Rockridges Teas
China Black Teas
Yunnan: smooth, rich and rare
Keemun: mellow with a hint of sweetness
Lapang Souhong: strong black tea
Tiger Spring Organic: sweet golden organic
Pu-Erh: special long aged yunnan rich and musty
Oolong Teas
Single Trunk: light with good floral aroma
Iron Goddess: dark, rich sweet flavor
Green Teas
Bao Jong: strong, fresh garden flavor
Huang MT Hairport: sweet, golden brew
Emerald Tips: full flavor green tea
Rockridge Green: our very own sweet and light green
White Teas
Mutan White: long silver tips, light flavor
Imperial Silver Needle: the best white tea (very expensive)
Shou Mei: mellow and sweet-low caffeine
Yellow Teas
Hou MT Yellow: sprouting bright tea
India Teas
Nilgri Hills: black, rich, good acidity
Assam: true indian style black tea
Carvan: dark with a smokey flavor
Temi Garden Darjeeling: rich and smooth
Risheebat Estate Darjeeling: rich and heavy
Flavored Teas
Jasmine Silver Tip: the best white jasmine (very expensive)
Jasmine Black: restraunt grade tea
English Style
Early Grey: flavored with bergamont
Irish Breakfast: good breakfast tea
English Breakfast: a little richier than Irish
Herbal
Chamomile: the best german flower tops
Lemon Balm: light lemon and mint flavor
We have a small planting of tea plants at Rockridge, harvested twice yearly, and almost always sold out before it makes it into the house. Tea is unfortunately not a very viable commercial crop - it's extremely labor-intensive to hand harvest the leaves and weighs next to nothing when dried. If you're looking for your own source of green tea you may want to consider planting a bush or two.
Camelia Sinensis (Thea): Its a medium sized evergreen leafy shrub. Prefers partial sun (medium shade) and some winter wind protection. Needs to be watered in the summer (not very drought tolerant). Needs to be planted in well drained winter soil (won't tolerate soggy feet either). Think of it as a large evergreen azalea. Grows to about 5' tall x 4' wide in 10 years in Western Washington. Small, white flowers in mid summer. You can harvest your first tea leaves when it's about 3' tall (3rd year). A little difficult to cultivate - Doesn't root cuttings very well. We grow seedlings from our plants - most are about 6" tall in a 4-6" pot and require slug protection the first year or two. Sorry, we're sold out of plants this year but should have more by May 2008. Average price is around $10. If you really want one this year, I recommend One Green World in Olalla OR - you can mail order online - they have a great catalog and offer very healthy nice stock.
Any further questions, please don't hesitate to call or write. :) Judy Bennett