Jasmine Pearl

A pretty tea both visually (love the little balled up leaves) and taste-wise (mmm). Soft with a good jasmine taste that melds effortlessly into the taste of the tea. Beautiful.

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.]

How lucky I was to get these from the generous LENA. Thank you! 6 months ago I would have confidently asserted that I dislike Jasmine tea because my only experience was with one of those wretched tea-bags (probably Bigelow or perhaps Twinings).

But recently I’ve grown to really enjoy and be impressed by the subtle aromas and tastes of green and white teas. The Jasmine flavour is one that I’ve grown to esteem. I think that Samovar’s Jasmine Pearls are, hencefar, the best I’ve experienced. The tea manages to be floral and biscuity. The characteristic buttery taste of some green teas is here but this is most certainly a jasmine tea and not merely a riff on a green tea.

The jasmine aroma is delicate and demure, yet it asserts itself beyond the taste of a biscuit-y tea, or a butter-y tea. I suspect, and not just from the price, that Samovar has one of the very best, if not the best, Jasmine Pearls for offer on the marketplace.

This is my ‘special’ tea. I drink it when I really want to relax and indulge in my passion for tea. A delicate jasmine, the perfect complement to the smooth taste of the tea leaves.

Totally addicted to this tea.

Good, smooth tea with strong jasmine flavor but a little bit rough on the end.

My afternoon cup always varies. Today I’m drinking the Jasmine Pearls since the thought of smelling it brewed made me smile. I am enjoying every sip of it.

The Jasmine was at first a little overwhelming but later it became a wonderful part of this tea

Sometimes jasmine teas make me feel a little ill – they can be obnoxiously florid. This was nice, though. It was definitely aromatic, and had a hint of honey taste.

Sipdown no. 204. A sample. I thought I had tried all the Samovar green tea samples, but when I did my number on the tea collection I found this. Now, unless something got trapped under the drawer, I am sure this is the last of the green samples. I do have a few white tea samples, a couple of oolongs, and a masala chai, but all the blacks, greens, herbals and pu-erhs have been sipped down.

And oh joy! This is a tea that Samovar still carries!

I so love jasmine teas, and pearls are particularly awesome. So I’m excited by the prospect of this on a rainy evening, though this was another sample I saved well past what I’m sure was its prime.

The pearls smell richly jasmine and greenly tea, and they barely unfurled during steeping (I will steep them again, for sure). The tea is lightly yellow and very clear. The fragrance is a divine mix of jasmine floral and gently vegetal, sweet green tea.

Why did I wait so long to try Samovar’s jasmine? For shame. It is nigh on perfect, in my view. There is nothing heavy handed about this. It’s perfectly balanced between floral and tea, and for a type of tea that can be a very pleasant johnny one note, it has an amazing depth. I can only imagine how it would have been when fresh. It might have been my first 100 score.

Now I must sip down all of my lesser jasmines so I can justify ordering this in the convenient economy size.