Camellia Sinensis

Tea Press!

Ok, I’m learning! Last time I thought this was way to weak/watery tasting so this time around I doubled the amount of leaf I originally had used, and gave it about three more minutes of steep time. The resulting brew was way more satisfying! Very sweet with, in my opinion, quite a distinct winter green flavour without that kind of harsh minty/menthol finishing that sometimes winter green flavoured things, like candy or gum, have. I also thought it had a touch of a herbaceous sort of undertone, which does make some sense to me since this is actual wintergreen leaf and not just a wintergreen flavoured tisane/blend.

I shared it with some coworkers too, without telling them what it was. Both agreed it was minty, but likened the flavour to bubblegum as well. I definitely didn’t personally see that beforehand but after having it pointed out to me I can see where they were coming from.

Song Pairing: https://youtu.be/oTgYqm76ILo

So I think I first saw this on CS’s website about two years ago, and at that time I distinctly remember going “Oh, that looks wonderful! I must have it!”. However, for the next two years everytime I went to place an order it was out of stock…

That is until about a month ago, when I was finally able to add a bag of it into my cart! It was a very satisfying moment, since it was a long time waiting. That means there was some pressure for the tea to live up to the anticipation of getting it, though. Would it be as wonderful as I hoped it could be!? The answer to that question?

Mostly.

The smell of the dry leaf is fucking INCREDIBLE. Wintergreen is easily my favourite of all the mints, and this is rich and intense – just so, so, so lovely. The part that was lacking a bit for me was the flavour of the steeped up tisane; it was really mild/light. The flavour that was present was smooth and relaxing with a perfect amount of sweetness and cool, crisp finish. Very clean and lovely. I just wanted a lot MORE of it. That said, I have a feeling I may not have used enough of the leaf in my infusion. I did give it a solid steep time; I just think I needed to be more heavy handed measuring it out.

So, hope is not lost yet for that delicious, robust Wintergreen flavour – I’ll try again with double the tea leaf and see if I get something more in line with the intensity I’m craving. However, even if this is all that the tisane is able to produce flavour wise it’s not bad at all.

Sipdown (582)!

Just so beautifully smooth and flavoruful with really distinct notes of raisins/muscat and a great malty finish to the sip with just a bit of bite/crispness to the finish. It was a VERY good cup; arguably the best that I’ve had all week if not month. Deeply satisfying.

One of the more forgettable Darjeeling teas in my collection, which made it a good choice for my morning cuppa this morning. I knew I wanted a black tea that I could add some pumpkin agave to; and this was as good a choice as any.

I’m actually loving the combo because the Darjeeling itself has a nice warming raisin bread taste to it and that lovely “autumn leaf pile” flavour that is very much a thing but also really hard to explain flavour wise as anything else but the taste/smell of autumn leaves. Point is, both of those things kind of scream “autumn vibes” in terms of flavour – and so pumpkin is just a nice pairing with those sort of flavour notes.

Good for this time of year, and has made an otherwise kind of weird and boring Darjeeling a lot more interesting.

First tea of the morning; but a pretty forgettable cup if I’m being honest. A mix of malt, floral, and bread notes – reminds me more of an Assam than a Darjeeling for some reason? But it’s a pretty old tea, so it’s probably just aged poorly.

Grabbed this one from one of my many sample boxes downstairs.

My flavoured samples are a bit of a mess right now, but the straight tea ones are actually really organized for the moment which is why I’m a little frustrated with myself for pulling this one out tonight! I don’t know why, by CS really likes giving me Darjeeling samples in my orders, so I’ve got a few from them with really similar packaging. I had actually meant to grab one I’ve already tried but they all look and sound the same at a glance. I just feel like I wont do this one justice tonight; my nose is REALLY stuffy and it’s definitely affecting my ability to taste flavour nuances pretty badly tonight…

Yeah; this is weird. I need to revisit this when I’m not feeling well because what I’m tasting is pretty odd/muddled and unclear. It kind of reminds me of vegetables/yellow bell peppers? But also malt, and… something else? The something else isn’t pleasant though; the more I sip it the more I think of, like, cardboard? I’m sure the tea doesn’t taste like cardboard though. I’m just not at top game/tasting capability right now.

Even bell pepper feels weird to me though; but skimming the company description for this one… maybe not? They don’t specify bell pepper, but CS does describe this as tasting like vegetables. I don’t know; personally it doesn’t remind me of a Darjeeling AT ALL right now. Everything is a little bit ‘bleh’ currently, though.

No rating for now.

This was the highlight purchase of my first trip to Camellia Sinensis. Leaves are even, unbroken, well cared for. They show a mostly even darkness with occasional greens, signs of a good aging. Scents are light on the dry tea, nothing damp nor anything very green.

Overall, has a really pleasant Sheng flavor with some age on it but nothing major. Begins with a pleasant sourness, some bookstore-funk, some salt on it, brothiness, eventually sweet aromas, more vegetal (burdock, licorice root, dandelion root). Not majorly energizing, nor sedating, soothing if anything.

1.5tsp – 8oz

Rinse+rest

30s/210 – Hay, corn husk, oily mouthfeel initially, with a slightly sweet smell like nectar, oddly it makes you salivate like crazy. A background of beautiful aged Sheng – no must, basement, damp, only rich, deep, beautiful profile. Brothy, def. has a savory element early on on the back of the palate. Fall, Ocean Air, camphor salty, age on the back end then ends with a savory/sour note that lingers and moves forward in the mouth. Salt, savory, umami flavors linger long after you swallow.

30S/210 – Strong smells of umeboshi, young sheng, sour, bookstore in a good way, a fresh roll of seamless paper or cutting open a new watercolor block, sweet cream, slight notes of smoke and vegetables coming off. It is astringent in this cup, even at a slightly shorter steep time, with more age apparent on the tongue, flavors of black pepper, barley, saffron, again slight sour, still has the brothiness but becoming more Shu tasting vs savory. Beautiful nose. Cooling in the mouth, not full on camphor but in the direction. Still salty and rich.

40S/210 – On the nose – plum, honey, Dongfang Meiren, again bookstore in a good way but lesser than first 2 pours, wood, wet rocks, mountain air, salt is there but fading. No sweetness yet on flavor. The astringent flavors are lesser, still drying to the mouth though, a lot like the more alkaloidal root herbs (burdock, dried dandelion root, oak bark, and white willow bark.) Vegetal like green peppers meets dry hay meets dried burdock root. Deeper, muskier smells have given way to a cleaner, more nuanced aged flavor. Sour is fading too.

2m/212 – really let this steep go on but the rich fresh Sheng flavor came back and the sweetness arrived, so some kind of sugars dissolved that hadn’t yet and it definitely improved as I tasted it (a spoonful) at 1 minute. By minute 2, it was much more complex and pungent. Astringency is the same but sour is gone. Aged flavors still present but subdued. Aromas of wildflowers with flavors of fresh light leather, licorice root, celeriac, still a little salt oddly enough.

This is my first 7581. For starters, I cannot for the life of me figure out what the D denotes in the naming by Camellia Sinensis, whom this tea is from, but their reputation is great, so I have no doubt this is authentic. 2004, from what I have found, was during an odd time for Pu Erh production, and for CCCP Pu Erh especially. From what I have sussed out, the Kunming factory, while not directly CCCP, is affiliated with and produced tea under their labels/management, however they are also known to have made some of the better and more consistent teas of the group. (https://teadb.org/cnnp-zhongcha/)

Anyways, on to the tea. I’ve brewed this 2-3 times now, each time learning the tea and making better choices. On it’s own it has some salt to it, not much wo dui dampness, but enough to have a velvety soil smell, like fresh forest floor. It is on the peppery side, with an astringency and a very slight ‘kick’ that makes it stand out for other shou. Better to use a little extra leaf although the chunks are somewhat delicate and prone to crumbling if you try to peel them apart.

As I’ve learned this tea, I’ve decided to throw in a punch of the Rishi Tea loose Pu erh, which has a much richer wo dui mustiness and a half to one whole Chrysanthemum pod. The Rishi Pu Erh provides a smokiness and mustiness that the original tea is lacking and the Chrysanthemum pod accentuates the spice characteristics that this tea has. All together, they balance to complement this fine red tea. I would definitely place this firmly on the spice/soil side of Pu Erh as opposed to the must/wo dui side.

It is a coating flavor, finishing at the back of the palate, and leaves a nice lingering astringency that is pleasant if you avoid overbrewing. Mildly drying, not a problem though.

Notes of mushrooms, broth, roasted root vegetables, forest floor, wet rocks, salt, minerality, wet metal, dry heartwoods, black pepper

Breweing this way early, could easily use another couple years to lose some of it’s more astringent properties. Pleasant level of soil smell and taste, muted though, more like oak because of its astringency. Clay, old leather, mushroom flavors all present. This would be a good shu to mature, but if you drink it now (2017), brew it short and expect that astringency you get from alkaloid rich herbs like Yellow Dock or Goldenseal.

Tried this one a variety of ways this morning/afternoon and it’s pretty meh for me. Not sure if i’m missing the boat with this one but i’ll be setting aside the rest of this for friends to try in the hopes that they have a better experience with this. It’s not a BAD tea…just boring? uneventful? un exciting? :)

Not sure how i feel about this one. I’m going to have to have this one again. It’s not unpleasant but i’m not sure it’s really doing anything for me. It has a sweetness to it that i like, but there’s an aftertaste that reminds me of something that i can’t quite place. I’ll have to explore this one a little more later :)

This 2017 harvest is actually DJ-16, which I think means that it’s a slightly earlier invoice. In the bag, it smells like dried flowers, herbs, and stonefruit. After a 3:30 steep at 195F, these flavours become more prominent. There’s not a lot of astringency, and the peach and muscatel make this tea pleasantly sweet, balancing out the herbaceousness that I think is characteristic of FF Darjeelings.

A five-minute second steep is surprisingly good, though I’ve learned from experience not to push it beyond that to “extract all the flavour!”

I’m drinking the spring 2020 iteration of this much-loved Shan Lin Xi. I’ve written notes on the 2017 and 2018 versions already and there’s not much to add, but I had to give a shoutout to how great it is.

Steeped according to my usual parameters, I get that lovely jammy cherry, orchid, cream, wheatgrass, papaya, spinach, and lettuce, plus some new-to-me notes of coconut and vanilla. That SLX balsam note comes out in later steeps, along with some honeyed florals. The creamy vanilla cushions the vegetal fade, which, as in other harvests, comes too soon for my liking.

I just chugged eight steeps of this tea in less than an hour and a half, which is kind of a record for me. In spite of its lack of longevity, this is one of my favourite oolongs and I’m raising the rating accordingly. Other teas can spend years in my cupboard, but I’ll be surprised if this one lasts more than a month.

I wrote a previous tasting note on the 2017 spring harvest of this Shan Lin Xi, and this one is for 2018. Every year, I get some of this tea, and every year, I run out of it too soon. I need to cave and buy a larger amount. I steeped my last remaining 6 g in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

In the teapot, I get aromas of cherry, wheatgrass, flowers, and honey; it smells softer and more nuanced than the 2017 version. Because it has all the tea bits from the bottom of the bag, the first steep is more astringent than usual, with notes of flowers, honey, cream, grass, and faint cherry. From the second steep, stronger cherry, balsam, and tropical fruit (maybe papaya?) emerge. Like its 2017 counterpart, this tea ends too soon, with the fruitiness and florals disappearing into vegetal obscurity by steep seven or so.

This Shan Lin Xi is a favourite and is great for mindless sipping. Last spring’s harvest had a more distinctive cherry profile, and while I appreciate this year’s honey and florals, that fruitiness is what makes me return year after year. The only thing that’s preventing me from giving this tea a higher rating is how quickly it ends.

I’ve sampled every harvest of this oolong since I started drinking loose-leaf tea in 2015, so you could say it’s an all-time favourite. There are teas that are more complex, last longer, and get more attention online, but I keep coming back to this one because of its approachability.

Just as the description from Camellia Sinensis promises, it hits you with strong cherry, coconut, and wheatgrass notes. (I probably couldn’t have put my finger on the wheatgrass flavour if the website hadn’t mentioned it, but once you know what to look for, it’s unmistakable.) Unfortunately, the tea doesn’t have staying power, usually losing its fruitiness and turning vegetal by around the sixth gongfu steep. Alternatively, I can get three good Western infusions out of it. At $20 CAD for 50 grams, it’s also a decent price for an oolong from this area.

This is a wonderful everyday tea—not so complex that I need to think about it, and bold enough to stay interesting.

I’m transitioning from a day to a night shift sleeping schedule tonight… which means I’m ingesting an alarming amount of tea. I did an all at once side-by-side of a 1st, 2nd, and autumnal flush Darjeeling to get an initial feel for how they compare side by side. Because I’m sleepy and minimally functional I grandpa-style brewed them fairly cool.

This 1st flush was honestly my least favorite of the three flushes! It was the most citrusy and astringent, with a light colored and sweetly fragrant liqueur. I was surprised at any bitterness at all considering the temperature of the water but then again I’m particularly sensitive when it comes to bitterness. I double and triple checked the listing which claims this is a black tea. I haven’t had darjeeling before this experiment but I SWEAR this is a green with its light floral flavors, quick-to-go-bitter tendency and lack of any rounder notes. Is this typical of first flush Darjeelings? Is this just because I brewed it a little haphazardly? Am I going insane in my exhaustion?

A future gongfu session will secure a rating. Until then, I’ll call this one “meh.”

I’m transitioning from a day to a night shift sleeping schedule which means I’m ingesting an alarming amount of tea. I did a side-by-side of a 1st, 2nd, and autumnal flush Darjeeling to get an initial feel for how they compare side by side. Because I’m sleepy and minimally functional I grandpa-style brewed them fairly cool.

I found this to be the most enjoyable of the three flushes. A delightful light-toasty and nutty dry leaf aroma that made a pleasant amber liquid. Tastes like cherries, oak, nuts, brown sugar. Supposedly this one has decent muscatel notes but I still don’t have any idea what that means. . . it’s possible my extremely gentle hand with this brew wouldn’t have extracted that flavor this round anyway.

I’m transitioning from a day to a night shift sleeping schedule which means I’m ingesting an alarming amount of tea. I did a side-by-side of a 1st, 2nd, and autumnal flush Darjeeling to get an initial feel for how they compare side by side. Because I’m sleepy and minimally functional I grandpa-style brewed them fairly cool.

I think this was the most interesting and complex of the three, almost like a blend of the first two! It had both caramel and citrus notes, not competing, almost taking turns on the palate. Very interesting.

I’m wistfully savouring the last of this tea, regretting that I didn’t buy a kilo of it. Since there was a little more than an average session’s worth but not enough for two, I put about 7 g of leaf in my 120 ml teapot. I steeped it at 195F for 20, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

This tea is sweet, rich, and balanced. I get notes of barley sugar, honey, flowers, caramel, chestnuts, cranberries, malt, and wood. There’s a bit of astringency, especially since I stuffed so much tea in the pot, but it doesn’t detract from the deliciousness. By the third steep, notes of orange blossom, citrus, and a bit of cocoa show up, and walnut skin appears in the aftertaste.

For the next few steeps, the chestnut, honey, and fruity tartness are dominant. Even when it starts to fade, it does it elegantly, without the bitter mineral taste that later infusions of black teas seem to have.

No question, this is the best black tea I’ve had in 2017.

This is my first review on Steepster! And, since offbeat variations on well-known tea types tend to interest me, this black tea from Guangdong is a good place to start.

Other than having tart, berry notes and long, twisty leaves, however, this doesn’t remind me much of a Dan Cong, but instead recalls some other Chinese black teas I’ve had. It’s sweet (Camellia Sinensis’s mention of barley sugar is accurate), peanuty, slightly floral, and most importantly, forgiving. It’s comforting and balanced, and I’ll especially enjoy this as an autumn brew.

I steeped slightly more than 3 teaspoons of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at 195F for 25, 15, 25, 40, 55, 70, and 180 seconds.

I bought this as part of the 2017 Taiwan Tasting Kit. While it’s not the most outstanding tea in the world, it’s well worth the regular price of $10/50g. Like other Four Seasons I’ve had, it’s tangy and floral with hints of vanilla. It also has a spicy note in the first few steeps that is really enjoyable. Unfortunately, it gets vegetal quickly, petering out around steep six. I could see myself restocking this tea, but it’s not a priority.

I steeped 5 grams in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at around 200f for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 40, 50, and 100 seconds.