Camila Tea is a Canadian Tea Company that specializes in farm-to-cup tea. They fully disclose all farmers and locations that they source from and have a real passion for providing sustainably sourced handcrafted teas that do not need any additives or natural flavors. They also want to make sure that their artisan farmers receive maximum benefits from their produce and were not taken advantage of like some other tea farms who have to submit to the supply chain movement. Their mission statement is to “Source the most flavourful, aromatic and beautiful single estate tea and gourmet tea blends for Canadians to enjoy, while maintaining relationships, based on trust and respect, with the artisan farmers in India who are at the heart of our teas.” They sent me 4 teas to try: Regal Oolong, Assam Legacy, Jasmine Green Pearls, and Classic Masala Chai.
Analyzation of the Teas:
Jasmine Green Pearls: I literally felt my stress melt away when drinking this tea. It soothed my entire body and mind, and I was so grateful for it. I absolutely adore jasmine tea. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. It was remarkably smooth and had a balanced taste of jasmine and green tea. My friend Alexis tried a different jasmine tea recently and said it reminded her of drinking an essential oil. I laughed, but in many ways, I can relate to what she said. When sipping on this tea, I noticed my head clear (which was great because I had a headache) and just thoroughly enjoyed the entire cup. And the next steeping. Sometimes you drink tea and it just really hits where you need it to, and this tea really helped me when I needed it to.
Origin: India
Ingredients: Whole Leaf Green Tea Pearls, Jasmine Buds
Classic Masala Chai: This tea was a lot more subtle than I was originally expecting. I used 1 tsp but the taste was very subtle which is something I am not used to with Masala Chai. However, with that said, it was lovely. Sometimes the spices are overwhelming to me when it is super strong, so it was quite nice to drink tea and be able to easier identify the ingredients. When using more leaves, there was a stronger taste apparent. One thing I do really enjoy about this tea is that the spices really help enhance the flavor of the black tea instead of hiding or overwhelming it. Many other Masala Chais are strongly spiced and sometimes hard to drink without adding milk or cream. This tea really is able to stand on its own and be classic in its own way.
Origin: India
Ingredients: Orthodox Black Tea, Pepper, Clove, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cardamom
Assam Legacy: Beautiful golden color with a lovely warm aroma. Really reminds me of snuggling up in a warm blanket and reading a book. The overall feeling of the tea was very smooth and with no astringency or bitterness. It left a nice and juicy feeling on my taste buds, and I really couldn’t wait for my next mini cup. I did feel quite energized right away but that lazy, warm (curled around a book) feeling followed me through the morning, which was a strange combination. Overall, this would be a lovely tea to start my morning with or a mid-work pick-me-up! The second steeping was also quite lovely and smooth, with a few hints of tanniny goodness.
Origin: Assam, India
Ingredients: Black Tea
Regal Oolong: This tea was surprising, it was so crisp and soothing to taste. There was a very subtle (slightly) vegetal finish when drinking but mostly it was just a very light taste. This might just be one of my favorite oolongs so far though, but we will truly test this when I continue more steepings to see how it fairs. As I continued to put this tea to the test, I noticed that the second steeping was fairly similar to the first. It was light but did have slightly more vegetal notes with each sip. The leaves were beautiful and unfolded more and more with each steep. It did maintain another steep as well, and each time a bit more vegetal notes appeared. There is just a calming quality to oolong teas, and this tea was quite the epitome of relaxing and calming.
Origin: Darjeeling, India
Ingredients: Oolong Tea
Analyzation of the Pricing:
The teas that I received actually come in a group package together called Camila’s Choice, priced at $22.95 CAD ($17.65 USD). The individual package prices are Assam Legacy: $5.95 CAD ($4.58 USD), Classic Masala Chai: $3.95 ($3.04 USD), Jasmine Green Pearls: $6.95 ($5.35USD), and Regal Oolong: $5.95 CAD ($4.58 USD). I am assuming that all of the prices are in CAD and that there is a USD equivalent somewhere, as sometimes your credit card will know the difference and change it to USD when you use it. Of course, I do not know that for sure. I think this is a more than fair price for the quality of tea received, especially with the care that they have for being a responsible tea company and their tea sourcing.
Analyzation of the Packaging:
I loved the packaging and branding of this tea. I did not take a picture of the way these teas came to me (I really wished that I did) but it was completely flat and wasted absolutely no space. Brilliant concept honestly. It was also completely decked out in their logos. There was no mistaking which company I was getting tea from. The tea pouches themselves were nicely made as well and seemed to hold up to my normal testing. The tea did not emit any aroma from the top of the pouch and the zipper was nice and secure.
Do you let tea sourcing determine your tea purchases? Or let me rephrase. Will you refrain from purchasing a tea if it has not proven to be ethically sourced? Food for thought indeed. As I continue on in my tea journey, I am especially pleased by the companies who prove to me that they are responsible tea drinkers and providers (much like Camila Tea is responsibly sourcing their tea). Let me know if you have stopped drinking a certain tea brand based on that or if you have started drinking a tea brand due to their stance on ethical sourcing in the comments below. Happy Brewing!
-Danielle
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