A sample from Angel at Teavivre, and the final flavoured white I have with me to try at work today. I agree pretty much with K S’s sentiments in her note — jasmine is one of those things that I have become leery of, primarily because my experiences so far have been largely disappointing. Strong, cloying, potentially chemical flavours, usually in bagged tea. I have since tried a couple of better quality jasmine teas, and they’re starting to change my mind, but none so much as Teavivre. Their jasmine just seems…different. Milder, sweeter, more grape like and less perfumey.
I’m seeing here the same silver needle base the other two teas I’ve tried today had. Pale, creamy green buds, very downy. I’m sure I’m seeing a dried jasmine flower in the dry mix, too. The scent is lightly floral — both the headier, perfume-like floral of jasmine, and the lighter, sweet hay-like floral of the silver needle. I used 1 tsp of leaves, and gave them 2 minutes in water cooled to 175.
The taste is very mild; much milder than the scent of the dry leaves would have led me to believe. This is fine with me, though. Mild jasmine is more suited to my tastes! It also means that the flavour of the white tea base still shines through, and that’s a good thing in my book. When the base tea is this good, why would you not want to taste it?! I’m getting the same fresh, clean cucumber flavour as I have with the last couple of Teavivre whites, and a hint of sweet, hay-like floral. The jasmine flavouring floats over the base tea like a scented cloud; it’s a delicate, airy, heady floral that makes its presence known without being overwhelming. I still probably wouldn’t choose a jasmine tea if left to my own devices, but I wouldn’t say no to another cup of this one. I think I knew it already, but both white tea and jasmine are going to be synonymous with Teavivre for me from now on!
