Eep. I just glanced at my Harney & Sons post and hopefully Battle Part Deux will not be nearly as long as Battle Part 1.
Scent
There’s not much to say about this that I didn’t say in the H+S post. It smells so full and succulent that you want to be able to take a bite out of it. Just lovely. But H+S has a bit of a stronger scent and so I gave them the win.
Texture
Samovar’s jasmine was a little lighter in the mouth, but also smoother. Almost silky. If it just came down to those two components I’d call it a coin toss, but because Harney & Sons had that strange tingly/prickly thing going on the round goes to Samovar.
Things I Don’t Know Enough About
The leaves in Jasmine Pearl were more separated. Some of the leaves were attached in pairs at the stem, but many were singles. They were all completely unrolled and long by the time the 3:30 was up. Here are my Samovar pictures.
1 | http://twitpic.com/nfruc
2 | http://twitpic.com/nfrzg
3 | http://twitpic.com/nfs3t
leaf | http://twitpic.com/ng5um
cup | http://twitpic.com/ng61c
all | http://twitpic.com/photos/takgoti
Taste
This one was sweeter, like I mentioned in the H+S review, and a little more consistent over time [however, it did grow in flavor as it cooled]. It also had more of a vegetal quality to it, though subtle. I found that the liquid edged out the Dragon Pearl in terms of complexity, but both had very similar notes and tones. Samovar won the taste round.
Price
The price of Samovar’s 2 oz. can is $15, which is much higher price point per oz. than the next [and only] size up. For this tea to be “worth it” I’d get the 5.5 oz. tin, which runs at $28.
FINAL VERDICT
I am giving Samovar the championship belt in this battle, but it was really, really, REALLY close. If Samovar all of a sudden discontinued their jasmine tea and I would not be at all disappointed at the prospect of drinking Harney and Sons’ jasmine instead. Really, like I mentioned previously, I think that this decision should be based on who you buy more from [and how much you want to get, I suppose]. I buy more Samovar tea than anything else, so it makes more sense for me to get my jasmine from them.
So…I suppose that in the end this was all somewhat moot, but I got to play with my camera and two really great teas so it was a win for me. And really, isn’t that what matters? [Yes.]
That was epic! Thank you, I really enjoyed the battle!
Thank you! It was a bit of a project. Spanned a good part of my day, actually. I’m okay with that.
I’m okay with that too!