Jasmine Silver Needles (Organic)

I needed a jasmine fix, and I really wanted to see how this compares to the Teavivre jasmine silver needle. I only drank this tonight though, no comparison.

Not much different than the first note I wrote on this tea, smooth, slightly sweet, slightly grassy, not overpowering. Man…..I love white tea!

Next time, I will be comparing this to Teavivre’s version.

I always feel guilty about drinking my silver needles. Because it costs more than most of the teas in my collection… but then I never drink it! I suppose it’s one of those special occasion sorts of teas.

Today’s not really a special occasion… I just wanted something light and sweet. I steeped this hot and then poured over ice.

This is how you do jasmine. It’s barely there, just a hint, and it doesn’t overpower in the slightest. The tea has a very soft mouthfeel, almost like I’m drinking the fuzz coating the needles (which, come to think of it, I probably am). It looks colorless while pouring, but in the glass it’s a chrysanthemum color.

Upping the rating a tad because I’m happy about this right now!

So I placed an order with 52teas last week, and it should (in theory, and if nothing goes wrong) arrive here at the end of this week or the start of the next. I should, therefore, be spending Suicide Reading Week drinking up some teas in my cupboard to make room for the new ones, right? Right? I should, in no way, be buying more teas or teaware. Ahem.

Well, I guess I actually won’t be picking up any more for a while, as my bank account can’t handle it. I took an extra shift at work to cover this purchase, but then that’s it until I get paid…twice.

Anyway. One of the most interesting things about this tea…“journey,” obsession, whatever, is that I am learning things about my own tastes that I never expected.

For example. If you were to ask me if I like floral teas, my first impulse would be to say no. I hate floral scents in perfume after all, plus I grew up that kid with the hideous sweet tooth who had to be strapped down to be fed vegetables. Flowers are PLANTS, and not fruits, and therefore sort of fall into the category of “vegetables” in some utterly irrational part of my brain. I’m sure I would never have had tea as a child if someone had told me it’s plant leaves.

Yet, I liked that orchid-infused green I got from Teaopia a lot, so hmm. I went to DAVIDsTEA yesterday with intentions to buy Nepal Black, a sample of White Tiger and a sample of one of their straight whites…I was thinking probably the Bai Hao Yin Zhen. Until I smelled it, and it was so utterly unexciting, and I ended up leaving with everything but the Bai Hao Yin Zhen.

I had originally not planned to get this at all because it is a jasmine white (ew, flowers!), so I was completely taken by surprise when I smelled it, and it was absolutely divine. I can’t put this scent into words, other than to say I want to huff in the bag, it’s soft and sweet and so enchanting. We have a Tetley jasmine green that smells a bit like this, but that’s like saying that that a digital sport Timex and a TAG Heuer are the same thing because they both tell you what time it is.

I steeped it in little batches in my gaiwan, about 45-60 seconds to a steep. (No less than that because I fumble too much.) Then I poured it into my new hailstone cast iron teacup that I got from DT at the same time as this tea. I cringed at myself buying a $25 tea cup (that’s almost as much as my Timolino!), but I have no regrets now. What an amazing little cup! Its capacity matches my gaiwan perfectly, our strainer fits it exactly, and it keeps my tea so warm once I pour it from my gaiwan (the reason I got it, since gaiwans lose heat quickly and I drink slowly). Whee!

First infusion: Very subtle and gently sweet. Left a veritable lei in my mouth. So far, this is actually the best infusion, and I couldn’t stop sipping it. Good lord, I’m glad I got out of the way of thinking that I should automatically discard the first steep when brewing in a gaiwan. Why would you not drink this, seriously.

Second infusion: Whoa, more strongly floral than before, in a way I wasn’t entirely sure was pleasant. It bordered on an outright “plant” taste, not as sweet as before. So I added a single drop of honey to it. Mistake! You cannot add a sweetener to this. The end result was utterly baffling to me and hard to describe. Essentially what happened was that the tastes did not remotely mix. The honey in no way flavoured the tea; I could still taste every note of the tea perfectly, just as I had before, and I could also taste the honey separately. How can that be?!

Third infusion: Think I’m getting more “tea” taste now as I write this. It’s light and crisp, reminds me of…I don’t know, white wine? I’m not certain, though. Grr, why didn’t I start with the plain white so I’d have a point of comparison? Think I’ll only do one more infusion of this, I’m getting bored.

Fourth infusion: Two minutes, not one. Don’t think that’s even the full potential of this one, but I truly got bored. I’m too fickle for the same tea over and over, no matter how much I like it. This is fuller in the middle, like a balloon of tea with flowers for the rubber boundaries. It gets almost a bit fruity, and is very satisfying at the back of your throat in a way that I just realized I associate exclusively with tea. After the first infusion, this one is my favourite. Maybe it gets better after this, but the instructions only suggest brewing it for 5 minutes, and this is five minutes total.

So: lovely! Although don’t let it get cold, it’s gross.

And apparently…I do like floral teas.

So I got this for my sister for christmas. She brewed her first mug on boxing day and said it was delicious. So of course, I had to steal a sip and see for myself. It was great. I’m going to have to go get some for myself. Very light and embracing jasmine flavour.

So delicate and floral! This tea smells and tastes fantastic and, well, “pretty.” The buds are appealing and fuzzy, the liquor is a lovely pale colour, and the aroma is just fantastic. All jasmine tea lovers should give this a taste.

love the jasmine taste. this tea really rehydrates a body well. it could have even more jasmine in it.

Had this one tonight while in picking up the last of the fall collection. I have been taking advantage of the just the leaf for $1 deal.

It was smooth and delicious, but I found after a while with the bag in the to go cup it got bitter. I should have taken it out sooner. I also should have taken the bag home so I could double steep it. I guess I was too busy ogling my husband tonight on our date to think straight. Anyways I would recommend this as a really nice, clean white tea, and if the price wasn’t so high I would probably buy more.

If you’re a fan of white jasmines, please take my review with a grain of salt since I, apparently, am not. I like white tea, and I like jasmine tea, but these two flavours together are something that I’m not fond of. I couldn’t even make it through half the cup. The jasmine is by far the dominant flavour, and it became much too floral for my tastes. If you like the floral flavours, you’ll definitely love this one.

A really subtle tea, but it has really quickly become my favorite jasmine (out of a collection of several). The first infusion is very jasmine-like, but after that you get the white tea flavor coming through much more prominently. Really refreshing.
I brew it at a much lower temperature than the package suggests – then later infusions aren’t tasteless.

The last cup before the day comes to close. This was good! The brew still carried a fresh tone and was sweet and smooth. The jasmine was very subtle, which is something new for me. I usually experience a very strong jasmine tone with most jasmine infused silver needle. This was not the case. The bright golden brew was honeysuckle with a slight floral upswing. It was enjoyable and did very well under multiple steeping.