Camellia Sinensis

- Top notes of roasted nuts, wood, and cinnamon
- Very smooth with a silky mouthfeel
- Soft body and background notes of fruits; raisin, peach, plum
- Has a really well rounded sweetness to it overall
- Finish it mildly floral in a non distinct way
- Greatly enjoyed this
- Especially the marriage of darker oxidized oolong qualities and stonefruit notes

Sipdown (599)!

Finished off as a mini pot of tea, which was drank somewhat inattentively while I was also watching some Netflix (obsessed with a show called Limitless right now). I think I’ve had this Darjeeling for a LONG time and I’m not entirely sure what I’ve thought of it historically, but I did think this pot was pretty nice. Sort of a mix of florals, grilled vegetables (zucchini/artichoke), honey, and raisins. Nice!

Nothing like an early morning cup of Darjeeling to ease into your day with!

2nd flush is definitely my preferred flush of Darjeeling – primarily because of that lovely grapey/muscatel note that’s so prominent and unique. I think this one is showing its age because it lacks some brightness but it’s still really enjoyable overall. Very smooth, with muscat notes and notes of other red fruits like pomegranate/currant with honey undertones and really, really gentle malt and whisps of floral undertone. Not as much as you’d get from 1st flush, though.

It’s actually really lovely how I’ve been able to stretch out this sample – and there’s still at least another cup (possibly two) to come in the future even yet!

Hot cuppa.

Kind of sweet and muscatel, but more than anything this just had a really pleasant and smooth malt note throughout the sip. Malt isn’t something I often strongly associate with Darjeelings, but paired with the brightness/sweetness of the muscat I think it was a very unique flavour note duo that kind of highlighted the differentiating sweetness of each respective flavour.

Also, since astringency has been a button issue with this tea…

Not astringent at all, this time!

Iced!

I don’t know if I’ve ever had an iced Darjeeling before? I mean, part of me thinks that at this point I must have but nothing jumps to mind. This one was pretty nice, though! It was definitely a little tannic/astringent at the start so I added the tiniest bit of honey to sweeten it. The honey didn’t completely eliminate that astringency, but it tempered it enough to make it pleasant. Most importantly, the muscatel note of the tea was REALLY strong and delicious – it works very well as an iced tea!

I mean, I still think Darjeeling is best enjoyed hot and plain but this was a nice switch up to the seeming increase of hot Darjeeling I’ve been sipping on as of late.

Free sample that Camellia Sinensis added into my latest order!

I swear, they’ve added in Darjeeling teas a few times now – not that I mind, but I do find it interesting since I tend to order oolongs from them primarily (and Lapsang/blends) so it does seem like a bit of a weird choice.

I added a smidgen of honey to this one because initial sips were a bit too astringent for my tastes. With the added honey, that resulted in a pretty smooth muscatel blend with an overarching autumnal feel to it and a bit of a floral undertone. Relatively enjoyable, though nothing exceptional.

Drank this one Western style at work, and honestly I wasn’t paying attention to it AT ALL. I was so busy doing deep clean tasks, and helping customers and the before I knew it I had thoughtlessly sipped the whole mug down without making note of just about anything…

I mean, I did observe at little bit with my very first few sips but not a lot. Just that overall this was surprisingly smooth and silky bodied, which to me made very little sense given the company’s description of the tea. I also recall lots of top note sweetness. It made me think of nectarines which is also weird when you look at the tea description…

I don’t even know.

Sipdown (604)!

Feels like I’ve had this oolong in my cupboard for a long time, so I think this sipdown was a long time coming. I can’t really recall what I’ve thought of it previously, which is never a great sign about the tea. I don’t seem to have rated it particularly high or low though…

True to form, I don’t remember a lot about this session either apart from the fact I was also snacking on blueberries during the session and I recall getting a strong geranium note from the tea – which probably stands out because it’s a flavour note I’ve not naturally observed in a lot of teas. Thankfully my past self did me a solid by taking good notes though, so I can see that I had about nine infusions of this tea, during which I noted the aforementioned geranium note present in the first half of the session and a progressively strong astringency accompanied by a pine/resin note. Initially the pine/resin was just a finishing note, but then it expanded into the body of the sip until it overtook the entire sip. Usually I’m very into pine notes in tea, but I think combined with a strong astringency it was a little much for me.

The blueberries were a nice added sweetness to cut out some of the astringency, though.

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

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXTrtYK1CNU&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=25&t=0s

Another artist that I really like – I’ve been basically playing this song on repeat since it was released in April and I have the entire thing memorized now. My poor coworkers have had to listen to me (poorly) sing along to this in the lab early in the morning while setting up lab testing/playing music…

Cold Brew!

Paired up with a good comic book, and some brown sugar, brie and plum topped crackers!

This was a delicious cold brew; notes of roasted nuts, wood, and florals in the top of the sip and then body notes that were more reminiscent of deep, overripe stone fruits like plum or dark cherries. I actually picked the food pairing because of the intense plum notes in the tea as well; it felt like a really nice carry over/tie in for that sort of rich, haunting kind of oolong profile that captures so perfectly the more earthy/natural flavour notes and fruit elements. The brown sugar topping on the crackers made the nut notes in the tea really pop in the top of the sip, taking on this sort of glazed charred toasted almond/hazelnut sort of feel that was full of life and exciting but not so whimsical/adolescent. If that makes sense. The brie was just creamy and delicious, and cut any astringent notes that may have been in the end of the sip.

It’s immodest to say so because I curated the whole shebang, but this was beautifully put together…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/BguilbXAi4W/?taken-by=ros_strange

Man, I did such a good job keeping up with tasting notes while I was on vacation and then I got home and instantly just stopped. So, it’s my first day off now since getting back and I have a whole slew of things to write about. I’m cursing myself and my laziness so much right now.

This was a nice early morning cup; the kind of flavour that’s really smooth and relaxing with a medium bodied flavour. You know, just strong enough to have body/a presence that wakes you up but not full bodied enough to be a slap in the face sort of wake up/jarring. It’s a nice mix of soft roast, nutty notes, wood, honey, and floral elements with a touch of a mineral/vegetal kind of finish. A little green bell pepper-y, in a loose way? Mostly though I think the main flavours here were the honey and wood/oak notes.

It’s an oolong that just screams “nature” overall.

It kind of bothers me that despite having three cups of this one now, all made very similarly, I’ve yet to be able to produce a consistant/reliable flavour profile…

This morning’s cup was certainly pleasant/delightful but again just very unlike what I remember past cups tasting like! Light to medium bodied, this was very smooth with the sweetness of honey or fresh peaches, with a soft floral body and a touch of a roasty/woody element, with a finish that reminded me of puffed wheat!

Like, elements of that line up with the company’s description, and with what I’ve experienced from past cups but not the overall profile. It’s quite irritating, despite being tasty. I feel like I just HAVE to be more critical of this tea because of that. So, lowering the rating…

- I’d forgotten I’ve tried this one before! It seems very different from the last time…
- Just based on skimming the old tasting note; that is
- More roasty/toasted in flavour
- Has a bit of a peppery/spicy finish to it
- Body is sweeter; more like honey and rye?
- I suppose it does have some floral undertones
- And a woody quality though, like in the company description

I did enjoy this one initially, but just looking at the old tasting note it definitely raises a few flags for me just how wildly different these two infusions were considering they were both no frills Western style infusions…

So, since I’m living at my mom’s house now I’ve got a different tea set up than when I was at the condo. I actually kind of like this one better too – all my tea stuff is here in my room, including my kettle and mugs/teapots. I have water access literally right across the hall so I just fill the kettle when I need water, and I can make whatever I want in here.

That said, I can also easily bring a tin of tea upstairs too and make something there in the kitchen because my mom’s tea set up is there complete with her kettle and an assortment of infusing options.

Which is the long winded way of saying, I made this cuppa while snuggled in bed with my sister watching some That 70s Show – very convenient and relaxing!

- Sweet floral top notes and hints of cane sugar/honey and fresh fruit
- Like the sweetness of a ripe Gala apple?
- More mild vegetal body notes; crisp, clean, and sweet overall
- Finish is very lightly astringent, but pleasantly so
- Very refreshing/clean profile overall with pleasant natural sweetness

Gongfu Sipdown (799)!

I’ve had this sample for a while and built some familiarity with it, I especially like the anise notes I often get from this tea. However, this was my first time steeping in my newer, unglazed pot that I’ve been using for sheng and I found it pulled more herbal and medicinal notes notes from the leaf though there was still an underlying sweetness and huigan. Thick liquor with a pleasant texture, as well!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8EzxXvAuKm/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVBDC3xhKoA

We just had a short little thunder storm, so of course as soon as I heard the rolling thunder I whipped together a Gong Fu set, brewed up some water for my carafe, measured the tea out and was on the porch bracing for the rain!

I got to witness that amazing first crack of rain as the pavement suddenly went from water free to drenched in less than three seconds. So satisfying! The storm stopped about two thirds of my way into the session, and after that I just basked in the petrichor until I ran out of water. I’m literally just back in from outside so here are my ‘notes’ from the session – or more realistically, here’s everything I remember before it vanishes from my brain.

First things first I started with a 5 second rinse, and then a rest.

7 Seconds/Infusion One
- Definitely some astringency; a rougher infusion
- A mix of grass/peat with a tangy soup

10 Seconds/Infusion Two
- Still astringent but less so
- Top note is this tangy “apricot” like quality
- Carries a bit into the soup, but mostly this mineral/peat/artichoke sort of flavour

15 Seconds/Infusion Three
- Pretty well smoothed out
- Light apricot tang/peat/artichoke/mineral/hints of anise
- The taste of the finish/aftertaste reminds me of licking stamps

??? Seconds/Infusion Four
- Totally forgot to time this one; I was mesmerized with the rain… oops.
- Smoothest infusion yet
- Same notes as above but add a faint cream/buttery quality to the list

20 Seconds/Infusion Five
- Has kind of lost the “apricot” note
- Has a really nice sweetness to the body though
- Finish is taking on a bit of a heady floral quality

30 Seconds/Infusion Six
- Repeat of the previous infusion, but we’ve lost the buttery quality

35 Seconds/Infusion Seven
- Same but milder overall
- With the exception of the sweetness which is really bright and noticeable

40 Seconds/Infusion Eight
- Lightest infusion yet
- Mostly artichoke top notes, sweet body, floral finish

And at this point I ran out of water, so I just ended the session. I feel like I got the best out of the tea anyway; and the rain was over. It was a very peaceful session all in all, though! I’m really enjoying these more regular Gong Fu sessions out on the porch!

Made this one, Western style, in store for my manager and myself a few nights ago. This was the first Sheng style Pu’erh she’d ever had and so I kind of challenged her to break down the flavour notes along with me, as well as compare and contrast it to Shou pu’erh that she’s tried.

As far as the compare/contrast goes she didn’t have much to go on because the only Shou she’s tried are the Silken Pu’erh we currently sell at DT and the Golden Pu’erh that DT used to carry. However, she said that the main difference was that this seemed lighter and less earthy as well as fruity.

My tasting note list:
Artichoke, Apple Skins, Peach Juices, Sweet Grass, Anise, Black Pepper, Moss(?)

Dani’s list:
Apple, peach, vegetal, a hint earthy

I enjoyed this one overall! I think maybe I like the other Laos pu’erh I’ve got from Camellia Sinensis a bit better though. It would be good to directly compare them, I think.

Nice orchid aroma, a light yet complex flavor came out by the 3rd run of 5minutes ( 1st run 15 seconds, 2nd run of 1minute) .Like a refreshing white wine on a summer day, this tea would be perfect for daily drinking from spring thru autumn.

This review is for the Pinglin Bao Zhong from Camellia Sinensis’ 2019 Spring Taiwan sampler set…

Like the Si Ji CHun from this set, I drank this one Grandpa style as well. I also drank it immediately after trying the Si Ju Chun, so I was doing a lot of direct comparison in my head. This is a style of oolong that I am kind of iffy on; usually it’s pretty nice but sometimes it’s a little bit too green for my liking. I think I actually have a tin of this in my stash right now too, just from a different year’s harvest – it’s taken me a long time to get through…

I found this enjoyable yesterday, but less so than the Si Ji Chun. It was greener, and a little bit sharper in that green quality – the sort of “lawn clipping sour grass” effect, hitting at the side of my mouth. However, it was also sweet and floral with that kind of “ambrosia”/nectar note, and a lot of floral elements like gardenias and elderflower. I think the reason I like the Si Ji Chun better is that it’s creamier to me, and more buttery (though this is a little buttery). I’m glad my coworker brought this in though; having tried this style of oolong from CS before (and still owning it), it was nice to have a fresher revisit of it. I still enjoy the older harvest that I have currently, when I’m in the mood for a greener oolong, but it certainly hits in a different way now that it’s lost freshness…

So, I simply cannot stop peeing.

That’s almost definitely an overshare; but I just worked it out/did the math and combining all the tea I drank today (and only the tea) I had just over five liters of tea in about a ten hour time span – however at least half of that was in the last three hours…

Anyway; this was the first thing I had today. I admit that it’s been what feels like a long time since I last had it (and it probably HAS been a really long time), but it felt like visiting a really good friend. Very, very familiar profile of floral notes, greener elements, and super subtle fruity undertones. I really felt like, more than anything, this taste like that last tiny little bit of watermelon fresh right before you hit the white “rind” of the melon. A little bit of fruity sweetness, but also a lot of “green” taste and a bit of a mild sourness. I mean, watermelon rind DEFINITELY (at least in my opinion) has a distinct taste. Apart from that, there was the sweetness of garden/snap pears and a lot of florals like gardenia, orchid, and even jasmine.

I admit I consider this more of a “Spring time” flavour profile – but I enjoyed the delicate natural of the taste as an early morning flavour before transitioning into something with more body and “oomph”.

I think I need to try some Bao Zhongs from other companies, ‘cause I don’t know whether or not my tastes in general have changed or if it’s just that I’ve fallen out of love with this one in particular – I just feel like the more I drink it the less I actually like it.

This cup was just filled with strong, robust notes of gardenias, garden peas, creamed spinach, and butter – at one point I know I loved it, but this mug? I just hated that combination of flavours. It was so dissatisfying and only felt like a chore drinking it.

So, I don’t know. I am lowering my rating from the mid 80s spot it was in though; I just feel like I can’t in good conscience leave it where it was when I had such a miserable time drinking this one…

So, funny story…

I generally bring little premeasured bags of tea with me to work to drink there, and the other night I had a few left over still on my way out at the end of the night; this one and W2T’s Little Red. I decided to make a cup of Little Red on the way out, and I just dumped the tea in a sachet, poured the water in a cup along with some milk and away I went.

It wasn’t until I started sipping on the steeping tea that I realized something was really weird. Why did the Little Red taste so incredibly buttery and floral? I could MAYBE see a touch of buttery sort of creaminess coming through because of the milk but not to the extent I was experiencing. It was really weird. Of course, I was on the bus at this point so I couldn’t exactly pop the lid off and inspect the tea leaf up close so I just sort of adjusted my expectations for the cup and kept drinking.

Later when I got home I went to unpack my work bag and I noticed the premeasured bag of Little Red still in it. Yup; 100% swapped the tea bags without realizing it and steeped this one up using the parameters I’d have used for Little Red. It explained SO MUCH of the weirdness though…

Welp, this is like my fifth time having this tea and I still can’t taste if I actually really like it or not. It’s just sort of… weird.

This cup was hot at work; and mostly it tasted like gardenias/peony to me but with some vegetal and buttery undertones. However, there was also a sort of fruity sweetness. It was REALLY fruit though, more like the lingering taste of where fruit was. If that doesn’t make sense that’s ok, but just go with me here: You know when you’re eating a slice of watermelon and you get past the fruit and are just left with the white part of the rind that isn’t really the flesh of the fruit but is still munchable? When you nibble on that bit of rind that’s still able to be consumed before it gets really hard/tough there’s still a little bit of watermelon sweetness…

But mostly it still tastes like rind. Anyway; this kind of tasted like that. Yeah I know – I’m using weird metaphors tonight. It’s just one of those nights though, so you guys just have to either go with me on it or ignore me completely. So now the question is, do I enjoy that flavour?

I. Don’t. Know.

Cold Brew.

- Buttery vegetal/grassy thing going on
- With lots of florals: peony/gardenia
- Garden snap peas; just slightly under ripe

It was 100% drinkable, but I didn’t love this cold brew. The mix of buttery vegetal elements and that much floral flavour was a little too cacophonous to be really good. One and not the other, sure. Just not super relaxing put together…