Russian Caravan for the greater expense and difficulty of its carriage by this route. Anecdotal evidence had it that during the camel caravan journeys, the teas took on the smoky taste of the campfires. Only the lapsang souchong (if present) in the blend, however, is actually smoke-dried. Some blends use yunnan black tea, together with keemun and lapsang souchong to achieve full bodied, strong copper colored, smokey, and heavy flavored tea with a smooth and mellow aftertaste. Russian Caravan Russian Caravan is a blend of oolong, keemun, and lapsang souchong teas, all produced from "Camellia sinensis" the Chinese tea plant. It is
Camellia taliensis is the tea variety traditionally cultivated in Yunnan. Like "C. sinensis, C. taliensis" contains both theanine and caffeine. "C. talensis" can be easily crossed with "C. sinensis," and the resulting crossbred plants are intermediate between species both morphologically and chemically indicating true hybrids. "Camellia taliensis" is locally used to make white tea, black tea, and pu'er tea. Yue Guang Bai (月光白 "Moonlight White") is a white tea made from the plant. Yunnan pu-erh tea made from "C. taliensis" can command a much higher price than pu'er made from the more common "C. sinensis." Camellia taliensis Camellia taliensis (also Yunnan large