Camellia Sinensis

Cold Brew!

I’ve decided not to keep hoarding this blend anymore; for whatever reason it doesn’t quite seem like the right time of year for this blend – and I do have quite a bit of other white tea currently as well.

This cold brew actually came out a touch bitter/drying which is odd as that’s not a problem I tend to have with the majority of cold brews – I suppose most of the measured out leaf was broken up or little fannings from the bottom of the tin but I didn’t think that would affect the brew as much as it did. In addition to adding some dryness, I thought the hay notes were a bit stronger than normal as well.

As always, very strong anise notes. This is not a blend for people who dislike licorice/anise – the flavour isn’t really pointed out in the description but it’s there! I still wish the pear wasn’t as drowned out as it is – but it’s present too. Very sweet and supple; like a Bartlett pear more than anything else.

I’ve got the next two days off, so definitely looking forward to writing some tasting notes and trying some of the numerous blends/samples I received this week! There’s lots of goodies to go though (some I’ve already had and will be posting notes for)…

This was a cold Brew! Since it’s one I’ve cold brewed previously I didn’t record any notes for this particular blend since it was pretty spot on to other times I’ve cold brewed it. Definitely check out my other notes on this one if you’re interested in the details, though. Basically it’s sweet licorice/anise with undercurrents of pear.

Today’s word of the day is… Prescience.

Prescience is the “knowledge or awareness of things before the exist or happen”. I wonder if that’s like a fancy way of saying psychic? That’s definitely the context I’m imagining it being used in.

So I have a whole bunch of this one, and for the most part I’ve just enjoyed it the same way since getting it so I figured it would be worthwhile to do something different with it, although I didn’t really do anything drastically different – but still. So here we go: Peking Opera Cold Brew?

This is pretty anise heavy as a hot cup so I don’t know why any part of me thought that a cold version would be any different. I guess I expected the soak to bring out the pear? And it did, but of course it brought out the anise too. Duh. So yeah, this was really anise saturated with pear undertones. Still maintained a “freshness” to it, but the balance between those two main flavours was really thrown off. Not bad, though. Part of me somewhat feels that Butiki’s Pear Jasmin Candies will taste relatively like this, and if that’s the case then if I enjoy them I wont feel nearly as crushed by the fact they wont be available again.

So what next for this one? Well, I recently bought a bunch of Golden Pear liqueur so I think maybe I’ll mix some of that into a hot cup of this one. That might “right” the balance of flavours a little more and what’s better than tea and alcohol? The two best drinks rolled into one…

Wow, this was really, really creamy and anise heavy tonight. It almost totally buried all the pear and base flavour although ultimately both were still partly present. I enjoyed the cup but was overall hoping for something that was a little more balanced out.

And now my whole living room smells very strongly of anise.

I think I’ve asked before, but is anyone else watching The 100? A tumblr user made a VERY cool gif based on a suggestion I made, and now I have all the feels. I just want there to be like four more seasons released all at once tomorrow so I have something to mass stream; I hate watching TV shows as they actually air. My heart can’t take it.

Cool thing about this fandom, though, is that pretty well EVERYONE agrees on the ships in it. Like, it’s pretty much a universal constant that the fans agree Bellamy and Clarke are perfect for each other; they compliment one another and bring about the best in each other but are two solid, unique characters who can function on their own too. I mean, there are other totally cute pairing in the series (Octavia and Lincoln, Finn and Raven, etc). but there are really no ship wars.

It’s beautiful!

Last tea of the night.

Made this one when I got home from work simply because I was craving a good, White tea. I’m so tired now though – I’m almost literally fighting to stay awake to write this note. So since I’ve done a more detailed description of this before I’ll just use jot notes and keep things short/simple:

- Strong Aroma of Anise/Licorice
- Very “dewy” in flavour (“fresh”)
- Bold anise/licorice notes softened by ripe pear juices
- Milder Cream/Hay notes
- I slightly oversteeped so there’s a very faint bitter edge

First to review this one as well.

It’s the last one from my most recent order, and I think out of the three blends I got this is probably the most interesting/unusual blend. Dry, it smells like very strong, sweet Star Anise/Licorice with this subtle fresh pear fragrance. The word “Dewy” also comes to mind when I smell it. You know, like wet flowers? Well, kinda anyway. It’s not abundantly floral but that’s the image I get.

Steeped up, this is definitely very full of character and flavour. The strong Star Anise/Licorice is well balanced by a supple pear flavour and accented by mild notes of sweet hay, honey, and some really light cinnamon. It’s also just the faintest bit floral. Really, there’s a lot going on here and it seems like just a really weird flavour combination in general, but especially so over top a white base.

But for a tea that is supposed to be pear “and spice” (I looked up Helichrysum and it’s the flower of the Curry Plant? It’s supposed to smell and taste somewhat like what you’d imagine an Indian Restaurant to smell/taste like) I really felt like there actually wasn’t a whole lot of spice going on. I mean, Star Anise yeah – lots. But that’s more sweet, you know?

That said; I quite like it! Though, I think it’s going to take several more cups of it to really, truly wrap my mind around everything going with this one. Hopefully I’ll be able to share it with a few people and we can compare flavour notes…

This is one of three iced tea blends Camellia Sinensis has recently released for summer. A blend of black tea, green tea, guava, rose, bergamot, vanilla and cornflower it is quite delicious on a hot hot summer’s day (which we are still getting in the bucket loads here in Southern California at the end of August). I cold brewed this overnight in the fridge as per the directions on the bag and was pleasantly surprised with the results. The scent is mildly fruity and the taste is delightfully tropical with a hint of guava. Yum!

L&CTTB

Sweet, vegetal, floral. Delicious. I really liked this. Wish I’d been able to have more of it.

Added to my wish list.

I prepared this tea Gaiwan style and it was sweet with smoky notes. It is claimed to be cultivated without pesticides which is a good thing. It gets sweeter with multiple steeps and the smoky notes hand on throughout. A great green tea from Vietnam!

Sipdown (129)!

Hmm, something is wrong here. This tastes exactly like my last cold brew, but the smell. Oh, the smell is so bad. I don’t understand why, either! I did literally nothing different with leaf or water amount, and it got an almost identical brew time as the last batch. But for whatever reason this smells like pee this morning.

And I don’t know if I can do it guys; it tastes good – very lemony, a little bit of papaya underneath that, but this smell is really distracting and it’s making my tummy do somersaults. Uhhh…

Anyway, the last little bit is gonna be given to my friend Robyn; I just don’t love this one so I might as well share it with someone else who’ll learn from it and hopefully enjoy it more!

Wow, it feels nice not having a queue! Just gotta log stuff I had today, which wasn’t a lot…

I cold brewed this; the hot brew was really disappointing (but not really bad – just not what I had anticipated) and when I tried it I immediately knew this would be better suited for an iced or cold brewed tea, so that’s the next step I’m taking having this one.

Immediately I’m noticing an improvement, though I’m not sure whether that’s because I’m prepared for the very strong lemon flavour or if it’s because this one is actually better cold brewed. Maybe both. Actually, most definitely probably both.

But yeah; this is still very lemony with other citrus notes to it. It treads a very thin line between tart and sweet, and it’s very natural tasting. Seriously, there’s nothing artificial about this. I almost wonder if it would be enhanced by some sugar or agave; I think that would maybe make it more lemonade like. In addition to the strong lemon/citrus flavour there’s a rawness to it, and only the word “leafy” is coming to mind but I know that’s not the word I want to use. More so, it’s like…

I don’t know. It’s like a dried green leaf, but chalkier and not a leaf. Or chalky. God dammit; I can’t think of the words I want here. Ugh. Fucking lexical gap.

Positive things: I actually noticed the papaya this time. It was really subtle and if I hadn’t been looking I probably would have missed it, but buried under the taste of natural/raw lemons and leaves and stuff was some very mellow papaya adding a touch of sweetness and actually making this seem a little more tropical, like the name suggests it should be.

And VariaTEA I know I sent you some of this so get on it so I can finally compare notes with someone! I need to see whether I’m craving with the raw lemon/leaf thing! Maybe you can capture the idea I have but am so desperately struggling to convey.

Stupid Steepster Server…

Anyway; first review for this blend. Again, no pressure right? Right.

I actually put off placing my Camellia Sinensis order for about two months because this blend was out of stock, and I really really wanted to try it. The day they restocked this, I made my order. It was a very satisfactory feeling. That said, I had a hot cup of this the day my order arrived, and I was definitely quite disappointed by it.

Dry, it smells very very damn lemony. Lemon fucking everything, really. And not in a tart way or a sweet way – but sorta in a “Vitamin C” citrus health pill/acidic chalky lemon crap type way. That’s really a terrible description, but I’m writing this note based on the notes I wrote myself like a week ago, and it’s 2AM and I’m really tired. The words are not coming easily to me.

Steeped, this is still pretty well pure lemon with no noticeable papaya. None. Literally none. Which is crushing, because that’s the aspect of this blend that attracted me to it in the first place. But hey, at least the lemon tastes pretty ok. Like I said, it’s not sweet and it’s not “puckering tart” or anything – it’s just really strong and fairly natural. It reminds me so much, in a hard to describe way, of citrus health drinks or that instant powdered lemonade stuff that comes in little premeasured packs for water bottles. But with the instant lemonade it’s not that taste it reminds me of, it’s the smell of the stuff.

So next up will be a cold brewed version of this. I honestly don’t have the ‘highest of hopes’ but I think, if nothing else, the strong lemon flavour of this blend will be better suited to a cold cup than a hot one. I just want some damn papaya! Just give me a LITTLE. Just a pinch.

A mixture of cocoa and peanut flavours make this a sweet tasting woody tea. I am drinking my third steep and the flavour is still pleasant. If you like straight black tea then give this a try.

Been a hot minute since I last had this tea and I can tell that my tin has aged a bit, but it’s still very good. Coconut dominant but both a buttery rich coconut and that almost golden caramelized/toffee note of perfectly toasted coconut – paired with sweet tropical pineapple and brisk black tea. One of my favs, for sure!

Cold Brew!

Had this one on Friday, the day after having a cold brew of DT’s Aloha Colada. I wanted to have a fresh direct comparison in my head. You can cross reference that tasting note for more of a break down on differences:

https://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/403587#likes

TLDR – still not sure what my preference is.

I had a really nice session this morning with a more spicy straight black tea, and since then I have basically just been craving more fruity teas all day – I saw the tin of this in my black tea drawer, and it spoke to me.

I love this blend a lot – though this batch of it has been the most different from previous batches I’ve purchased. It seems to be a bit more coconut heavy, and a little more buttery and astringent, with less of that caramelized pineapple note I enjoy so much. However, it’s still really good and I don’t mind a mild astringency or a rich coconut profile at all!

Cold Brew!!

Just had to restock – even with us going into Autumn/Winter now.

Something about this bag tastes a little off to me based on my memory of this tea – and I’ve had it enough times that I’d think my memory of it is pretty sharp. It’s a little less sweet and buttery – doesn’t have that gross note of off coconut at all so that’s definitely not it, but it just felt rather “flat” and lacking the life that I crave from it. Maybe it’s the cold brew, but I swear the dry aroma seemed different too. I’ll have to try it hot to be sure, but I’ll be pretty sad if the recipe has changed or I just got an off production…

Sipdown (606)!

Finished off with coconut agave, just like the last cup of this that I had. I did say I was going to finish this one off soon – and I managed to remember that goal and stick to it. This is only a temporary sipdown though; I’ll be restocking in the summer when I crave this tea more consistently. It’ll be easy to do given that I now live not more than a 30 minute commute from Camellia Sinensis’ store.

The coconut in this is right on the cusp of going rancid – you can sort of smell the sourness in the dry leaf, but thankfully it doesn’t really translate into the taste. Yet. It’s going to really soon though! I patched up my mug of this by adding in some coconut agave. The base/pineapple are strong notes though – if there was any sort of small sourness creeping into the cup they covered it up.

I only have one, maybe two, cups of this left – so the goal is going to be to finish it this weekend before it has the chance to get any worse. Then, a restock in the summer when I’m able to drink this faster (so it doesn’t turn on me like it’s doing right now). I fucking adore this tea when fresh; the problem is just that with so many teas in my cupboard I didn’t get through the leaf as quickly as I’d have liked…

This was the other tea I brought with to brunch/the restaurant.

I’m a touch worried about this tea; it’s still very enjoyable but it’s definitely getting old now and I’m concerned about when the coconut might turn. I think I need to power through whats left in the tin, like I do every summer, and then restock with some fresher tea.

Like I said though, this hasn’t really turned yet and it still produced a strong cup at the restaurant. I added cream to it which definitely tied together those Pina Colada elements a bit more strongly – though this definitely tasted more like pineapple than anything else. Creamy pineapple. There was a funny moment when my brother looked over after I’d added the cream to the cup and very audibly voiced how incredibly strange/unique it was that my tea had brewed up such a distinct, opaque white colour so quickly. ’I’ve never, EVER seen one of your teas do that!’ I debated not filling him in, but ultimately my Aunt spilled the beans for me.

Mouthfeel was a touch oily, but I think that’s a result of the cream and not the tea.

Pineapple, yes.

But mostly very buttery coconut and toffee/caramel undertones. I must have had this tea like twenty times now, and I still don’t know exactly where those toffee notes come from but this certainly is NOT the first time I’ve experienced them and I doubt it’ll be the last time. But yeah; sometimes this is delicious Pina Colada and sometimes it’s coconut pastry/toffee with sweet pineapple undertones. This is one of those times.

Song Pairing: https://youtu.be/RYr96YYEaZY

This song is a bit of a recent obsession, even though it’s not really new in anyway. I just like that the background music is a little upbeat with those higher notes that almost sound like, I don’t know, beeps – but the voice of the singer is sweet and buttery in the same way I find the coconut notes in this blend to be right now.

Iced.

Really, really heavy on the buttery coconut notes today. In fact, that flavour was so dominant and in your face that literally everyone I shared this with today made comment of that – and between sharing sips with the not-boyfriend and my coworkers that worked out to, like six people!?

With milk.

So, so creamy/silky with the best light, buttery coconut notes and sweet pineapple. I’ve said it what feels like a million times, but damn I just really love this blend.

Made a mug of this one a few nights ago with some cashew milk added in! It was very nice and silky, with more emphasis on the buttery coconut and whisps of sweet nuttyness from the milk I’d added in. The pineapple was still present, but more muted/less bright and it served as a sweet undertone more so than anything else.