Jasmine Silver Needles

Jasmine tea has always been my mother’s favorite, so I got a bag of this with the intention of splitting it with her. She indiscriminately drinks Twinings jasmine green, Stash jasmine green, and whatever nice jasmine dragon pearls she has on hand with the water at a full rolling boil and the steeping time usually around 30 minutes to an hour. Then it gets heated back to temperature in the microwave. It’s almost physically painful to watch her make good tea that way, but that’s the way she likes it, so I try not to mind.

Well, she ended up liking this about as much as she likes her Stash 1 pound bags of hastily made and very crumbly jasmine green, so I’ve taken this back for myself. It’s a beautiful tea all-around, with dried jasmine blossoms nestled in big velvety tips, a delicately pungent aroma—the intensity rivals a jasmine perfume—and a sweet, pale liquor that balances the fragile silver needle flavor with the heavy floral taste. One of those teas that makes you stop and enjoy the moment whenever you take a sip.

I’ve tried it both hot and cold, but cold brewing has been my favorite so far. Hot jasmine teas tend to coax out that bubblegum note a bit more than cold ones. You know what I mean? It’s a lovely flavor, but too much of it becomes soapy and artificial-tasting.

I’ve had a big, chilled glass thermos of this nearly every day for the past week and I’m still not tired of it. Absolutely lovely if you want a fine jasmine tea but don’t want to mess with the current shipping delays on packages coming from abroad. Probably won’t see my Yunnan Sourcing Spring 2020 teas until late July or August, but that’s alright, because Tea Trekker has been scratching my itch in the mean time.