Jasmine Pearls

62 is a very low rating for this tea, so I’m bumping it up. I must have been in a bad mood that day. This is a really nice, soothing tea for me. I love jasmine, and the blend of green and white teas makes for a lovely mellow, smooth backbone for it with very little astringency, which I appreciate. The jasmine is sweet and natural tasting, not overly floral or perfumey, and it doesn’t remotely overpower the natural notes of the base teas, I think possibly because it comes from jasmine flowers instead of flavouring. It blends really well with the grapey and hay-like notes I’m getting from the base, which doesn’t sound like it would, but it does! Overall though it’s not exactly the most ‘exciting’ blend of flavours, it’s a really good iteration of a classic combination, and it it doing the trick to relax me and make me happy, which is what tea is for, right?

The pearls smells strongly floral in the dry leaf, which is a much gentler floral presence when brewed. It has an amazingly smooth mouthfeel and flavor. The jasmine is floral without feeling too soapy or perfume-like. The green and white tea blended base behind the jasmine is green and herbal, slightly nutty, without being grassy at all. White teas are not always my favorite for the almost mineral muskiness in their aftertaste, but the white in this blend is not too strong, and is adds a smooth balance to the green. While this first brew is slightly brothy or buttery, the floral, almost fruity tones, come out in the sweeter second steepings. I also did a cold brew of the jasmine pearls in my favorite Takeya pitcher. I let them steep in cold water for 24 hours. The brew was lighter in color, and more flowery than the hot brews, the green and white teas much lighter and smoother in the cold brew. Classy, gentle, and soothing in all its brews.