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​CAMELLIA BLOSSOM TEA
Camellia Blossom Tea is the only true flower tea as it is handcrafted from Camellia Blossoms, the flowers produced by the tea plant Camellia sinensis. 
These blossoms produce one of the healthiest teas in the world, a flower tea that is the closest herbal tea to actual tea. Camellia Blossoms are well known for their high polyphenolic content, providing anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, antibacterial, antiangiogenic, antioxidative, antiviral, neuroprotective and cholesterol-lowering effects. The saponins in Camellia Blossoms are traditionally used for their immunotoxin affects. 

Bryn Hill is the only farm in Australia producing the rare Camellia Blossoms, sustainably grown on our tea plantation in Tropical North Queensland. 
The blossoms are produced by our tea plants for a short time each year, just before the plants go into hibernation for the winter. During flowering, the blossoms are gently hand picked, lightly dried then carefully packaged to ensure only the highest quality herbal tea experience.

Most tea growers do not bother harvesting and crafting tea flowers since it requires a great deal of patience and time. Also, tea plantations do not have bushes that grow tall enough to produce tea flowers as flowering is prevented during cultivation by harvesting the leaves, forcing the plant to constantly make more leaf buds. Consequently the tea leaf, rather than the tea flower, is the most famous part from the tea plant, however, several cultures have a history of using Camellia Blossoms as food or drink.

 In Japan, Camellia Blossoms are used as preserved food seasoned with miso (fermented soybean paste), tsukudani (boiled food in sweetened soy sauce) and as medicine.
An infusion of tea flowers is unlike the taste of any tea. Camellia Blossom tea is pale yellow with a mellow, fruity taste and subtle sweetness. It is delicious on its own or ideal for blending with other green or white teas, or herbs. A perfect refresher at any time of the day-hot or iced. 
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​Camellia Blossoms are an ideal alternative to tea leaves for caffeine sensitive tea lovers as they contain only very low traces of caffeine (one half of one percent by weight).
  • HOT TEA:
    • infuse 250ml of hot water (98°C) with 1-2 teaspoons of Camellia Blossoms
    • steep for 5-7 minutes
    • strain blossoms and enjoy
    • Camellia Blossoms are very suited to multiple infusions 
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  • ICED TEA: 
    • steep Camellia Blossoms strongly for at least 15 minutes in hot water (95°C), or overnight in cold water for cold brewed tea
    • allow to cool and pour over ice.​


    TEA PLANTS

Due to the popularity of tea these days, it is possible to locate just about any type of tea at a supermarket or specialist tea shop-from inexpensive black teas to organic, single origin, loose leaf white teas and everything in between.

Wouldn't it be great if you could make your own tea? Well, you definitely can. Along with a growing appreciation for high quality, artisan tea is an enthusiasm for local produce, especially do-it-yourself gardening and food production. In many areas of Australia, and indeed the world, it is possible to grow your own tea plants, harvest the leaves and/ or flowers, and create your own tea from your back garden.
Bryn Hill regularly sends tea plants to enthusiastic tea gardeners  around Australia, who are wanting to enjoy the simple pleasures and health benefits obtained from making their own homegrown, hand-crafted tea.
There are over 250 species of Camellia in the world but only the leaves from Camellia sinensis are used to make tea, one of the oldest and most popular beverages drunk around the world. Different processing methods produce a variety of teas eg. black, oolong, green and white. ​
Although Camellia sinensis is predominantly grown for tea, it is actually an amazingly versatile plant. The beautiful fragrant, white flowers from Camellia sinensis are abundant throughout Autumn and early Winter and, when picked and dried, produce a delicious and healthy flower tea. This tea is quite rare, and is only produced by Bryn Hill in small quantities each year since is is hand harvested.

​Also, an incredibly healthy cooking and cosmetic oil (tea seed oil, not tea tree oil!) can be produced from the seeds of the Camellia sinensis plant. This oil has been used for centuries in many parts of Asia, particularly in Southern China for cooking.

​Camellia sinensis plants can also be planted to form great hedges, which can be grown to any height and look very attractive with their smooth, evergreen leaves and pretty flowers. Tea plants also grow well in large pots or containers, but still require their soil acidic, well mulched and very well drained.
It is not difficult to grow your own tea plants, with people all over Australia and the world successfully growing and harvesting their own tea products.​
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The white flowered, fragrant, Camellia sinensis grown at Bryn Hill is a variety that has been grown for commercial tea production in Queensland since 1886. ​
Whether you want to grow your own tea or simply want to enjoy an unusual Camellia for its ornamental value, tea is a great plant for your garden. ​
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​TEA SEEDS
The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, produces seeds for several months every year. These tea seeds are used to propagate new tea plants. All tea (whether green, black, white or oolong) originates from Camellia sinensis plants-the processing is what makes the different teas.
During Autumn and early Winter, Bryn Hill harvests a small quantity of tea seeds for sale to gardeners and nurseries who would like to grow tea plants from seed.

​The propagation of tea plants from seeds is not complicated. Only freshly harvested seeds should be used as older seeds lose their moisture, and therefore their viability, the longer they are stored.

To ensure optimum freshness, tea seeds are only available from Bryn Hill between March and June each year. The tea seeds produced at Bryn Hill are Camellia sinensis var. assamica, the variety used to produce black tea in Tropical North Queensland, Australia, since 1886.

Tea seeds can also be pressed to make an incredibly healthy oil, used for centuries in Southern China and other parts of Asia for cooking and in beauty products.
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AUSTRALIA'S RAREST HONEY
Bryn Hill's Camellia Blossom Honey is harvested from our tea plantation in Topaz, Tropical North Queensland, Australia. Camellia Blossoms, full of healthy nectar and pollen, are produced by our tea plants throughout late Autumn, just before the plants go into hibernation for the winter. Camellia Blossom Honey is very rare.

​Most tea plantations do not have bushes that grow tall enough to produce tea flowers as flowering is prevented during cultivation by harvesting the leaves, forcing the plant to constantly make more leaf buds for tea.

Tea seeds can also be pressed to make an incredibly healthy oil, used for centuries in Southern China and other parts of Asia for cooking and in beauty products.

BRYN HILL'S CAMELLIA BLOSSOM HONEY IS:

GOURMET

Most supermarket and other commercially available honey is blended, made by bees who collect pollen from many different species of flowers. Gourmet honey is made from pollen collected from only one species of flower, which is why each gourmet honey has its own taste, like wine. Bryn Hill's Camellia Blossom Honey is produced only from the flowers of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, on our Topaz farm, ensuring it is also single origin. Camellia Blossom Honey has a light colour with a delightfully mild, slightly floral taste. ​

​RAW

Honey that is labelled 'Raw' may still be heated up to 45°C, however Bryn Hill's Camellia Blossom Honey is not heated at any stage of the extraction or packaging process. This ensures it retains all of its medicinal properties so it doesn't just taste great, but is wonderful for you. Heating honey above 37°C has detrimental effects on it’s nutritional value - it starts to lose antibacterial and antiviral benefits as well as important enzymes.

Unfortunately, most commercial honey is subjected to numerous high temperatures. Removal of the wax cappings involves the use of heated equipment (wax needs at least 62°C to melt), then honey is usually heated to at least 50°C to assist in honey extraction, processing and bottling by machine as warm honey is thin (less viscous) and runs quickly, greatly reducing processing speed.

​It requires a great deal more time, and therefore expense, to produce raw honey.

COLD PRESSED

The final stage of honey processing involves pasteurisation, where the honey is heated to about 70°C. Pasteurised honey lasts longer in its liquid state than unpasteurised honey, thereby appealing to the average retailer and consumer. Of course, this heating destroys important nutrients, enzymes, phytochemical and even flavours naturally present in honey. 

Bryn Hill's Camellia Blossom Honey is cold pressed by hand, not spun by centrifuge. Our honey remains at the temperature it was in the hive, and is never pasteurised, thereby retaining an amazing amount of nutrients.

UNFILTERED

We strain, rather than heat filter, our Camellia Blossom Honey ​. Straining the honey involves passing the honey through mesh to remove larger particles, such as pieces of wax, bee parts and air bubbles, but very small particles are retained (such as pollen, propolis, and important enzymes and phytochemicals). Filtered honey, on the other hand, is heated in order to force it through a very fine filter at high pressure. This filtering process removes all the smaller particles, many of which have known health benefits, and also destroys many beneficial components of honey. The honey is also much less likely to crystallise if it does not contain any particles, a trait that is appreciated by many consumers to their detriment.

CHEMICAL FREE

Bryn Hill beehives are interspersed among our 35 acres of tea, an environment that is chemical and pesticide free and bordered by World Heritage listed rainforest . These hives are organically managed according to Australian regulations, however our honey is not certified organic by any regulatory body. We believe it is of more benefit if consumers look for raw, cold pressed honey, since organic honey can still be heated to 45°C.