Camellia Sinensis
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Still drinking this quite often. A few days ago I had a cold, so I made a nice big teapot of Jin Die and drank it all day. It’s a terrific resteeper, so I used the same leaves for 6 steeps. I like the feeling of hot black tea going down my throat when I’m sniffly.
Anyway, same sort of deal this morning. 6 steeps in my tiny glass teapot. The last two were a bit weak but still enjoyable. Especially since some black tea of mine isn’t very good on the second steep.
I’ll probably buy more of this again sometime. Depending on whether or not I just want to try different teas in my next order. It’s certainly a favourite, and has a good price considering the flavour and resteeps.
Preparation
Jin Die continues to amaze me. It starts out like a typical smooth, earthy, almost kind of sweet or zesty, then subsequent steeps are a deep earthy flavour similar to pu-erh. I’ve also never had a black tea that was such an excellent resteepter (previous note had 6 steeps, and 1-5 were very dark).
This is another black tea in my collection that I enjoy steeping in a gaiwan (or my tiny glass teapot), because they are just tea buds with no debris, and it’s ideal for resteeping often. I’ve tried both long and short (start :30, then +:30) steeps, either way it’s a tasty treat.
Preparation
(This is a continuation of my first tasting note today.)
After the first steep, the flavor changes pretty dramatically. Jin Die starts off like a typical black tea, but my second to sixth steeps all tasted like pu-erh!
So I used 3:30 for the first steep, and then 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 5:30 and finally 6:30. I gave the six and last one a bit longer because the color faded on the fifth steep.
I’ll absolutely be resteeping this one from now on. It’s like I get 2 different teas with just one teaspoon of leaves. I can’t believe how on the second steep it suddenly becomes so earthy, smoky, slightly malty and just pu-erh`y. I used a small teapot for this, next time I’ll do shorter resteeps with my little gaiwan. :)
Up’d the rating due to the awesomeness of this tea.
Preparation
I originally bought this because the tea graphic looked awesome. And looking into my tea pouch, it’s full of these cute little golden curly leaves. In the teapot, they unfurl to reveal long buds.
Tea liquor is velvety and heavy in my mouth, the flavour has a bit of spice (like pepper), it has an almost smoky quality to it, and a mix of other interesting flavours. (I’m not great at picking out the more subtle flavours, but they are nice!)
Looking forward to giving this a lot of resteeps.
Preparation
This reminds me of Black Needles from DAVIDsTEA, but this is a bit “spicier”, more earthy and slightly less sweet. When it comes to black tea buds you really can’t go wrong. Yunnan Da Ye Hong is another easy to enjoy tea that can be drunk multiple times a week without getting boring or sickening. Also I think it’s a shame not to resteep teas like this, the second and third steeps are very tasty.
Preparation
In the bag, the tea leaves are cute little curly buds (no broken bits, just lots of little buds). The tea liquor is so delightfully smooth when you drink it. There is a bit of spice and grains flavor to it, but all of the flavors have a soft, almost fuzzy sensation to them. It doesn’t jab you with any strong or bitter flavors.
Not one of my favorites, but still a nice tea to relax with.
Preparation
Still my favourite “cheap” ($5/50g) LS.
Had a good experience short steeping this today, got up to 9 steeps. I was a bit surprised because the tea is comprised of broken leaves and I don’t always get performance out of those. It tasted very smooth, smoky, woody, and buttery throughout all the steeps.
On a final note I’d just like to mention that I usually love LS, so I’m not sure I would recommend this to those that dislike smoky teas. It is definitely not nasty and tarry, but I’ve also tried better (and more expensive) “authentic” LS.
100ml purion teapot, 2 tsp, 9 steeps (3s, +3s resteeps)
edit: if anyone’s curious, the smoky flavour didn’t stay in the purion after a quick rinse for my next tea
Preparation
I’ve been drinking this all year, even during the wicked heat waves in Ontario. I love Lapsang Souchong so much, but it’s always more enjoyable when it’s cold and raining outside. Each sip makes me think about sitting around a warm campfire
Smoky, malty, slightly buttery, with a pleasant soft black tea body.
Out of the few LS I’ve tried, this is absolutely my favourite. This company also sells a more authentic (?) and expensive version, but the cheap version suits me just fine. (I’ve tried the other one, and it’s wonderful.) As a plus, this is one of my favourite teas from Camellia Sinensis that doesn’t sell out right away. Finally a word of warning: you’ll either love it or hate it. If you’ve never tried Lapsang Souchong before, I recommend getting a small size (at your retailer of choice)
Preparation
I absolutely love this particular Lapsang Souchong. With some others I’ve tried, I don’t get the same strong flavor unless I add extra tea or steep it for at least 6 minutes.
Such a strong smoky and malty flavor. Not normally the sort of thing I drink in the summer, because it has so much “warmth”. It always reminds me of camp fires, which is a comforting thought in the winter. It’s my favorite tea, so even in the summer I don’t go a week without at least one cup. :)
Preparation
There are two reasons i decided to get a bag of this tea. 1. I am out of straight black teas and have never had a Nilgiri or at least one that’s not flavoured or found in a teabag. 2. it looks funky. :) Actually, I would think the latter is the main reason. It literally looks like someone dumped some green tea into the mix, but really this tea is made entirely from one estate and they process it in a way that during the oxidation process, bits of leaf will fall off first leaving behind green tea like flakes. Anyways.. it is best explained in the blog post under the description.
Colour brews to a nice golden colour, lighter than a typical black. I’ve read that most Nilgiri teas are of the ctc variety and of lower quality but I highly doubt that’s the case here! It is very smooth/sweet and mildly fruity. It doesn’t quite convince me to believe that the green leaves steep well in boiling water as i do get a slightly noticeable “green tea bitter” at the first sip. This would do great as a breakfast tea, but it’s longevity is somewhat weak. After the first infusion, the second one is rather weak but drinkable. I think I could get away with a shorter first infusion to get a stronger brew the next time around, but I think I like it as it is.
The spent leaves are pretty to look at, the green and brown leaves mixed together look great together, and I’ve mostly enjoyed the brew. Camellia Sinensis is one of the better known tea stores in Montreal and they are pretty serious about their tea. Usually fairly pricey, this one was pretty fair.
Preparation
Did it say to use boiling on the package? Mine listed 90, and their website lists 95. haha
My bag is listed at 95, I guess it would depend on the whoever was working that day they packed your order. I got mine in-store from Kevin, the guy who wrote that blog post. But honestly i have no idea when brewing instructions say 90 or 95. I guess I will try it after leaving the kettle after boiling for a min or two
I don’t know CS’s Nilgiri specifically (I’ll have to try it next time I’m up there!), but I’d suggest trying 90 for just under 2 minutes and try not to squeeze the leaves too much. Nilgiris should, hypothetically, be lighter and sweeter than lower-elevation Assamica leaf. Another option (suggested by a Czech friend) would be 80 degrees for 2 or 2.5 minutes, and then boiling for the second infusion, as this often preserves some of the flavor.
sounds good! I’ll try the shorter steep next time.
Nilgiri is processed very similar to Darjeelings, but are produced in the south west instead of the north east portion of India. As such they are also generally Camellia Sinesis Assamica opposed to the unusual nature of most Darjeelings which are transplanted Chinese Camellia Sinesis Sinesis (which are sweeter, less spicy, and more floral than the Assamica). Nilgiri teas are generally spicy and lightly fruity with brisk, astrigent profiles and are usually cheap. They are medium to fine chopped and so extract quickly and shorter steep times and slightly coolor water temps (like those for green teas 170-185 degrees) work best. They are great additives to make spicy iced teas and dynamic blends. Bear in mind with pricing, you will get drastically different prices from similiar teas if the source is a direct importer, 2nd or 3rd party vendor, and if tea is thier primary business or their secondary line. I get many of my teas from Staufs Coffee Roasters in Columbus, OH just because they offer a wide diversity with a low bottom line, because tea is a side business and not their primary one – meaning even as a 2nd party vendor and not a direct importer they can offer a great value at quality and cost. Places like this are hard to find, but worth looking for. I say this only as I note that your reviews are balanced between cup and cost…
What you say certainly makes sense with the tea varieties, if i were to say this Nilgiri is much to the same level as a Darjeeling. The cultivar of tea is definitely of a chinese plant. Camellia Sinensis is indeed a direct importer but will use a fairly high markup, the tradeoff I would guess would be the guarantee of quality coming from a tea specialty store like such. Recently, I have been focusing most of my purchases from importers or even small scale buyers who get the product directly at the source or happen to be the producer themselves. I find that quality-wise tends to be much higher, yet is found at around the same price as a tea from company who sources their tea through wholesalers.
That is a incredible green tea, very fine and aromatic, lightly floral and sweet, with a buttery and artichoke heart nuances. I find it very satisfying by a hot summer day. One of my favorite green teas. Camellia Sinensis have normally two grades, I tasted both but I’m always coming back to the cheaper one that offers a better price/quality ratio.
Preparation
Backlog: Yesterday afternoon, my Matcha was this Matcha… I had just enough left for one chawan and it was a delicious way to say goodbye to this yummy Matcha. Here is my full-length review for it: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/05/02/matcha-sendo-from-camellia-sinensis-2/
I made a smoothie, and I just grabbed this Matcha to add to it because it was nearby. Normally, I prefer to drink this matcha straight (no smoothie) because it is SO good on it’s own that it doesn’t need all the fruit flavor … but, I wanted a smoothie, and I like to add Matcha to my smoothies, and this is what I grabbed… fortunately I still have enough of this for at least a couple of bowls of Matcha.
This smoothie is so good and refreshing. I used some greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, bananas, juice from an orange, and a couple of ice cubes along with the Matcha … it is so yummy. I taste the banana first, then the sweetness of the strawberry comes through along with a hint of vegetation from the Matcha. The ice cubes gave it a cool sensation which is absolutely necessary as it is another scorching hot day. I notice that this tastes less creamy than the smoothies I made last week with the vanilla cloud matcha … the vanilla really made a difference. Not saying that I like one better than the other though, because they are both really awesome.
This is perfect.
One of the best matchas out there.
Hi again,
I visited a Boba Tea shop the other day and I had one of their Boba smoothie and I think it had vanilla ice cream, almond and soy milk since I don’t like dairy. Anyhow it was very good. I sat there and drink the whole thing. Oink, oink.
I have soy milk green tea but no ice cream for a smoothie. I am not sure that I want to play with it. Best to leave it as is. It had an after taste when last I had it, so I must try to view the labeling, but it says nothing artificial in coloring or flavoring etc. I will lay off it, for now once finish. Enjoy smoothie.
Reminding me I need some matcha as well. I have not had any for a year now. That Stash one finished, gone and it was good matcha…I remember whisking it figure eight style until frothie and it taste lovely, not at all vegetal, it was sweetly in fact.
I am kind of confused? When I made my matcha’s I used cold water and never thought to having hot (boiling water) for a hot cup of matcha, can one do that? I think the water temperature must not be boiling.
In viewing my Republic of tea book, who ministers to my craziness says: Matcha is whisked with boiling water in a bowl to create a frothy, bright-green, nourishing beverage and like all Japanese beverage it is high in Vitamin C.
Well, I think for me since it was powdered drink I thought to have it cold. How dumb of me, also I did not have this book last year, either. Take care,
An excellent Matcha. Sweet and vegetative, with a smooth texture. Rich and delicious… just what I needed after a trip to the mall.
Here is my full-length review of this Matcha: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/05/02/matcha-sendo-from-camellia-sinensis-2/
It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve had a bowl of Matcha! I know it hasn’t been, but, it just seems that way. This is a really good Matcha, very smooth and rich. Sweet vegetative flavor with notes of fruit and a hint of bitter close to the end of the sip. A very satisfying Matcha.
This tea looks gorgeous! Thank you for the note, it’s now added to my list of teas to try :)
Their black tea from Taiwan: Hualien Feng Mi, is also excellent if you’re looking for something new to try.