No.251
tl;dr: I took some camellia sasanqua leaves from a yard, gonna see if it makes decent tea or what. currently drying the leaves out.So, tea is made of camellia sinensis (pic 1)
a shitton of people plant camellias in their yards, but not usually c. sinensis
instead they plant c. japonica and c. sasanqua and others. anyway I decided to google around and see if its possible to make tea from these other types of camellia…the answer seems to be yes, although the results for it aren't very abundant:
>camellia japonicahttp://pandragonathome.blogspot.com/2009/11/making-black-tea-from-your-camellia.htmlhttp://inpraiseofshadows.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/tea-from-the-camellia-japonica/
>camellia sasanqua: http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome/blue_mountains_botanic_garden/garden_features/blooming_calendar/Camellias (
In Japan, the Camellia sasanqua has a long history in cultivation for practical rather than decorative reasons. The leaves have been used for centuries to make a form of tea and the seeds or nuts have been a thriving Japanese industry long before there were any written records.)
http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2013/01/questions-from-readers-growing-your-own.html No.252
Currently drying the leaves (still waiting for them to wilt actually), will report on progress.
No.253
p.s., cross posted to
>>>/tea/ No.256
damn the leaves took a long time to wilt. i finally rolled them today.
i think i fucked it up though, might have to start over