I’m cold steeping some Jasmine Pearls for milk tea tomorrow. Fiance was super excited, and wondering if just maybe we could have it tonight. I’ll finish converting him yet!
I know I’m close because I got him one of those refillable Keurig cups last week as they have a Keurig maker thing at his office. The first thing he tested in it was the tea he has at work. I’m so close. :D
But onto the actual tea!
I did four steepings in total, 8 ounces each, using 1.5 tsp of leaf in a standard gravity steeper.
3 min, 3 min 30 sec, 4 min, 5 min
Initially it looks like a pretty standard lightly oxodized Taiwanese oolong. Then it has the familiar flavors of sweet cream and floral, but also has a little apricot-like lift at the end of each sip. The finish is sweet and lingers, which lends itself well to the next sip and it seems to build over the cup. The osmanthus strictly complements the oolong with neither overpowering the other.
By the later steepings (4 specifically), there’s some serious atringency going on here., though.
The osmanthus makes this a really pretty tea. Once the leaves are unfurled, the tiny, delicate white petals on the dark green leaves is really stunning. I could absolutely see myself serving this to company in a glass pot.