I just recently purchased a home, and it has a nice greenhouse
attached. I grow bonsai trees so I have some skill, but the idea hit me
the other night about trying to grow tea just for the heck of it. I'm
not expecting to grow any amazing varietal or anything, but just to say
I did and maybe try drying it and having the satisfaction of brewing a
cup of tea from my own plant.

Anyone have any insight? A new quest begins...

- Dominic
Drinking: PG Tips

Dominic T. wrote:
> I just recently purchased a home, and it has a nice greenhouse
> attached. I grow bonsai trees so I have some skill, but the idea hit me
> the other night about trying to grow tea just for the heck of it. I'm
> not expecting to grow any amazing varietal or anything, but just to say
> I did and maybe try drying it and having the satisfaction of brewing a
> cup of tea from my own plant.
>
> Anyone have any insight? A new quest begins...

Dunno ... I used to have some kind of Camellia bush/tree growing in my
front yard (Everett, Washington, USA) but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a
Sinensis. It bloomed red flowers in the spring.
Wonder if I could have used its leaves to drink? Is every species of
Camellia non-toxic?


stePH
in cup: Frontier English Breakfast (bulk purchased at Fred Meyer)

stePH wrote:
> Dunno ... I used to have some kind of Camellia bush/tree growing in my
> front yard (Everett, Washington, USA) but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a
> Sinensis. It bloomed red flowers in the spring.
> Wonder if I could have used its leaves to drink? Is every species of
> Camellia non-toxic?

Well, I found a decent bit of information at:
http://coffeetea.about.com/od/prepar...growingtea.htm and a link
to an online store called seedrack where I purchased a pack of seeds
for under $5. It seems like it should actually be very easy to grow and
dry based on that link above, I can't believe I never thought of doing
this before! I'm even thinking of creating a few bonsai tea plants as
well just for kicks... and very small teacups.

I checked for you and it seems that, yes, all forms of camellia are
able to be used for tea... but that it is not as desirable. No mention
is made of the tastes, but the other forms seem to be more flowery so
I'm thinking the taste may follow suit to some degree.

- Dominic
Drinking: Second brewing of my PG Tips teabag, because I ran out and
I'm at work

I live in Los Angeles, and there is a nursery just north of Pasadena
that sells Camellia Sinensis. Last year, I bought four plants. The
nursery cautioned me not to plant it directly in the sun, so they are
in a fairly shady part of my vegetable garden, and appear to doing
quite well. I did actually make a very nice green tea from the leaves
when they first came home, but only tried this once, and am letting the
plant "dig in" a little before harvesting further. It is my
understanding that while you can possibly brew an infusion from the
leaves of camellia japonica, it would not taste very delicious.
According to James Norwood Pratt (New Tea Lover's Treasury), camellia
sinensis is the only camellia that contains caffeine. I guess that is a
big reason why japonica is not cultivated for tea.

Joshua Tea wrote:
> ... It is my
> understanding that while you can possibly brew an infusion from the
> leaves of camellia japonica, it would not taste very delicious.
> According to James Norwood Pratt (New Tea Lover's Treasury), camellia
> sinensis is the only camellia that contains caffeine. I guess that is a
> big reason why japonica is not cultivated for tea.

???
I don't really drink tea for the caffeine, apart from my usual two or
three morning cups of English Breakfast. But if C. Japonica doesn't
taste good, I wouldn't care to drink it with or without caffeine.

stePH
in cup: pinhead gunpowder, first infusion --
it's really not that bad, it's just that the second is better.
--
"And for a second verse / Of terse economy / I'll brew another pot / Of
ambiguity"
-- King Crimson, 2002

>>According to James Norwood Pratt (New Tea Lover's Treasury),
>>camellia sinensis is the only camellia that contains caffeine

Camellia assamica is native to the Assam district of India (also grown
in Sri Lanka), and contains caffeine. However, Mr. Pratt may classify
this as a vareity of camellia sinensis.

As far as growing tea, I too have purchased seeds from Seedrack and had
a good experience from this vendor. Getting the seeds to germinate is
tricky though, but if you have green thumb then you should not have any
problem. Most articles on the topic suggest a allowing 2-3 years of
growth before harvesting leaves.


Jeremy
www.goodfortunetea.com

"Jeremy" > writes:

> >>According to James Norwood Pratt (New Tea Lover's Treasury),
> >>camellia sinensis is the only camellia that contains caffeine
>
> Camellia assamica is native to the Assam district of India

Despite the name, there's a body of opinion holding that C. assamica
originated in what's now Yunnan province in China.

> (also grown in Sri Lanka), and contains caffeine. However, Mr. Pratt
> may classify this as a vareity of camellia sinensis.

I think most botanists agree it isn't a separate species.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Dominic T. wrote:
> stePH wrote:
> > Dunno ... I used to have some kind of Camellia bush/tree growing in my
> > front yard (Everett, Washington, USA) but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a
> > Sinensis. It bloomed red flowers in the spring.
> > Wonder if I could have used its leaves to drink? Is every species of
> > Camellia non-toxic?
>
> Well, I found a decent bit of information at:
> http://coffeetea.about.com/od/prepar...growingtea.htm and a link
> to an online store called seedrack where I purchased a pack of seeds
> for under $5. It seems like it should actually be very easy to grow and
> dry based on that link above, I can't believe I never thought of doing
> this before! I'm even thinking of creating a few bonsai tea plants as
> well just for kicks... and very small teacups.
>
> I checked for you and it seems that, yes, all forms of camellia are
> able to be used for tea... but that it is not as desirable. No mention
> is made of the tastes, but the other forms seem to be more flowery so
> I'm thinking the taste may follow suit to some degree.
>
> - Dominic
> Drinking: Second brewing of my PG Tips teabag, because I ran out and
> I'm at work

I always recommend camforest.com for tea seeds. They carry more
varietals and they store and ship their seeds wet. My dry seeds from
seedrack never germinated, but I just got one white tea seedling and
three rosea tea seedlings in the last few days from my purchase at
camforest.

~j

If I actually wanted to make to make green tea from my plants, does
anyone have any guidelines as to how best to do this?

e.g. How long do I wither for?
Does it matter if I pan fry in a regular saucepan? And for long?
Can I dry in something like a food dehydrater? And for long?

Keep in mind, this is just my own personal experiment : ) I didn't
follow any of these steps last time, except for a misguided attempt at
withering, and the brew was pleasant.

Any suggestions? thx!!

Linda