Camellia Sinensis

Puerh Tea TTB. This tea is excellent. It’s fruity with notes of cocoa. It has very little fermentation flavor left for a 2012 tea. I did not notice a heavy fermentation taste that you might expect in a recent shou. I think I get a slight note of camphor here, but very slight. There are no off tastes or wet storage tastes. Camellia Sinensis must have done a good job of storing this tea. This is definitely one I would look into buying if it is still available. I used a little less leaf on this than my usual because there was only 6.6g of leaf left in the original 15g sample. So I think later steeps were a little weak. Nothing more leaf wouldn’t solve anyway.

I brewed this tea twelve times in a 100ml gaiwan with 6.6g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min. I think with a larger amount of leaf this tea would go twenty steeps or nearly anyway.

A very pleasant asamushi sencha: softly marine with a slight roasted flavour in the first infusion, followed by a surprisingly muted astringency in the second. The third brew produces a refreshingly sweet liquor.

First infusion – 5 g. per 8 oz water, 65 deg., 1:00 min.

Second infusion – 5 g. per 8 oz. water, 65 deg., 2:00 min.

Third infusion – 5 g. per 8 oz. water, boiling, 10:00 min.

Gongfu!

Paired this session some very sweet ripe Concord grapes!! I’m a big fan of the natural anise-like undertones present in this super full bodied and assertively smoky black tea and the little pop of very juicy grapes inbetween sips makes for a highly dynamic and engaging session that really takes you on a flavour rollercoaster with the perfect level of lingering tannic astringency and bitterness after each sip and bite to balance out this rich indulgent combo!!

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

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBJ_neUBL0g

This past week I got really into a very, uh, “niche” food… Kool-Aid Pickles!

If you just read that and your immediate thought was “what the fuck!?” just know that you are not alone; I asked my IG followers what tea they would pair with a kool-aid pickle and the majority of people were either VERY confused or very repulsed. A kool-aid pickle is sort of what it sounds like though, a pickle brined in a pickle juice and kool-aid solution that takes on these really intense and highly pigmented colours as well as a fruity taste that mirrors the type of kool-aid that was used.

I made Cherry Kool-Aid pickles last week, which I really enjoyed. I ended up having them with a BBQ pulled jackfruit and slaw burger matched with this Lapsang – because an intense flavour like that needs something equally intense matched with it, and this is one of the sweeter (re: anise-y) tasting LS in my stash at the moment. Also, Lapsang and BBQ? Yeah. that just sounded like a sure fire win.

It was really good and I liked the pairing a lot, but more than anything it REALLY made me want to try approaching Kool-Aid pickles but using tea in the brining. So, I have a jar going right now of “Blackberry Blizzard Pickles” (a tisane from DT) as my first stab at applying the same technique. So, tasting note on that some time in the future…

Gongfu!

Had this one late Thursday afternoon/early evening, with some freshly cut tangelos, as a reward to myself for a long and stressful morning dealing with some apartment/roommate problems. I’ve been craving smoky all week, so this was a real treat! I don’t like to drink smoked teas at work because my desk is in our tea lab and the smell of a potent Lapsang can really take over the space so quickly, but I’m also not drinking as much Gongfu at home (outside of the weekends) right now because there’s really no natural lighting in my apartment by the time I get home from work – that means limited moments to have some LS…

I only did four steeps because I found this so rich and filling, but the intense and thick smoke notes were entrancing. Deeply woody and tarry, with a more molasess-y sweet undertone. The smoke hangs heavy in the mouth after swallowing the liquor, as well. I liked using the tangelo as a refreshing way to clear that smoke from the palate in between steeping – it was sweet and very juicy, with a tangy acidity. Perfect as a foil for this full bodied black tea.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B79bxi9Ac0-/

I kind of hate this photo – it’s sort of what I mean when I say there’s poor lighting in my apartment at this time of year. This was the best I could do on Thursday to capture any lighting though, and it was basically pitch black not even ten minutes after taking this photo.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc4pcz0HtsE

This is from a BEAUTIFUL concept album called “Neon Skylines” – the artist is from Saskatchewan, like me, but now living in Ontario. The whole album is a complete joy, and I highly recommend listening to it from start to finish. I’ve been deeply engrossed in it all week now, and am very close to learning all of the songs by memory…

I love my yixing pots, but frankly they’re all woefully underused. I just gravitate to my gaiwans a lot more…

However, I was strongly in the mood for Lapsang yesterday morning so I pulled out the pot that I have dedicated to Lapsang and decided to have a nice, long session with it. I think I wanted Lapsang because it’s cold and chilly out; I seem to crave this flavour profile much more in the fall and winter.

I think, all in all, I got about nine infusions from this – and by infusion number nine the leaf was pretty brewed out. In general, black tea doesn’t seem to have a massive lifespan with resteeps, and I’ve found personally that Lapsang has even shorter than the typical black – so I was pretty happy/content with this session. Of course, LS is a tea that starts off really powerful and overwhelming right away – but that intense smoked wood quality is really beautiful, and I just love how bold it is. Until infusion three or four it’s near impossible to taste anything but smoke, but then it starts to lessen in intensity and I was treated to the lovely, sweet taste of anise and a hint of petrichor undertones/finish. The best was that even by infusions eight/nine where there was barely any smoke/taste at all there was still the sweetness of the anise notes.

Photos (but not great ones):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BopRu1fldPg/?taken-by=ros_strange

With just a hint of milk to temper the smoke oh so slightly.

This tasted absolutely delicious going down; but apparently I was enjoying it a little too much because I slurped back enough of it in one go, with enough air to give myself the hiccups. Man, let me tell you that was a BAD THING to have happened. The flavour going down may have been smooth, smoke and leather but with each hiccup the sensation coming up was that of a pissed off dragon breathing fire up my throat.

It was terrible, and it made me quite sad and this cup of tea pretty hard to enjoy.

Simple cooking this time.

Just made a bowl of boiled brussel sprouts and cauliflower naturally smoked with some Lapsang Souchong. It was really simple to do; I just filled a couple of tea filters (the DT ones with the draw string) with some LS and tossed that in the pot while the veggies were cooking and let that naturally smoke them. Fair warning, it DOES fill your whole kitchen with the smell of smoke and your brother WILL freak out and come running up from the basement thinking there’s a fire, and that will be awkward.

Taste wise, it’s a light smoke flavour compared to the aroma it gives off while cooking but it IS present and it is a really nice compliment to the veggies. Definitely something I’d want to eat again – though perhaps when no one else is home to freak out.

Wow this tasting note is from a long while back – all the way back before I moved out even!

Remember when I said I’d gone to the farmer’s market? Well I picked up Beluga Lentils and the reason I did that was because I’ve been sitting on a really interesting tea infused lentil soup recipe for a while now. It needs Beluga Lentils and I’ve had a hell of a time finding those. Well, low and behold there they were!

So, the recipe calls for basically making a broth out of Lapsang Souchong – it said to use two tablespoons of Lapsang but I really like the smokyness of Lapsang so I used three instead. After you’ve brewed up your strong, concentrated Lapsang broth you add in two cups of the black lentils and a can of diced tomatoes – one with all the juice and crap in it. Adding diced red onions was also an option but I didn’t have any on hand so I didn’t do that. Then you cook that on the stove top until the lentils are soft and have absorbed the majority of the water/stock so you have a thick stew like consistency. It took around 40 minutes, for me. Add salt and pepper to your tastes as well as a handful of finely chopped cilantro or parsley. I used parsley ’cause cilantro is kind of meh…

Obviously the recipe is a lot more exact but I don’t feel like typing it all out.

Anyway, this was really good! The smokyness of the Lapsang came through REALLY well and I could definitely tell that this was tea infused. As well, the Beluga lentils are quite earthy and that definitely complimented the smoke notes. The tomato? Well it was tomato – it worked well with everything else going on. Honestly, I didn’t taste the parsley a whole lot; in the future I think I would definitely double up on the amount I used to see if that changed anything.

Also, this recipe makes A LOT of Soup/Stew – enough for three REALLY big hearty bowls worth. It kept me fed for quite a while – and that was good because lentils are definitely a vegetarians best friend.

And finally, a picture for you all: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209875954589462&set=a.1008778773681.2000980.1051291635&type=3&theater

Tea Eggs!

I took a really pretty picture of them this time, but I haven’t downloaded it from my phone yet so I’ll edit that in tomorrow when I do so…

These were for the staff potluck at DAVIDsTEA yesterday; they’re easily my favourite tea infused dish to make. I did have to switch things up a bit because one of our Tea Guides is REALLY allergic to cinnamon, so instead of traditional tea eggs I made these ones with soy sauce, the juice from four mandarin oranges, the juice of one lemon, vanilla, peppercorn, and of course lots of Lapsang Souchong. I was going for a “smoked orange” sort of flavour…

Definitely nailed the smoke flavour; when you bite into the egg whites of the tea eggs there’s a really smooth, smoke note that clearly comes through as well as some saltyness from the soy. The mandarin didn’t come through quite so clearly, but it is faintly present, but I think you sort of have to know you’re looking for it to taste and appreciate it. I really enjoyed this batch, though!

Sadly, they didn’t go over super well at the pot luck. It wasn’t so much that people didn’t like them; but so many of our employees are vegan (three or four) and the rest of the food was various dessert items and other snack type foods. So, the eggs were a bit out of place, I guess. Which is kind of sad. But I mean, if you have the choice between a tea egg or a green tea macaroon you’re probably gonna pick the macaroon though, right?

I mean, I definitely went for the macaroons…

Eh, just means more eggs at home for me!

Commute to work tea on one of those mornings that’s just slow, still and drizzly…

Those are my favourite mornings to drink a good Lapsang Souchong; the trickle of intense smoke filling your lungs as you inhale the liquor deeply is both peaceful and commanding in its presence. Another way this feeling could be expressed is that it both lifts you out of your surrounding environment and grounds you at the same time. With this mug, I also enjoyed the hint of sweetness at the end of each sip that kind of caressed the bed of my tongue after the smoke had overrun it.

This was my song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTOC_q0NLTk

It’s one of those songs I feel like you need to listen to a couple times to really appreciate it because the lyrics are beautiful but the tone and pacing are the sort that slips easily into the background of what you’re doing. It’s a nice “soundtrack to life” type of song. Good for the tea and the environment I was drinking it in.

Normally, I actually like to play something even slower paced and haunting when I drink Lapsang; think bands like Cigarettes After Sex. I find that music hits the right chord emotionally and the tone of the singer’s voice often embodies the smoke notes in the tea. But this does the exact same thing in a different way and is a nice change of pace.

Midday tea.

I was light on pretty well everything when brewing this up because I just wanted a light taste of the smoke notes, and nothing assaulting. So, less leaf and less steep time as normal and then on top of that I added milk as well to cut the smoke a bit. And I got my desired affect; this was a weaker/muted smokey flavour with, dare a say it, both anise and wood undertones. So, I did kind of eventually get the licorice flavour CS advertised and which had been missing in previous cups.

I also paired it with some food in addition to my typical song: in this case a poached pear ice cream which was a delicious counterpart to the more savory smoke. Such a light, subtle and soft fruity note was a really good way to juxtapose the smoke notes and make each tiny sip really ‘pop’ in a memorable way.

As for my song pairing…

I really love pairing smoky teas with slower, sadder music because something about teas with strong smoke notes is really reflective and nostalgic to me. So, immediately I thought of the album ‘Hospice’ by The Antlers. Honestly, you could probably pick any song from this album and it would work well. It’s a beautiful ‘story telling’/concept album filled to the brim with sad, reflective songs.

This one was the standout though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egsSN31uAFk

It’s just filled with so much pain, and anger. I don’t know why, but relating to it and connecting to it through the tea I’m drinking is almost therapeutic in a way. I find the whole experience really puts me in both an introspective mood and a relaxed one.

I was really craving Lapsang this morning, and since I don’t work until one I certainly had time to make myself a nice morning cuppa in addition to whatever I’ll wind up drinking on the commute to work.

This was pretty lovely though; I added a large splash of vanilla creamer to the mug to soften the harsh smelling ash notes and it really complimented the flavour quite a lot. Despite the creamer, the smokey, campfire-esque notes were still very strong but there was just more richness and sweetness than there would have been otherwise/plain. The vanilla was more present in the finish, and the mouthfeel was very full and velvety.

Definitely a pleasant way to start the day.

I spent most of my day drinking this tea.

I bought 50g of it during my last Camellia Sinensis order because I’m seasoning my first ever yixing with Lapsang Souchong and Camellia Sinensis’ version is pretty well reviewed and very affordable. Plus the idea of a “licorice” note present in a LS intrigued me. You can see a picture of my pot here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205892868334795&set=ms.c.eJxVz8cNwAAIA8CNInrZf7E4r5jvCYNRMclZm8r1aM9Hf~_mGKElFRsewfKmSI0gVp9ohzTIK2SPfzNYRbF7uM6UxYiRrEG0WpMbkCBob31r8Na4vL9EzKw~-~-.bps.a.10205892864334695.1073741829.1051291635&type=3&theater

Doesn’t the little dragon spout just seem SUPER appropriate for a pot dedicated to smoky/ashy Lapsang? Pretty sure I’ve nailed the “matching the pot to the tea” aspect.

I spent A LOT of time researching the best way to season my pot, which is what I did today, and while I was REALLY tempted to use the boiling in a pot method I ultimately played it cautious and am instead going to be naturally seasoning it through general use. While flavour sucking is the big concern about seasoning a pot that way I figured that LS is such an incredibly potent/strong full bodied tea anyway that some flavour sucking wouldn’t be a terrible thing especially if I just overleafed my first few Gong Fu sessions to compensate. And to be fair, today was my first time trying the Camellia Sinensis Lapsang Souchong but I didn’t feel like much flavour was lost.

It tasted like Lapsang Souchong: strong smoke/ash notes and a defined woody taste as well like described on the website/packaging. Certainly, this wasn’t the sweetest or smoothest LS I’ve tasted (there definitely were NOT licorice notes) but it was enjoyable. Enough so I had at least ten different cups worth. The only reason I stopped making cups was because I had to leave to go do laundry. As well, when is Lapsang Souchong ever really smooth? The first taste ALWAYS slaps you in the face with the harsh flavour. You just have to kind of… settle in to it.

Today was a success though! I loved brewing with my yixing, and I’m very happy with the shape/style of it. I can hold everything comfortably and pour with precision and ease. Already, the desire to purchase another one (or two or three) is bubbling up…

So i laughed a lot when i found this one from omgsrsly in my bag of goodies. Both her and dexter couldn’t drink this one so they sent it along to me. I of course, have saved some so that i can send it along to my tea sister for fun! To be fair, this one doesn’t hit quite the wrong note with me as it did omg and dex. To me, this smelled like carrots that are just starting to go bad. Not sure why it was specifically carrots, but that was my view. This is a really….weird tasting puerh. I haven’t tasted anything like this one before, but i also didn’t hate it straight up. it was just weird.

Sipdown (119)!

I had a super fun chance to do a Gong Fu session with my mom and sister tonight. It was a rare opportunity since I typically only share tea with one of them at a time and it’s usually more informal but this time around I picked out one of the samples that Camellia Sinensis added into my giant teaware order and we made more of an occasion out of the experience.

In total, we did five infusions – six if you count the first though we discarded that one/used it to warm and heat all of the cups and Chahai. No one was a fan of the first infusion: it was far too strong and astringent tasting. In fact, I was the only person to finish their cup of the first infusion. Everyone else poured theirs back into the tea tray. The second and third still had some astringency, but were more palatable. My little sister isn’t a huge tea fan (mostly she just drinks sweet dessert rooibos blends) so even getting her to participate at all was a success for me, so we were all quite understanding about the fact she really disliked the first couple infusions. The fact she tried them at all was more than expected. Personally, while I wasn’t paying super close attention to the nuances of the tea (I was just enjoying the experience of drinking it with family) I did notice that these first infusions had a distinct smokiness and underlying sweetness.

The fourth steep seemed to be the sweet spot and everyone’s favourite. It was just so smooth and had a great balance between grassy tones and artichoke-like notes and sort of peachy sweetness. My mom has actually been to China, and participated in tea ceremonies there and compared this infusion to the tea she was served in China and holds as the ‘best tea she’s ever had’. And my sister finished the entire cup of tea; which was a BIG deal. The last cup had a lot of flavor deterioration, sadly, and so we decided not to push with any more infusions.

I should also mention, that during the entire session we were nibbling on broken chunks of DAVIDsTEA’s Red Velvet Cake infused milk chocolate bar. I thought having something to accompany the tea would be nice, and would also be a little more enticing for my sister. I also remembered from the Science of Taste module I did in my Tea Sommelier course that milk chocolate was a good pairing with some green teas. I think the combination did work well; as long as you took small nibbles of chocolate both flavours could be tasted on the palate and enjoyed instead of overwhelmed.

Sipdown (120)!

So for anyone who doesn’t know already; I’m currently getting my Tea Sommelier certification which I’ve been paying for primarily through an education fund my grandparents set up for me. Since I didn’t go to University/College after graduation and have no immediate plants to they were ok with me tapping into this fund for the Tea Sommelier certification courses. I’m done about three/eight now, and I decided that at this point I was interested in purchasing some more traditional teaware – and my Grandma OKed me taking some money from that fund to do so! That’s the long story version of my saying, “Recently I made an order with Camellia Sinensis for some teaware and they included several free teas such as this one”.

Personally, I’ve never really sought to purchase an EG blend from Camellia Sinensis; I do enjoy Earl Grey but not enough to need more than one good kind on hand (and currently I’m loving the Liquid Proust’s Peach vs. Bergamot twist on the traditional Earl Grey) and when I’m ordering from Camellia Sinensis, which I frequently do, it’s more for the interesting and often unique straight/pure teas they carry or for the teaware.

That said, I’m grateful for the inclusion: I love the fact this Earl Grey is both organic and fair trade as those as aspects of tea I look to support as often as possible. This sample was a sachet style tea bag, and I ended up making it early in the morning before work. I have to say, I thought the dry leaf smelled fairly mild and quite floral and even as it was steeping up I was noticing more floral traits than anything overwhelmingly bergamot-heavy. However, the taste wasn’t bad! I enjoyed how smooth and clean the overall flavour was in addition to the light floral notes and medium concentration of bergamot flavour. There was also a very natural sweetness which I was fond of. That said, I wouldn’t have minded if the bergamot was a little stronger. For people who really LOVE Earl Grey and drink it on a more daily basis this could be perceived as a little light handed.

Overall, not a ‘stand out’ Earl Grey but a solid choice if you’re already placing a Camellia Sinensis order and want to do all your shopping in one place. And like I pointed out, the fact it’s Organic and Fair Trade (and still reasonably priced) makes it a tea easy to get behind.

yay for interesting teas! thanks for sending me this one omgsrsly i am quite enjoying this this afternoon. we tired the dog out at the dog park and then proceeded to make orange cupcakes with marshmallow cream frosting, dry rub ribs and later there will be awesome potatoes and salad in the house too!

this tea is just different. I can’t place the aroma, though there’s a familiarity to it. there’s a slight almost mint, but not mint taste to this one..the taste kind of reminds me of what outside smells like on the west coast…those early mornings on the island when the tide’s going out, it’s rained over night, and you’re walking through the trees on the trails… inhale….breath deeply…that’s what this tastes like. so good.

another tea from omgsrsly and one that i am really enjoying. it’s light and refreshing, a hint of mint withe juicy berry notes and a very smooth brew. I’d reorder this again in future i think. Especially as a canadian company and our crap dollar. noms. thanks omg!

my other half better appreciate me. We got him a bike before the wedding, now he’s getting a car and he volunteered to dog sit for 4 days…at our place. sheesh! lol the things i let him get away with. Finished off this tea today and it was an enjoyable cup. Still have a bunch of sipdowns i want to try and get through over the next three days. but i’m glad that some of those cups will be tasty cups of tea like this one.

i had this one with breakfast yesterday from the lovely variaTEA and while i don’t remember much, it was a tasty cup that was over before i realised it :)

sample from evol ving ness thanks for letting me revisit this one. I think i liked it a little better today – something about the coconut today just hit the spot. it’s still not a tea that i need to keep in my cupboard, as i’m always afraid of the coconut going rancid while it’s in the cupboard. But this is a nice one to have from time to time.

Another one from VariaTEA I was looking forward to trying this one because it’s a favourite of the girls and yet, i’ve never gotten around to ordering it or trying it from them. Sadly, this one fell a little flat for me. It’s a decent coconut black, but i was not getting any real sense of the pinapple – which i think would have made it a much more interesting blend for me. that being said, still tasty and i did enjoy finishing this one up!