Camellia Sinensis

A blend that beckons with a discreet charm. Its spicy profile, dominated by nettle, is interwoven with a delicate floral note courtesy of calendula, knapweed, fireweed and oregano flower. The leaves themselves are a sight to behold – large and elegant, as is the hallmark of Camellia Sinensis herbal teas. These bigger leaves demand a rather tactile approach, as a spoon would not allow a balanced selection of ingredients.

The infusion offers a mild, soothing taste. Beyond its flavour, this tea’s virtues lie in its utility—relieving headaches and aiding digestion. A quiet yet dependable ally in one’s collection albeit its steep price, perfect for moments of restorative calm.

I drank this yesterday while I was working and to be perfectly honest it barely made an impression at all, positively or negatively. I remember the thickness of the liquor and notes of both black pepper and cardamom but generally speaking it was sort of this heavier and more dense spice profile that totally just slipped right into the backdrop of my day. It was warmth, and caffeine but, well, not really flavour…

I guess I will need to drink it again and try and focus better!

A new limited edition blend from this past winter.

I was torn whether I wanted to try this one since it’s got a heavy amount of chamomile in it, but curiosity won out and I decided to grab a bag anyway. Well, definitely really strong notes of chamomile but with a slight fruity edge to it. I drank it when I was still VERY out of it following my dental surgery (still numbed up and everything) so I don’t recall much else about the cup. It was so-so but a nice, warm drink to sip on before crashing out and having a nap…

This herbal tea bears witness to the rigorous selection of leaves by Camellia Sinensis. The leaves themselves are of the size and quality typical of this tea house, which is better hand-picked, rather than scooped out with a spoon.

The aroma is dominated by a vivacious lemongrass note, yet artfully interwoven with delicate florals, and a refreshing zest. Upon infusion, the brew unfolds with a delightful interplay of tartness and subtle floral undertones. The lemongrass remains a prominent protagonist, lending a vibrant acidity. However, the infusion threatens to veer towards an assertive boldness after seven minutes, while a mere minute earlier, it risks becoming disappointingly watery whilst maintaining an astringency.

This tisane being on the more expensive spectrum (80 CAD$ for 100g), I wonder if I could find something similar and as relaxing in another teahouse.

I don’t have much experience with tulsi or gotu kola and I was intrigued enough to buy a big bag of this tea for $6 or so. I might have been hoping that the flavour would be a less sweet version of Coca Cola. I steeped about 3 g of tea in 355 ml of 190F water for 4, 6, 8, and 10 minutes.

The dry aroma is of basil, cloves, herbs, and cola. The first steep is heavy on the clove, with basil, herbs, caramel, and what I presume is the gotu kola in the background. The flavour is sweet, earthy, and spicy. The next couple steeps are very similar, though the clove fades into the background and the basil becomes more prominent. By the end of the session, the tea is grassy, herbaceous, earthy, and sweet. I probably should have stopped at three steeps, as the last one is kind of watery.

So, does this taste like Coke? Sort of, though it’s too clove heavy to be convincing and is missing a citrus element. This tea is pleasant enough to enjoy on a snowy evening. At least it doesn’t have licorice, hibiscus, or chamomile, which are ubiquitous in most herbal teas.

gong fu!
dry buds are exceptionally pale and have a pleasant fresh hay smell. i brewed this tea at 80°C instead of the recommended 75°C, as i feel this helps to bring out its sheng puer-like qualities without completely destroying its delicate flavours. it also has a nice astringency that i feel is quite common with vietnamese and yunnanese teas. delicate peach, floral and honey flavours take the stage in the first few steeps. in subsequent infusions, these are softened, and darker hay and autumn leaf notes are more present (along with that astringency i mentioned). overall a very enjoyable tea! lasted for 8 infusions.

grandpa style!
i love bug-bitten teas so much, and this is no exception. even when i brew it grandpa style, this guei fei has a wonderfully complex floral flavour that lingers for quite a while after sipping, with some nice berry notes somewhat similar to raspberry leaf tea. visually, this tea has long, narrow leaves and a dark amber colour. super comforting for autumn, but i drink this year-round.

i used to pick wintergreen in the woods when i was a kid! love infusing this stuff. it’s refreshing and relaxing, smells incredible and has a surprisingly complex flavour. it’s a bit menthol-y, very “fresh” – don’t really know how else to describe it. it’s quite similar to old school bubble gum (if i recall correctly, this is what they used to flavour it with). great to sip at the end of the day, and i love drinking some of this when i get migraines, i find it helps a little.

This is a complex and lovely tea. It tastes like a forest, but not just fir, all the things that could be found in a boreal forest. There’s a natural sweetness that is really amazing, a definite taste of blueberry and the fir is very much present. The other ingredients serve to add layers and depth to the cup overall. I might pick up a bag of this one in my next CS order. Thanks for sharing Cameron!

2024 sipdown no. 76

Thanks Cameron for sharing this one! There are a fair few ingredients here, and I can pick out thyme and (somewhat) mellowed mint but am unsure what the other ingredients taste like, so can’t comment there. The steeped scent is almost like lemonade, in a unique twist. This is a nice enough herbal.

The dry leaf aroma of this unique herbal blend made from all Portugese ingredients is really complex and, to me at least, mouthwatering. Strong citrusy bergamot and lime notes but also this fantastic chocolate-y undertone that really pops off the lime in particular.

I didn’t expect the steeped tea to taste nearly as potent as the aroma, but I did think it would be a little closer in tasting notes than what it really was. It’s pretty gentle though aromatic with a delicate, fresh citrus profile that leans more towards the kafir lime than the bergamot. I thought it lost almost all the cocoa, and shockingly, there was something about the liquor that tasted very much like cannabis to me. It wasn’t unpleasant, but there was a mildly skunky funk to the citrus and herbaceous flavours that just made me feel like I was walking through a college campus on April 20th (if you catch my drift). It’ll be interesting to revisit this one – I can’t decide if it needs more leaf/steep time or less.

This tea definitely has very vegetal notes, especially present when brewed hot. It almost overpowers the usual sencha flavour I am accustomed to. Honestly it really does remind me of lettuce, but it has a nice sweet finish. I recommend recycling the brewed tea leaves for a nice cold brew that’s smooth, light and sweet.

Gongfu!

The dry leaf aroma of this tea is just intoxicatingly rich and earthy. I could smell it for hours and hours; there’s something so nostalgic and peaceful about the notes of petrichor and wet garden soil. Steeped, it loses a little bit of the edge but is still such a fantastically smooth and full-bodied earthy profile. Petrichor, yes, but also freshly pulled garden carrots and beets with the soil still caked to their sides. That kind of earthiness that is rich yet sweet and clean. The undertones make me think of old, antique books bound with thick leather coverings. Overall, the profile is very round and coating with all of these tasting notes that evoke such fond childhood memories of helping my grandma in her vegetable garden in the summer mornings, and ravenously reading books until the late hours of the evening. Such a beautiful tea.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9ASlQPu_LD/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zRI_2S7na0

Every summer since moving to Montreal, I think, “This will be the summer I get used to the humidty,” and every summer it is decidedly NOT. I suppose it doesn’t help that this past week we were basically going through a heatwave. It’s countless cold brews and iced teas like this one that get me through it, though. Light, crisp, and nutty with just a bit of a buttery undertone. I typically do prefer roasted kukicha over its greener counterpart, but this was very nice!!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8mgZp3uSjN/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULdc6ZV-kMk

2024 sipdown no. 45

The description of this matches perfectly! Rich flavour with honey sweetness and malty notes. There are hints of fruit adding to the sweetness as well. Really lovely cuppa and I would happily order this one again.

I’m not a huge Darjeeling drinker but I definitely appreciate a really good first or second flush every now and then, and I’m fortunate enough to live near Camellia Sinensis which means I get to reap the benefits of Kevin’s sourcing – so when this year’s Spring harvest was stocked I was excited to go and smell some teas in person and see if anything sparked interest…

Well, wow. This is a very “me” feeling Darjeeling. More medium bodied but with some briskness to it still, and that pleasant top not astringency that breaks into more of a crisp and fruity profile. Really muscatel but in a fleeting way before embracing a more mineral and woody body profile with snow pea and bean sprout undertones and a spicy yet cooling finish of cardamom. Some complex, but just also so… fresh. Just a little sugarcane sweetness to tease, without being an overly sweet tea at all. In fact, it’s rather vegetal but just in that really snappy and refreshing sort of way.

Deeply, deeply enjoyable. One of the best Darjeeling I’ve had in a while!

Had a mug of this earlier in the week and was a little bit just “whelmed” by it. It definitely has all of the flavours that it says to – pink grapefruit and rosemary in particular. Not sweet at all which does create a TINY bit of disconnect with the grapefruit because pink grapefruit is typically associated with being more sweet. It’s also not really pithy or especially bitter though, which is the other flavour combo I think of when it comes to grapefruits. Instead I felt like it was more earthy in its undertones, with clear notes of the beetroot that gives this blend its dazzling pink cup colour. Not unpleasant tasting, but not quite the fresh pop of fruit I was maybe looking for in the moment.

Cold Brew!

I met up with an IG tea friend yesterday who was in Montreal on vacation and we stopped at Camellia Sinensis to do some shopping and tea tasting. I noticed that this was a new flavour to their iced tea line up, and I’ve been really feeling pink grapefruit teas this summer so I decided to pick up a bag!

Honestly, this is very good but weirdly familiar!? I’m about half way through my cold brew of it right now and I’ve spent a lot of the time drinking this just trying to place what it’s reminding me of. The rosemary is SUPER strong so I wouldn’t recommend this for someone who doesn’t like a more savory or herbaceous ta blend, but honestly to me it just kind of enhances that more elevated cocktail kind of vibe. The pink grapefruit is bright, zesty and sweet with just a smidge of pith to balance it out. It’s also just a bit earthy from the beet in a subtle and complimentary way. I thought maybe it was reminding me of AQ2T’s Rosemary Grapefruit Mimosa blend, and I guess technically it is since there’s so much flavour overlap – the rosemary in this is stronger though and the grapefruit juicier.

That’s not it, though. Yes, there’s similarities but I think specifically the grapefruit flavour is REALLY making me think of another tea and I just can’t put my finger on which one…

Another go to Sencha for me. The leaves are just a bit larger due to the cultivar, and it’s lovely. At 167f for 2 minutes on the first infusion, the lime green liquor gives me a unique floral and fruity array, together with a meadow grassiness. This is a very unique and lovable characteristic of sencha for me.

Second infusion, I bump it up to 185f and brew it for 3 minutes to get more caffeine out of it. It doesn’t disappoint, as a lot of it’s brighter notes covers up the bitter nature of caffeine.

The Koshun Cultivar in general is lovely in comparison to Yabukita. They both have their ups, and in the case of Koshun, it’s a bit more forgiving with brewing, and not as finicky. An indulgent introduction to someone who may be new to Japanese Tea!

Having had 2022 and 2023s batch, I have to say this is one of my favorite Sencha’s. I brew it western style, and usually start around 167f. (If I want to draw it out, i’ll start at 155f for that Theanine hit). The liquor is a deep, glowing yellow and has an immaculate steamed brocolli/spinach aromatics. These same aromatics turn up in the taste

I keep my steepings short and use about 200ml and 4 to 5g of leaf when brewing. I usually start at about a minute or two. Sencha’s require you to get to know them to really enjoy their best attributes, and that is especially true with this tea. You want to avoid over brewing it.

I’ll easily get 3 to 5 infusions out of this with the brewing parameters I use, and I up the temperature a bit each time after the second infusion. The first infusions have a Thick Texture of a soup broth with intensely satisfying vegetable notes. A tiny bit of grassyness, but just the right amount.

As is habit with me, I will end the sencha with an optional infusion at 195f for 4 minutes to extract all of the caffeine. Even then, the tasting notes still linger.

The Body sensation is a calming, and yet lively and alert. I recommend this highly, so long as you don’t overbrew.

This tea is very giving. I got 3 infusions from throwing it in my tea basket and steeping it at 203 for 5 to 7 minutes at a time. I got some Meadow notes contrasted by a sugar cube, baked goods sweetness, with a rustic quality. The liquor comes out a bit on the brown side, and that makes sense. This tea approaches Moonlight White territory, which deepens its nuance.

It is a very versatile White Tea, and evolves with each infusion. Even when I boiled it out for the last infusion for 7 minutes, it was lovely. It also had that medicinal quality I look for in white teas, as I find them very good for the gums personally.

The Body Sensation is all in itself unique, as I get the calming quality, but a little boost of clear headed energy.

I recommend it highly! This is my first taste of Vietnam, and I am glad to say that I was not disappointed.

This is like a black tea mixed with salad greens. There is a lovely underlying sweetness as well. A very unique cup.

The description notes seaweed notes and maritime briney-ness, but I don’t get that. I recently had Coastal Oolong from MS, so perhaps that has swayed me since that was very ocean-esque. Though, this is my second cup of this one and the taste profile has been the same both times.

Sipdown (2587)!

I like the inclusion of spearmint in this blend because it adds more dimension and natural sweetness to what is otherwise a very basic and straightforward peppermint. However, I think leaving this tea sachet to steep in the mug while I drank may have been a mistake because near the end of the mug it ended up getting very potent and savory with a herbaceous element that almost felt like tulsi or even dill??