Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal (although this is technically Camellia Sinensis too!)

Where to Buy:  Teavivre

Tea Description:

Gentle taste, soft and smooth, with the aftertaste of dry persimmon.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I have only had the flower of Camellia Sinensis a couple of times, but every time it comes time to review it, I am unsure of how to categorize it.  It is a flower, so it can loosely fall under the category of “Herbal” … but, it is also Camellia Sinensis, and usually the category “Herbal” is meant to include those items that do not come from the Camellia Sinensis plant.  However, I decided to categorize this Organic Dehydrated Camellia from Teavivre under the category of Herbal, mostly because that is where you can find it on the Teavivre website, and I figured that would cause less confusion to someone who might be looking for the product.

The dry flowers smell floral and pollen-y.  The aroma has a slight honey-esque tone to it.  Once brewed, the tea has a little less of a floral tone and a little more of a pollen fragrance.

The flavor is quite delicate, reminiscent of a white tea in its delicateness.  It also has a slight … taste that is similar to white tea, reminding me somewhat of a high quality Silver Needle type white tea.  This has that clean, crisp, airy quality that I enjoy in a Silver Needle.

But the infused flowers do not have the vegetal notes of a Silver Needle, or the “hay-like” quality I’ve come to expect from a Silver Needle.  Instead, this has a very pleasant, pollen-y kind of taste that I find very enjoyable.  Sweet, honey-esque, and floral.  The description above suggests an aftertaste that is similar to persimmon, and since I’m not real familiar with the flavor of persimmon, I can’t tell you that this is what I’m tasting.  But I will say that I taste a remarkably sweet, fruit-like quality that is almost “juicy” in the aftertaste, and I am liking that a lot.

It is a very light, refreshing drink that is soothing and relaxing to sip, and since it is lower in caffeine than a typical cup of Camellia Sinensis, this is something that you can drink later in the day without worry that you’ll be up all night (unless you’re particularly sensitive to caffeine, I guess.  I’m not a doctor so don’t consider that to be medical advice!)

Another really lovely tea from Teavivre!