Camellia Sinensis
Edit CompanyPopular Teas from Camellia Sinensis
See All 452 TeasPopular Teaware from Camellia Sinensis
See AllRecent Tasting Notes
From my last Camellia Sinensis order…
- Western style infusion
- Smooth, malty/hay top notes
- A light vegetal body with sweeter fruity/peachy notes
- Finish is playfully nutty; hazlenut/marzipan
- Smooth, silky mouthfeel
I imagine Western brewing doesn’t do this one justice, not that it tasted bad. In fact, it was really enjoyable – but I feel like it hadn’t reached its “full potential”. I definitely look forward to trying Gong Fu in the future.
This started out as creamy and kind of buttery with a hint of raspberry but then developed an intense pineapple flavour that was at first very sweet but then very sour. I have to say I’m kind of loving it! I’m a huge fan of sour and this is definitely quite lip puckering. The first time I had this I found it good but nothing special but I can really see myself missing this when it’s gone — uping my rating!
Flavors: Butter, Pineapple, Pleasantly Sour, Raspberry, Sweet
This was nice, but it didn’t really wow me. I could see myself sipping down quite a bit of it if it happened to be in front of me but can’t imagine actually craving it. There’s a slight citrus note with a hint of raspberry that gives it a slight sour vibe, but I’d like something a little more intense. There’s also a light undertone of sweet vegetation. Good, not great.
Side note, this is surprisingly similar to the Cote d’Asur Garden blooming tea I had the other day but a little less raspberry-y.
Flavors: Citrus, Pleasantly Sour, Raspberry, Vegetal
Preparation
If you could package up the feeling of summer and camping into a tea, this would be it. There is the smokiness of the campfire, which gradually merges into a smoky bacon note. There’s a hint of sweet corn, which I find so typical of white teas. Finally, and most surprisingly, there’s a strong marshmallow note with a hint of chocolate. S’mores in a cup. The notes are subtle, to be sure, and I don’t think this tea would be for everyone, but I rather enjoyed it.
Flavors: Chocolate, Corn Husk, Marshmallow, Smoke
Preparation
My first oolong (not counting some of DAVIDs’ crazy blends that hardly count), and I’m happy to say I’m really enjoying it. Wonderfully light with a prominent butter note and complementing floral and grassy notes. I can see the hint of pine nut as well (one of my favourites). All in all, very nice!
Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Floral, Grass
Preparation
Sipdown (134)!
Had a short and very casual Gong Fu session with this one spaced out over two days. All in all only like six steeps; I could probably have gotten more but I’m not big on drawing out green tea sessions since I’m not really big on green tea either. I mostly just wanted to have a taste of the tea since CS was nice enough to send me a free sample of it, and now I’m happy to add the rest of the sample into the GCTTB.
Didn’t pay super close attention to this one if I’m being honest; but I remember that the mouthfeel was thicker and almost more creamy than your typical green tea and the flavour was quite grassy with a bit of nuttiness in the first day’s infusions. Day two I don’t really remember observing that quality so strongly.
The description says it tastes like fiddleheads and I definitely thought that was interesting ‘cause I’ve never tried fiddleheads, but then I wound up not tasting anything different or “out of the ordinary” that I could describe as possibly having the flavour of what I’m told fiddleheads are supposed to taste like. I mean, of course it’s hard trying to identify a flavour you’ve never experienced based on a concept but I still was kind of hoping there’d be something “extra” here.
Cold Brew Sipdown (336)!
Kind of glad to be done with this one, to be honest.
There’s actually nothing wrong with it – this is just one of those cases where I’ve drank so much that I’ve grown tired of the flavour. This last cold brew, I found myself critiquing the little things that normally don’t bother me way more than I should have been. Too floral, too much hibiscus…
It does feel good to sipdown something that wasn’t originally just a sample, though!
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!
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.
Flavors: Candy, Citrus, Floral, Hay, Pleasantly Sour, Red Fruits, Rose, Rosehips, Tart
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.
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
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.
Gong fu brewing will be my next experimenting step with teas, I think. Wanted to try forever but I’m lacking the proper equipment to do so. I will eventually get around to it.