drank Si Ji Chun by Camellia Sinensis
1440 tasting notes

2022 sipdown no. 23

I really love green oolongs, particularly when I’m studying. They seem to really help my concentration. This one will most certainly be reordered!

I have planned out a CS green oolong cart, but does anyone have any other spots they would recommend? I thought about Mountain Stream, but with the exchange rate, it’s a bit much for me right now, so I’ll have to go back to that one later.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 3 g 14 OZ / 414 ML
Leafhopper

Cha Yi has some nice green oolongs if you want to stick with Canadian companies. I really liked their Alishan, and their Cuifeng and Shan Lin Xi were also good. Sebz Tea had a floral Li Shan several years ago that I enjoyed.

Courtney

Thanks! I had the Shan Lin Xi in my CS cart as a new one to try, so that’s exciting that Cha Yi also has it. I was also considering the Li Shan (though a bit prohibitive with the price).

Leafhopper

I like the Shan Lin Xi from Camellia Sinensis, as do a lot of other people. :) I’d say it provides more value than their Li Shan, though that’s also a nice tea.

derk

Camellia Sinensis’s Shan Lin Xi, the one I’ve had, was very good.

Crowkettle

I enjoyed the Shan Li Xi (winter harvest) I tried from CS too! I tend to like it (and Ali Shan) a bit more than Li Shan, but all are good green oolong!

Daylon R Thomas

What-Cha has some great ones, and an especially affordable Li Shan. If you want quality ones, Wang Tea and Tillerman are good.

Courtney

Thanks everyone! :)

Leafhopper

I second What-Cha’s affordable Li Shan, and their Jade Oolong is great for the price. I haven’t had any other green oolongs from What-Cha. Tillerman has free shipping to Canada, though I got dinged by customs and had to send in some paperwork to get my money back. Wang’s teas are fantastic, but their free shipping threshold is $150.

Courtney

This is all so helpful! I’ve made a note of the tea companies I hadn’t heard of yet, and the teas you’ve all mentioned! It does seem like these green oolongs from CS would still be a good call too. I have some decisions ahead!

Daylon R Thomas

What-Cha’s Long Feng is superb too as well as their Wenshan Baozhong. I haven’t had their Shanlinxi in a while, but it’s good too. It was a little bit more texture than flavor forward the last time I had it, but the newer reviews seemed promising.

Daylon R Thomas

You also can’t go wrong with the Jin Xuans, though the Jade Oolong is spades higher, but again, I still think the Li Shan is the best for price and quality.

Crowkettle

Yes, you can’t go wrong with What-Cha and all the ones Daylon & Leafhopper named (haven’t tried the Wenshan Baozhong though; need to remediate this asap)! Just polished off Long Feng and I’m still sad about it; it’s usually top tier for me. What-Cha’s usually such safe, consistent bet that I’ve been hesitant to explore other vendors lately.

The Shibi oolong I picked up from Taiwan Tea Crafts left a good impression too, but I’ve no clue what “lot” I purchased anymore; it was like a tropical dream.

Leafhopper

CrowKettle, I’m glad there seems to be a consensus about What-Cha’s oolongs. I recently had two nice Baozhongs from other vendors, so it’s great to hear that theirs is also good.

The Shibi oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts is another favourite. They have a lot of green oolongs, some of which I’ve liked better than others. “Tropical dream” is a good description. :)

Daylon R Thomas

I’ve always wanted to try the Shibi. I never have because I get confused about which lot and have seen a lot of variability.

Leafhopper

Ooh! I have a package of Shibi from winter 2020 (or is it spring 2019?). I’ll open it up and give you a sample, Daylon!

Leafhopper

Camellia Sinensis is having a 15% off sale this Thursday. I will not buy more oolong… I will not buy more oolong… I will not buy more oolong! (But their Shan Lin Xi is really good!)

Courtney

I got the email as well! I may place my oolong order haha. I’m trying to convince myself against it.

Leafhopper

LOL, that makes two of us! I know that next month all the spring 2022 teas will start coming out and I’ll want them, too.

Leafhopper

Guess what I found in my tea museum: around 300 g of tea from Camellia Sinensis from about four years ago! I was thinking of getting at least two of these things in today’s sale, but maybe that’s not such a good idea. Still, that Shan Lin Xi is calling… I never have any of that left!

Courtney

Tea museum and 300g had me laughing!

I just placed an order this morning XD (50g Si Ji Chun, 50g Jin Shuan, 50g Shan Lin Xi, and of course 250g Earl Grey Cream, plus my first gaiwan)!

Crowkettle

Oh, their Earl Grey Cream is one of my favourites that I completely forgot about. Ahhhh

Courtney

It is my favourite as well! I just order the 250g quite regularly haha. I drink at least one cup per day, but often more!

Leafhopper

Glad you were able to place an order for all those green oolongs! Maybe you were the one who snagged the last of the Shan Lin Xi. :P I hope you enjoy your gaiwan!

I had a session with my four-year-old Feng Huang Hong Cha and it’s still surprisingly good, but the new black tea harvest will be ongoing for the next couple months and I! Don’t! Need! More! As my spending on oolongs goes up, however, I do want an everyday black tea that I like, but I don’t think this will be the one. It would also help with my nonexistent “supply issues” if Canada Post would actually let me have the packages from TheTea and Martin.

Courtney

Oh no! I placed the order at 6:30 MT, so it’s possible haha! I noticed that the Ali Shan was gone by the time I was placing my order, so I wasn’t the only one looking to stock up. :)

I understand the daily black! Aside from the Earl Grey Cream, I love Yuchi Wild Mountain Black from TTC (but with the shipping costs now, I am savouring what remains in my stash).

Uggghhh, Canada Post. I do hope your parcels clear and are delivered soon!

tea-sipper

Thank you for that BIG reminder I need to try that Earl Grey Cream!

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Comments

Leafhopper

Cha Yi has some nice green oolongs if you want to stick with Canadian companies. I really liked their Alishan, and their Cuifeng and Shan Lin Xi were also good. Sebz Tea had a floral Li Shan several years ago that I enjoyed.

Courtney

Thanks! I had the Shan Lin Xi in my CS cart as a new one to try, so that’s exciting that Cha Yi also has it. I was also considering the Li Shan (though a bit prohibitive with the price).

Leafhopper

I like the Shan Lin Xi from Camellia Sinensis, as do a lot of other people. :) I’d say it provides more value than their Li Shan, though that’s also a nice tea.

derk

Camellia Sinensis’s Shan Lin Xi, the one I’ve had, was very good.

Crowkettle

I enjoyed the Shan Li Xi (winter harvest) I tried from CS too! I tend to like it (and Ali Shan) a bit more than Li Shan, but all are good green oolong!

Daylon R Thomas

What-Cha has some great ones, and an especially affordable Li Shan. If you want quality ones, Wang Tea and Tillerman are good.

Courtney

Thanks everyone! :)

Leafhopper

I second What-Cha’s affordable Li Shan, and their Jade Oolong is great for the price. I haven’t had any other green oolongs from What-Cha. Tillerman has free shipping to Canada, though I got dinged by customs and had to send in some paperwork to get my money back. Wang’s teas are fantastic, but their free shipping threshold is $150.

Courtney

This is all so helpful! I’ve made a note of the tea companies I hadn’t heard of yet, and the teas you’ve all mentioned! It does seem like these green oolongs from CS would still be a good call too. I have some decisions ahead!

Daylon R Thomas

What-Cha’s Long Feng is superb too as well as their Wenshan Baozhong. I haven’t had their Shanlinxi in a while, but it’s good too. It was a little bit more texture than flavor forward the last time I had it, but the newer reviews seemed promising.

Daylon R Thomas

You also can’t go wrong with the Jin Xuans, though the Jade Oolong is spades higher, but again, I still think the Li Shan is the best for price and quality.

Crowkettle

Yes, you can’t go wrong with What-Cha and all the ones Daylon & Leafhopper named (haven’t tried the Wenshan Baozhong though; need to remediate this asap)! Just polished off Long Feng and I’m still sad about it; it’s usually top tier for me. What-Cha’s usually such safe, consistent bet that I’ve been hesitant to explore other vendors lately.

The Shibi oolong I picked up from Taiwan Tea Crafts left a good impression too, but I’ve no clue what “lot” I purchased anymore; it was like a tropical dream.

Leafhopper

CrowKettle, I’m glad there seems to be a consensus about What-Cha’s oolongs. I recently had two nice Baozhongs from other vendors, so it’s great to hear that theirs is also good.

The Shibi oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts is another favourite. They have a lot of green oolongs, some of which I’ve liked better than others. “Tropical dream” is a good description. :)

Daylon R Thomas

I’ve always wanted to try the Shibi. I never have because I get confused about which lot and have seen a lot of variability.

Leafhopper

Ooh! I have a package of Shibi from winter 2020 (or is it spring 2019?). I’ll open it up and give you a sample, Daylon!

Leafhopper

Camellia Sinensis is having a 15% off sale this Thursday. I will not buy more oolong… I will not buy more oolong… I will not buy more oolong! (But their Shan Lin Xi is really good!)

Courtney

I got the email as well! I may place my oolong order haha. I’m trying to convince myself against it.

Leafhopper

LOL, that makes two of us! I know that next month all the spring 2022 teas will start coming out and I’ll want them, too.

Leafhopper

Guess what I found in my tea museum: around 300 g of tea from Camellia Sinensis from about four years ago! I was thinking of getting at least two of these things in today’s sale, but maybe that’s not such a good idea. Still, that Shan Lin Xi is calling… I never have any of that left!

Courtney

Tea museum and 300g had me laughing!

I just placed an order this morning XD (50g Si Ji Chun, 50g Jin Shuan, 50g Shan Lin Xi, and of course 250g Earl Grey Cream, plus my first gaiwan)!

Crowkettle

Oh, their Earl Grey Cream is one of my favourites that I completely forgot about. Ahhhh

Courtney

It is my favourite as well! I just order the 250g quite regularly haha. I drink at least one cup per day, but often more!

Leafhopper

Glad you were able to place an order for all those green oolongs! Maybe you were the one who snagged the last of the Shan Lin Xi. :P I hope you enjoy your gaiwan!

I had a session with my four-year-old Feng Huang Hong Cha and it’s still surprisingly good, but the new black tea harvest will be ongoing for the next couple months and I! Don’t! Need! More! As my spending on oolongs goes up, however, I do want an everyday black tea that I like, but I don’t think this will be the one. It would also help with my nonexistent “supply issues” if Canada Post would actually let me have the packages from TheTea and Martin.

Courtney

Oh no! I placed the order at 6:30 MT, so it’s possible haha! I noticed that the Ali Shan was gone by the time I was placing my order, so I wasn’t the only one looking to stock up. :)

I understand the daily black! Aside from the Earl Grey Cream, I love Yuchi Wild Mountain Black from TTC (but with the shipping costs now, I am savouring what remains in my stash).

Uggghhh, Canada Post. I do hope your parcels clear and are delivered soon!

tea-sipper

Thank you for that BIG reminder I need to try that Earl Grey Cream!

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Profile

Bio

I love black tea and this is usually what’s in my mug. I’m also happy to enjoy a cup of green or red rooibos (green preferable to red), herbals, oolongs (unroasted/green and red preferable to roasted), whites, and subtly flavoured greens (mango or pineapple, yum!).

Likes:
Raspberry, strawberry, peach, rhubarb, passionfruit, blackcurrant, redcurrant, fig, and most fruits in general, maple, creaminess, hay, biscuit, lavender, and cacao/dark chocolate.

I enjoy bergamot when paired with flavours that mellow it (Camellia Sinensis Earl Grey Cream is one of my favourites).

Dislikes:
Any smokiness at all, stevia, too much blackberry leaf, rose, jasmine, ginger (except in chai), cinnamon-heavy teas, anything cloying or fake/candy-like.

I’m vegan with an allergy to potatoes, so I avoid any animal products in tea, along with sprinkles as these often have potato starch (I usually just pick them out of blends).

she/her

Last updated January 2023.

Location

Canada

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