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Last year, or was it early this year, I placed an order with Camellia Sinensis because I saw they offered some unique herbal teas that are wild-harvested from Québec. Labrador tea is in the genus Rhododendron — the leaf underside and stems are covered in a dense, rust-hued fur.

It smells so good in the bag, like an evergreen forest. It reminds me of my times in Canada, the Pacific Northwest and of the wintertime redwood forest here in northern California. Crisp, clean air. Breathe. This is the kind of fresh smell that makes me aware of my own being and the lightness of mind and body I am capable of achieving in nature. It elicits a sense of presence, away from the smells of humans and the industrial worlds we create.

In the description on this page, Camellia Sinensis says of this tea: “a lively and light liquor, supported by strong citrus and camphor aromas. Its vegetal character is reminiscent of lichen and cedar.”

Had I not read that, I would describe it as… let’s see… the same as the smell of the leaf but with some sweetness of strange origin, a thickness that reminds me of silver needle white teas, perhaps due to the fur. Cool evergreen forests. There’s also a bit of pungency — resinous, tar-like, reminding me of kerosene? more than sap. You know, it also reminds me a lot of Bitterleaf Tea’s Jingmai Crab Legs but without the hint of milkiness (https://steepster.com/teas/bitterleaf-teas/78526-2016-jing-mai-crab-legs) and of Juniper Ridge’s Douglas Fir Spring Tips with a thicker, more robust, sweet taste and less of a “green” flavor (https://steepster.com/teas/juniper-ridge/14722-douglas-fir-spring-tips).

It’s recommended by the internet-at-large to not steep these leaves and stems for more than 5-6 minutes due to a high concentration of tannins in the tea that can cause stomachache. I tried to follow the parameters on the bag with 2tsp (crumbled), 250mL, 90C for 4-5 minutes but time often gets away from me. With what was probably an 8-minute steep, I did experience some bloating and big gurgles about an hour later. With that, though, also came an intense sleepiness. I was out. Labrador tea is used as a treatment for insomnia which wasn’t the purpose of my drinking but dang did it work, and it has worked the few other times I’ve sipped.

Had a free sample long ago and don’t recall writing a note. This was again another free sample provided with my latest order, so thank you!

April 2021 harvest. Dry leaf has a floral roasted honey note. Steeped western, the tea is fairly smooth and sweet. It tastes like floral honey-mixed fruity-brown sugar with a bright almost citrusy (verging orange and lemongrass) ‘black tea’ tone. The floral aspect is roselike; very light cinnamon, brown sugar, cream and wood notes. It’s actually more complex than that, but I’m not in the mood to go hunting. Becomes woodier with a mild tannic edge and a buttery finish in the second steep.

Easy drinker, flavorful but not overpowering.

Addendum: 2g in 300mL brewed for howeverlong produced a thick and juicy, somewhat tannic cup. Lots of flavor, fruitier banana-yam now, stronger cinnamon. Apricot finish, young grass aftertaste that’s short, brown sugar returning sweetness. Do I like it better this way with less leaf and longer steep?

Leafhopper had sent me a sample packet of, what was at the time, a 5 years old harvest and I was beyond impressed at how well the tea held up for all those years. I wanted to try it fresh, so I ordered 10g of the 2021 harvest.

I love this tea/ It has so much of what I appreciate in my favorite green teas which is a sweet nectary body with underlying deep brothiness and fried green veggies and enough acidity to lighten the mouthfeel and taste. It has this awesome accent of beef and sauteed leeks which reminds me so much of Yunnan Sourcing’s Imperial Laoshan Green. The character of the tea is very clean and pure, which is something that I’ve realized is of high importance to me. Each morning this week I couldn’t wait to have another bowl of this tea. Great refreshing tea to have upon waking!

As soon as I broke the seal on the bag, I knew I would be in for major trouble if I actually whisked up a cup. The smell and look of the powder was vile and chalky. I added a few teaspoons to the chia seed pudding I made and of course tossed the entire batch after I tasted it the next morning. What was I thinking.

Never had a deader tea. This stuff must’ve been ancient.

I’m on day 4 of resetting my scalp after returning from the Gulf Coast a few weeks ago. Not that you need to know that but it crossed my mind when I opened this blank note.

This tea is medicine to my soul. It’s so easy and pleasant to drink. Tonight I taste goji and the soft scent of baby powder, mushroom and honey, sweet yeast and flowers., malt and wood. Thick, soothing and mild. A wonderful digestive. Does very well in the duanni clay pot.

Is it foolish to buy a full 3kg brick considering this is only the second fu zhuan tea I’ve had?

Lazy copypaste from puer of the day thread. A Meng Song area tea.

2017 Hua Zhu Liang Zi from Yunnan Craft, who describes the tea as having ‘aggressive ba qi.’

Right now, several steeps in and I feel so… heavy… that lumbering klutzy giant feeling, like I’ve not yet developed fine motor skills. This is a strong tea with lots of licorice root overtone to the leaf and liquor aroma. Easy to drink with barnyard taste, aftertaste that’s vaguely fruity-licorice root, throat feels bitey then full and slightly cool. The bitterness and astringency present at first as feelings in the body then transition to effects in the mouth. I like the tea, but the power tells me it’s best left to age.

Hit me like a brick. Too young to drink now.

As part of my unhurried exploration of Meng Song area sheng puer, I’m having a Sunday afternoon sit-down with Essence of Tea’s 2014 Da Meng Long Gushu.

The dry leaf smells like fruit punch in the forest. Warmed leaf has a thick and rich date-caramel sweetness with faint wet smoke.

The tea is pouring golden orange with a brown tint.

At the lips, it’s rich with dates. There’s a bit of tang to the cup and early a quick bite in the throat. Bitterness is certainly there, structured, and passes at some point (who knows, I’m relaxed) after the swallow giving way to a strong returning sweetness. The aftertaste is drying and creamy, impression of cherimoya then apricot. After that fades, a metallic-astringent feeling/taste lingers; it’s pleasant, my tongue tingles far past the last sip. A comforting, expansive warmth in the throat and chest, a relaxing cool. Once the initial bitterness and astringency pass, the leaf needs to be brewed harder to elicit its hidden richness.

There is lingering depth of feeling to this tea. It rushes with a slow, smooth rumble and recedes like a warm wave break spreading across the sand, barely touching your toes before heading back out to sea. It courses and flows and grounds.

Summer, eating peach pie while sitting on the ground. The peach is a little sharp in the aroma but it smooths out when I take a sip. The pastry-like flavor ties together the peach fruitiness with the earthier tone of matcha and gentle sweetness of green tea. There are recommendations on the package for brewing both hot and iced. I only had it hot, and it’s best before it cools completely.

If you like Celestial Seasonings’ Country Peach Passion, imagine it with a matcha green tea base.

Pretty good bagged tea.

What a nice tea.

Despite being a year old and stored neglectfully in a (thick) plastic sandwich bag, this tea still has a fresh and focused (credit to Togo) character.

It’s very floral. After 4 or so years of picking apart tea aromas and flavors, I still have difficulty identifying floral notes that aren’t the typical tea ‘rose’. The floral note is intense yet gentle and sweet, not so perfumey. I want to ascribe to it daffodil, lily, magnolia, orange blossom, orchid, others… Other aromas in the dry leaf are cooked pineapple, yellow cherry, nutmeg and bitter cooked greens. The florality rises high after the sip.

The taste is consistent throughout the steeps. It is crisp, like fresh spring rain. Sweet, creamy spinach (without being overly vegetal), sturdy young grass, sugarcane, yellow cherry, green apple, citrus, pine, nutmeg.

The texture is of thick, smooth spring water with a mineral, mouth-watering finish.

The only shifting quality of this tea is found in the aftertaste which moves from gentle creaminess and peach and grass to osmanthus then closer to that of the first cup with peach skin and tulip leaf. The tea is a little drying but that lets the creamy impression and rising florals linger.

I looked back at my old note for the June 2018 harvest and this June 2020 harvest fits my impression back then. This tea is a great pick for newer oolong drinkers and seasoned alike. It can’t be oversteeped and in fact, my favorite preparation method thus far is bowl brewing, same as what’s called grandpa style. I happen to like sipping out of a bowl better than a large cup as I find I can more easily get lost in the aroma with my face that much closer to the tea. The leaves of this tea also expand with great fervor; a bowl accommodates this unfurling easily!

As for seasoned drinkers, the tea offers a ton of complexity in flavor and aroma if you’re the type to go searching. If your the type to not focus on such, it offers a smooth, consistent delivery in flavor, strength of character, structural balance.

Oh – this tea handles water off the boil beautifully. It needs the heat to bring out the deep sweetness that balances the florality.

A mystery oolong pick from a joint buy with Leafhopper, May 2020 harvest.

Aroma in bag is fruity with dried cherries and has the Si Ji Chun cultivar-specific florality which I can’t describe. Dry in hand smells roasted. Warm brings chicory coffee, molasses and brown toast and the rinsed leaf displays a sour roast note with woodiness.

The aroma is of roasted pears, dried peaches, chicory and cinnamon. Happy and comforting. The taste is weak at first but does build. It starts slightly nutty and mineral with a background roast and floral character. Clean tulip and little bit sweet aftertaste. Next cups begin with a mellow burst of woody spice which transitions smoothly to an impression of a damp, overcast fall day — autumn leaf, muted petrichor, pine resin, a whisper of smoke, unripened peach still clinging to the branch, twiggy sweetness, all rather subtle. A touch of camphor lingers, like taking a cold breath. Later steeps are nutty sweet maybe with a bit of honey, roastier.

This tea could be perceived as flavorless; I’d say it has subtle depth. Even with a rinse, it does need a long first steep in a gaiwan, maybe 45 seconds, back off a little bit with the next and increase from there. I like the character of this tea. It’s comforting like a Chinese Wuyi shui xian oolong but much more unassuming, giving a clue to its Taiwanese origin.