and the food, but it did work rather well because the herbaceous quality of this tea/the basil in it tied together with the mix of herbs and spices in the hamburger helper, but the sweetness of the raspberry and rose made it stand apart from the dish as well and kept the whole meal from feeling too savory.

It was also just really hydrating.

First order of 2017 may end up being a Camellia Sinensis order because I’m running pretty low on this, and I want more…

Trying to have some will power though because I already have orders from five other companies on the way to me right now, and plenty to drink already.

This was wonderful though; it always is. The herbaceous/savory taste of the basil is really wonderful and different, and then there’s sweet raspberry notes and fresh, floral rose that keep it feeling “tea like” and not kind of soupy/brothy and too savory.

Best part of all though? I got the right proportion of ingredients in this cup to really nail the drop dead stunning purple liquor colour. It feels almost magical drinking purple tea…

Nothing quite like the caffeine crash that comes after drinking nine different Western cups of green tea for class…

Yup; that was my early afternoon today: this is my last class/term/module whatever you want to call it before I have to take the exam to get certified, and it’s all about tea types. This week was specifically centered around Japan (and Vietnam to a small degree) and that meant A LOT of green tea. Boo; fuck that. Green tea is my least favourite type. So, nine cups in about two hours. I felt pretty buzzed after I finished them, but now I’m crashing HARD. Regardless, I figured I shouldn’t have anything else caffeinated for the rest of the night so now I’m having a mug of this one.

Pro tip: if you want the liquor to actually like beautiful and purple and breath taking don’t drink it in a grey mug – pick something glass. ’Cause now it just looks like a disappointing, muddled mess. It still tastes really good though; very strong on the basil notes but with a softening floral sweetness to the undertone.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=881g2CY6UVs&index=15&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Kind of one of those word association pairings, to be perfectly honest.

This is a queued tasting note.

Can’t remember which tasting note I said it in, but recently(ish) I said that I have a particular love of basil lemonade. Well, that got me thinking and that resulted in me cold brewing this and then cutting it 50/50 with the remainder of the lemonade I used to make that Jasmine Silver Needle infused lemonade.

I mean, at the core of things, I could probably sum up the experience by just saying “delicious”. But I feel that doesn’t quite do the concoction justice. The strong basil notes of the tea were the perfect savory contrast to the tart and sweet lemonade and it really, really did taste exactly like the fresh/homemade basil lemonade that my Step Mother makes in the summer that’s so good. Just less thick/frothy in mouthfeel, is all. This had the added element of rose/floral notes from the tea, which were largely masked. However, the light floral component that did come through in the taste was just an added element that made this seem more elegant/elaborate and flavourful.

This is a queued tasting note.

Made this up as a pitcher of cold brewed tea, and I wasn’t totally sure how the flavour would come across cold since I’ve just tried this hot. It wasn’t so bad, but you do lose some of the ethereal quality of the liquor since it’s more of a weird maroonish colour than purple. Something to do with the leaf to water ratio, likely.

The flavour is definitely REALLY herbaceous with the most prominent flavour being basil. I like cold basil infused drinks in general; basil lemonade being my favourite cold drink that uses basil or really any type of herby ingredient. It’s also floral with rosey undertones, and a soft sweetness to this sip. It’s one of those drinks that you’re instantly immersed in when you drink it. Very refreshing overall. Makes me think of the summers I spent at my Grandma’s house as a child; a lot of playing outdoors, and being immersed in all the nature around me…

And the song I paired with the tea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDVW81bXo0s

That was the first time I drank the cold brew. Second time around this is what I was listening to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZX6Q-Bj_xg

This is a queued tasting note.

Made a cup of this; got a lot more basil in the leaf I measured out this time around than I did last time so the colour wasn’t quite purple but more of a really lovely deep blue/green colour. Kind of a tealish hue? Still absolutely GORGEOUS but not the same as last time.

The flavour was actually very similar though despite the different ratio of ingredients in this cup. That’s sort of the problem with herbals that use such huge pieces like this one: it’s hard to get the same balance of things each time. But strong, sweet basil notes regardless – little bit of a floral body. Very soothing!

If I’m being perfectly honest, I bought this tisane solely because it’s supposed to brew up purple. Not “Hibiscus” purple, mind you, but honest to goodness purple purple. When it showed up today, I did crack the bag open out of curiosity though; while I was totally suckered in by aesthetics, you have to admit that taste is still probably the most important factor…

The smell of the dry leaf is incredibly powerful and pretty darn unique; it’s like a blast of your grandma’s garden: very fresh and aromatic. However, the only part of good ol’ nana’s garden you’re smelling is the patch where she’s growing all her own spices, and then maybe the roses in their planters across the lawn since the breeze is carrying their scent over your way too. It’s very particular, and very unique.

As far as the brewing process goes, I was totally skeptical but as soon as the water hit my tea (I of course used a clear, glass mug) it started to infuse a kind of grayish blue which then gradually became a deep, sultry sort of blue/purple. Very brilliant and touching on “royal” in hue while still having that darkness that screams “It’s not a phase, mom!”. It’s a little hard to explain and holy fuck do I wish I’d had my phone with me and charged because it may just be the most beautiful infused liquor I’ve ever seen. Actually; no, it IS the most beautiful steeped liquor I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it’s incredibly stunning!

But of course I still wondered about the taste: would it taste like dear sweet Gammie was shoving her summer bumper crop of spices up in my gullet? Actually; given the intensity of the aroma I found this was pretty soft all things considered. You absolutely get a clear taste of the basil in the blend meaning this is definitely a more herbaceous/savory profile. However, that said, I also get some sweetness that reminds me of fennel or anise and there’s the soft, rose/floral undertone as well that cuts in and keeps this from literally being a mug of brewed up spices. At moments I also felt like I was getting the refreshing feeling of peppermint as well, though that’s maybe a bit of a stretch. Still it’s nice, it’s layered and it feels very romantic and poetic to be drinking it. Like I’m in my ivory tower waiting for Prince or Princess Charming to come and sweep me away.

I mean, the fact I was drinking it at near midnight on my balcony while listening to the drizzle and pitter patter of rain probably doesn’t do a whole lot to hinder that imaginative imagery but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this is just a really enchanting and unique tisane overall.