The first jasmine tea I ever had was a total bust, almost a disaster. It made me feel sick, as if I had been drinking perfume. I thought I was destined to hate jasmine teas but then I tried some really good….no…..really great ones.
This is a free sample provided by Nina’s and I saved it for a game night tonight because one of my guests has spent a bit of time in China and really loves jasmine tea. I promised to save the sample until we could drink it together.
The leaves are so dark that I wasn’t sure at first if this was green or black, but definitely it is green. The scent is heavenly. I steeped one tablespoon in 22 ounces of 174F water for three minutes. We tasted the first steep and added the second steep to it.
The verdict – this is a really good jasmine green. The jasmine is rich and natural, not fake or “perfume-y”. The liquor was a deep yellow color and the resteep maintained much of the strength of the first steep. The green tea base had a lot of presence but was smooth, much better to me than the Grace Rare Tea version, which I can drink with a meal but is a bit sour for me by itself. This one is a delight on its own and is also good with food,
After tasting the tea twice – first steep by itself, then first and second mixed – we passed around a box of truffles and I must say it was a fantastic pairing.
Thank you, Nina’s!
