Camellia Sinensis

Gongfu Sipdown (715)!

I’ve been trying something new with tasting notes – for a few months I was queuing everything up from the week and then writing all the notes up on Saturday but that was starting to feel exhausting to me and I realized that with Advent Calender season coming up I’ll be drinking 5+ teas a day just SPECIFICALLY from advents. So, the number of tasting notes I’d be doing in one day would have been insane. What I’ve been doing for a week now is just setting a “cap” to my queue – it can’t exceed more than fifteen teas. That’s been more manageable for me, and I’m still getting the satisfaction of writing tasting notes without the exhaustion I was experiencing on Saturdays…

Anyway! Here’s what I wrote on instagram for this bad boy:

_Sipped an interesting green tea from the Camellia Sinensis Tea Studio today; a Nilgiri grown Mao Feng!! I received this in my MTL tea festival sample bag & I’m happy I did because this unique terroir & production style combo was really educational, but likely not something I’d have independently sought out! A bit bitter and bitingly astringent at times, but that steeps that weren’t had a lovely vegetal sweetness to them that even I, as someone with a bit of a green tea aversion, could appreciate!

I think we got around eight steeps in total, but honestly only about half of them were good. I enjoyed the experience a lot though; every time I get to try a tea with a unique terroir or production I get a little excited!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5XzADAA8vw/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIGNNOZ0948

Sample from variaTEA, but originally from Roswell if I remember right. This one is actually pretty tasty tonight. I am peached out…but apricot I can get behind. While I don’t love green oolong, I am ok with them when done well with a flavour. Ie melon oolong :)

Glad to try this one as I’d consider getting it again if I had a hankering for apricot. Reminds me of one of the Paris teas I brought back but can’t for the life of me remember the name. It was an apricot black if I remember right.

Thanks ladies!

Grandpa style…

I’ve been putting off writing this tasting note because I don’t fully remember all of the details from drinking this tea, but I feel like the longer I do that the worse my memory of the experience is going to get so I’m just putting an end now to the procrastination.

I thought this was a really nice tea, but I actually didn’t find it to be all that complex drinking it in this style. It was very thick and smooth though, with a really camphorous finish. Like, disinctly camphorous. I remember thinking that I would need to look up the tea on the CS website because it was something that a coworker had brought in to the office to share and I’d sort of just skimmed the name on the packaging before tossing some into my mug, and I remember this saying “2019” but the taste here definitely felt much too intense, smooth, and aged to be from something so young. I still haven’t really done that though, so idk…

Very coating, gives you that soothing back of the throat feeling that’s just good.

Yeah; I liked this a lot…

Something that I had Grandpa style this week!

I’ll be honest, this was a gorgeous looking tea but in terms of taste I found it a bit underwhelming. It didn’t taste unpleasant at all but the flavour never really jumped out or “landed” in a way where it was memorable or tangible. I’d maybe say it was a little sweet and fruity (I see other reviewers said apple, but it wasn’t that distinct for me) with some honey and nutty elements in the finish. Smooth and easy to sip on with no astringency/tannin, but I wish there’d be a bit more “oomph” or clarity of flavour.

Tossed a few of these leaves into a mug this afternoon and drank as a semi-grandpa style thing while weighing stuff this afternoon – you know it’s a calm Friday when the biggest thing on your plate is weighing stuff…

This is good – not anything exceptional but I like the smooth medium bodied creamy florals throughout the cup, and hints of coconut/tonka. It’s a greener oolong without feeling green (if that makes sense) but it has that same type of fresh feeling. It’s the kind of thing I could drink a MASSIVE Western style pot of over the span of a TV show or movie or something and just simply not realize how much I’d consumed because it’s so smooth and easy drinking!

I’ve been helping a coworker for the last few months who is in the process of getting her Tea Sommelier certification, as I’ve written about before. The last course she did involved studying different tea producing countries, and one of the weeks was themed around India. She had to learn to blind taste the differences between Nilgiri, Assam, and Darjeeling teas. Ultimately she ended up getting different examples of all three regions (in addition to the course provided teas) from Camellia Sinensis to practice with at home in her spare time.

She shared this one with me though before taking them home, mostly because I’d sampled the other teas she grabbed from CS before but I’d not experienced their Nilgiri black offering before. I found it pretty nice – very full bodied and brisk with a pleasant astringency that kind of hit me at the back of my front teeth. The taste is sort of a brassy, tannic malt with hints of candied citrus peel, oak wood, and buckwheat honey/grains.

It’s a very “full” feeling and well rounded cup, for sure!

Montreal Tea Festival – Tea #21

Last tea to write about from the festival! Pretty impressed with myself for getting all the festival notes done in under a week, actually…

I was excited when I saw CS brewing this up – it’s from the same estate that DT’s Nepal Black comes from, though it’s not the same thing. Still, I couldn’t help but mentally compare the two while I tried this one out. Now, mind you that the brewing technique could play a lot into how the flavours came out in the infusion – but I thought this one seemed a bit lighter in body, but more nuanced in flavour. DT’s Nepal Black is very full bodied and brisk/sweet, with mostly honey and malt notes. This was more medium bodied, and the range of notes I got was a mix of clover honey, malt, milk chocolate, and prune. I liked it a lot, but just based on this one sample I think I surprisingly prefer DT’s Nepal Black for its richer honey notes and sweetness, even if it’s not as complex…

Brought in to work by a coworker; I was excited to try it because it smelled incredibly fresh and sweet, with a little of that greener note I often like in fresh white teas!

I have to say I disagree with CS’s tasting notes – I really can’t find the “cinnamon” in this at all. For me, it was very smooth but nice and light bodied/delicate with very soft notes of fresh hay, and then a mix of Spring Flowers/florals and a greener (but not bitter) cucumber skin note with a TINY bit of lemony citrus.

I enjoyed it a lot though – not enough to pick some up, because Bai Mu Dan is bulky and takes up way more space than I’m willing to dedicate to it – but if she leaves the bag at the office and doesn’t mind, I might dip into it again…

Sample Sipdown (709)!

This was one of my free samples from the joint order that I placed w/ my coworker. I finished it off last night Gongfu, with some strong steeping parameters. The sample was two little mini tuochas and I figured out that I could brew both of them in a gaiwan at a 1g/10ml ratio so that’s what I did. I wanted some thick shou!

Brewing it that strong made for a very bold session w/ incredibly thick liquor. Still quite smooth though with lots of notes of damp soil, minerality, date spread, shredded wheat, and a bit of a savory/brothy finish. Went very well with my strawberries & plums!!

I only steeped around seven infusions though I guarantee the tea could go longer; but in some ways it was like drinking hot infusions of thick oil – tasty oil though. It was very, very filling is more what I was trying to get at, though…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2EssxQgKa7/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oeNKBdF0lQ

Gongfu!

I absolutely love the wintergreen flavour of Ruby 18 tea, but this decade aged tea takes it a step further by marrying those tasting notes with the most delicious warm, golden baked bread and red fruit notes! I wish I took better notes during the session, but I was a little rushed as I was going to be headed to the dentist shortly and I wanted to make sure I got to brew out the tea completely and enjoy it to its fullest in the moment.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaX77Xkuode/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8iVgT50vHQ&ab_channel=Sfven

More Gongfu!

Earlier in the week I went to Camellia Sinensis, mainly to go to the tea house with a friend but I couldn’t resist picking up some teaware too. I nabbed myself a new chahai because I’ve been craving some diversity with my options for that style of teaware. I got this gorgeous and more earth toned one, and today I broke it in with some tea that was also from CS!

I remember trying this Gongfu when I first got it, but I don’t strongly remember the tasting notes I experienced with it – I just know that I liked it. I’ll have to go back and reread my tasting note and compare that experience with this one to see if they were consistent. One thing that would definitely be different, though, is that I brewed it this time in an unglazed shibo that I exclusively use for Taiwanese black teas.

I got a lot of infusions out of this tea, and I found it adapted well to my more casual brewing style – I tend to rely on gut feeling to determine my steep times over precisely timing them, and sometimes when you do that with a more fickle tea you get shaky results. This came out good every time though. The wet leaves smell distinctly like wintergreen, however many of the infusions shared a delicious and fruitier profile with notes such as malt, leather, sweet red wine, and stewed red fruits! It was rich and aromatic, and just a very satisfying experience.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9IRENsA263/

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

Placed a CS order a week or so ago w/ a coworker because we were both interesting in trying some things – including this aged Sun Moon Lake, which was the first time either of us had even seen aged SML! We were super curious, but for $45/50g neither of us wanted to blindly order it in that high a quantity. So we split the 50g, which made the price tag a little more palatable…

I steeped this Gongfu to test it out – it was really quite lovely! I don’t think I could blindly identify this as Sun Moon Lake based on the flavours observed in the session, and I think that’s likely a good indicator that something has happened during the ‘aging process’ for this tea. Is is a good something? Well I think that’s debatable – because if you want a SML that has typical SML notes you’re probably going to be let down. However, as its own flavour profile it’s really lovely!

Here’s what I wrote on instagram:

Lovely, thick liquor and a VERY sweet profile – notes of dense, syrupy cooked down/stewed plums & red fruit, with a hint of raisin and a bit of malt, leather and mild warming spices (nutmeg?) in the finish…

I look forward to finishing the rest off because it’s so tasty – however, if I’m looking at this from the perspective of smiles to $$$/g spent I don’t think I’d reorder it. It’s good, but it’s also pricey. Instead I’m going to treat this as what it is – I special treat for myself and new experience on my tea bucket list!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_VgXFA387/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftwMLH962-o

Wow this tea has everything it takes to surprise someone who is not familiar with dan congs! It has an astringency that become more prominent with each brews. I really enjoyed this tea! Floral and fruity yummy!

This is a simple but tasty black tea with a weakish aroma. I picked it up at the Toronto Tea Festival earlier this year. It has a good balanced astringency and bitterness. As for the taste, I get notes of toffee, roasted grains and a minty/cooling finish. The aftertaste is quite expansive and spicy.

After the session, I noticed the leaves still have a slight green hue to them. This is not a fully oxidized black tea, which is interesting to see.

I am an unapologetic milk-in-my-tea person. Unless it’s NOT a black tea, or if it’s got a fruit flavor, I’m most likely going to add milk to it. I just can’t with this. I don’t want to ruin it. It’s perfect as it is – aromatic, with honey-like notes and an almost fruity finish. This was a generous, not free (but very reasonable!) sample from a tea expo in NY from too long ago, but it’s still lovely, and confirms Camellia Sinensis as a serious, quality tea vendor IMO. It’s a beautiful Chinese black, and I could drink it forever. Even nice as a cold brew using the spent leaves. I would buy more, but will have to hold off as I’ve got the same problem as other tea drinkers – too much tea, not enough time.

Gongfu in the Jin Shuan yixing…

Pulling notes straight from instagram because I just realized I’m been writing tasting notes today for like four hours – and I do know that I wrote a good one on instagram the day that I drank this tea. Worth noting that I drank this w/ food – some cranberry and hazelnut crackers and a cranberry/red wine chevre…

The tea has such a velvety, thick mouthfeel and smooth, buttery/creamy condensed milk & fresh spring flowers profile – really, really brings out the creaminess of the goat cheese, and coats the whole mouth. This crisp, tart notes of cranberry are like an explosion of fruit – made all the more sweet by the thick creamy oolong and floral notes. I really love the contrast of flavours here, it makes both the tart fruit and the silky oolong seem all the more flavourful!

My jin shuan pot is also seasoning really nicely, I’m happy to report!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ckiFsgg4H/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vABetmtBDj0

Gongfu! (Also last tasting note in the queue – I made good time today)

Finally had a chance to use my beautiful panda pot from BLT; it’s the one that I seasoned a while back with this same tea. The plan, right now, is to only use it for Jin Shuan but we shall see if I decide to expand that dedication over time…

Paired this one with a pint of delicious Quebec Strawberries; no word of a lie they were the best strawberries I’ve ever had. I’m not sure why, but produce in general just seems to be so much better here!? Instagram Notes from the session: Beautiful oolong, with fresh linen and soft, delicate green notes. It’s also so buttery and floral, with a thick and creamy mouthfeel, that I’m kind of getting a strawberries & cream vibe!! Perfection!!

This bad boy lasted around eight good infusions; not the longest I’ve gotten from an oolong but not bad either!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGnGl2gQRu/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI9cZyhDJOU&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=56&t=0s

(Obsessed with this band right now…)

Gongfu!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_vk9UOuZDI/?img_index=1

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

I’m on a big Yiwu kick right now – so last weekend I picked up a couple different offerings from CS. It’s very nice being able to get and smell the teas in person, really helped me gauge which ones I wanted to try the most of their current offerings…

This was very pleasant, but unexpected in a lot of ways. Here’s what I wrote about it on instagram, since I think I did a great job of conveying my thoughts into words in my posting there:

“Really, realllllyyy interesting tea! It took a very long time for the flavours to build up but they were super lovely. A silky, soft mouthfeel w/ notes of vanilla bean, delicate and sweet apricot (not a dense, syrupy/overripe stonefruit note), and mellow + creamy trace of marshmallow leaf. A sweet, cooling/camphorous finish – very clean and crisp. It’s sort of jarring seeing the deeper amber liquor from the insusions, but getting such a soft, silky and delicate flavour profile. I’m not one to experience “tea drunkenness” too heavily or frequently, but about halfway through the session I found myself with the warm, cozy body feeling of being slightly buzzed – and it wasn’t just the heat of the apartment! I love forward to drinking the rest of the sample.

So yeah, it was a good tea! Any time I get a natural vanilla note in a tea is a good day, honestly. But also, I’ve never really experienced marshmallow leaf as a note in other teas before, so that was a super unique thing that jumped out to me!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByklVL0AtNA/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Gc04OX4PU

This is the 2018 spring harvest. I know, I can’t believe I’m drinking a tea that’s less than a year old! I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 203F for 30, 20, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus two long steeps at the end of the session.

The dry leaf smells like heady lilacs and orchids with a hint of citrus. The first steep is highly floral, with lilacs, gardenias, jasmine, and orchids, plus a vegetal backbone, maybe some parsley, and strong citrus hints. The mouthfeel is a bit oily and the aftertaste is like exhaling perfume. (This is a compliment in my books.) The second steep is more herbaceous, with a saline quality that I noticed because the website pointed it out. If I had to compare it with anything, it would be the Man Lou Xiang from the same company.

The next couple steeps become slightly more vegetal, though still heavily floral and citrusy. However, it’s starting to slide into green tea territory. Steeps five to eight have softer florals, less citrus, and a more saline, vegetal profile. I steeped the tea twice more because I didn’t want to let go, and while the steeps were quite vegetal, they were still tasty.

I highly recommend this tea to anyone who likes floral, slightly fruity oolongs. I can see myself ordering it again.

Had this yesterday and it was also kind of flat/dull tasting and lacking in sweetness both natural from the black tea and from the maple sugar addition. It made for a very concentrated, malty black tea taste though so it wasn’t all bad. This cold is REALLY putting a damper on my tea drinking though.

This was a… fine cup of tea.

The black tea base is super intense and full bodied, with a malty briskness to it that sort of snaps back at you. Definitely immediately screams “good with milk and sugar” to me. Very much that breakfast blend sort of style. The maple is too mild though, in my opinion. I don’t want it to taste like liquid syrup, but I do think it gets lost among the intensity of the tea itself and I feel like adding milk would only further that problem.

I guess maybe adding a little bit of my own sweetener might help.

I’ve been eyeing up this maple tea ever since CS announced/released it – and thankfully one of my coworkers went out and bought some before I had a chance to, otherwise I would have gone and got some for myself and wound up with 50g of a tea I just am not really into. Like, the dry leaf smelled good – natural maple and a little bit woody/malty. I just found the steeped profile very underwhelming. I know this is natural maple/not really flavoured at all so I didn’t expect anything overly intense – but the maple was so weak/light and not particularly sweet at all. I mean, the black tea base they’ve mixed it with is quite nice: woody, malty and a little bit of a honey taste. However, since the maple didn’t really bring much to the table for me I might as well have just sought out the base itself and drunk that instead…

But now I know, and at least I didn’t blind buy 50g of it.

This tea is much much better when steeped just 4 minutes and not…..however long it was last time. I think I’ll even try 3 next time. The black tea still tastes very ‘dark’ to me here. Not really finding any other words than that. Not quite bitter but i did add some additional sweetener and milk as the package recommended. Quite tasty and I’ve been sharing with a friend at work. This is good but I’ll probably not buy it again.