Jasmine Pearls

I’m trying to like jasmine tea. This one is okay it’s not that it’s bad it’s just boring. Maybe jasmine is just not my thing. Sorry LiberTEAS I am trying. :)

So here I sit sipping a cup of … " Cabochard? “Boss?”
“Thé Vert au jasmin” by L’Occitane? Matthew Williamson’s “Sheer?”

I associate Jasmine so strongly with perfumes that I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy drinking jasmine with any frequencly. But yet I wanted to try this, thanks to the great Travelling Tea Box. Pearls are fun to watch. I wonder if there’s a very slow film of them unfurling anywhere? I watched these little pearls unwind and slowly get bigger. I won’t call it an agony exactly. They looked more like that were transitioning from nap time to recess at a little nursery school for tea.

This tea smells very nice, but I have just not conditioned myself to tasting this odor. The great thing about the Travelling Tea Box is that I’ve been able to try things that I might have hesitated to spend money on. You make new friends with teas you have not tried before; you find new tea companies and race to the internet to place an order; your prejudices are either confirmed or toppled.

Jasmine, for me, is a nice middle-note or top-note for perfumes. I’ve never liked it as a base-note. I don’t think I can ever accustom myself to drinking it but I suspect it’s a taste once acquired that does pay dividends. I’m in no hurry to run and spray Clinique “Aromatics” into my mouth but I also don’t feel a need to rinse out my mouth. The aftertaste is pleasant.

Adieu, Jasmine Pearls! You’re moving on to your next destination!

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 2 Zarafina cups
Tool: Zarafina Green-Loose-Medium
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, honeysuckle (weird I expected Jasmine)
Steeped Tea Smell: Jasmine, honeysuckle, floral
Flavor: liquid flowers with a bit of green tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: tingly tongue, I can feel floral perfume filling my mouth
Liquor: light apple juice yellow, translucent yellow-green-orange

I should have used 2 tsp and not 4, I have no idea what I was thinking.

Post-Steep Additives: honey
more green tea, less floral, enjoy it much better this way

Resteep: Zarafina Green-Loose-Medium
I should have done mild? Bleh too bitter to drink, tossed it, very vegetal, very floral, but also very bitter

Rating: 1/3 I fully expect this to become a 2/3 when I try again with the proper amount of pearls

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-leaves-and-bud-loose-leaf-green-tea.html

Probably my favorite Jasmine tea that I’ve tried so far. It’s really smooth, and I don’t find the Jasmine flavor to be too overpowering. No weird aftertaste, either. I like stronger teas, so I steep this for 5+ minutes.

Delicious green tea with a surprising aroma kick at the end of each sip.