Looking for a little cup of calm this evening, ready to sit and sip on the porch in the cool evening air, I decided to make this new (to me) jasmine dragon pearl tea. I will be using a small tetsubin and using the whole sample of pearls.
Like most jasmine dragon pearls that I have tried, this calls for one teaspoon per cup. Unlike most, it calls for much cooler water at 158F and a 2-4 minute steep. I like to follow instructions for new teas and then change up the steeping parameters to suit my taste. I gave it just two minutes.
The first steep is almost completely clear. It really looks like water with the tiniest tinge of gold if I really use my imagination! At first sip, I think it is far too weak, but as I keep sipping and really pay attention to the tea, I find that it has lovely subtle flavor, nice jasmine taste, and is indeed a very calming cup. (I have had some jasmine green that was a bit arresting and harsh to me.) As subtle as it is, I would never serve this with food as it would simply taste like a cup of hot water. I really did enjoy it by itself, though.
For the second steep, I decided to go with my usual parameters. I raised the water temp to 175F and gave it a three minute steep. Now I have tea with a decidedly golden color and more flavor. As I drink, a pleasant briskness is building. Now THIS is how I would make it to serve with a meal.
As a stand alone sipping tea, I think my perfect cup would happen at their recommended temperature of 158F but for a longer time than I gave it, probably three to three and a half minutes.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Rivertea
Description
For those moments when you need some inspiration, this Jasmine Dragon Pearls will bring your imagination to life. Dragon Pearls green tea is a rare specialty from China. Only the youngest and most tender leaves are repeatedly blended with fresh, very fragrant jasmine flowers, a process that is repeated at least 8 times, at the end of which the flower petals are removed and the tea leaves are carefully hand rolled into small, tight pearls. The jasmine aroma is closed in and unfolds fully when infused giving the tea an exquisitely fragrant perfume and taste. Its colour is so intense and palpable that the tea almost appears like a syrup. A pleasure for the eyes, nose and palate, a fragrance that will inspire your days!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jasmine Rose/Calabash Tea & Tonic. . . .
We’re in that seasonal stage now where it’s technically spring and everyone wants to act like it’s already warm outside, but it just isn’t yet. I am not immune from that urge. The long slog of winter has made me dream of sunshine and singing birds. I’m still waiting for springtime to hit the air, but in the meantime I can brew it up in my mug.
This blend is perfectly spring in a cup. Calabash lists the ingredients as jasmine flowers, Turkish roses, and first-pluck sencha green tea. First-pluck sencha usually comes out in April or May, so this is literally a spring tea. Plus I always think of flowers as a sign of spring (although I looked it up and it seems jasmine primarily blooms in summer and most but not all types of roses bloom in spring).
I like the choice of sencha as a base tea here. Its lightness allows the florals to shine. Rose is definitely the prominent flavor here, with jasmine playing a supporting role. It doesn’t have that chemically, artificial taste that some floral teas do and it’s not over-the-top. I also like that it’s only two flowers, so it’s not too busy. I get two solid steeps out of the leaf before it loses flavor.
This tea is the perfect way to tide me over until springtime arrives for real.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Calabash Tea & Tonic
Description
Hand-plucked jasmine flowers and Turkish roses compliment our exclusive first pluck sencha green tea & Love
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Jasmine by The Love Tea Co. . . . .
I steeped this tea with 2 heaping teaspoons of leaf in 1 cup of 200 degree water for about four minutes.
I was a little concerned that the jasmine flowers wouldn’t have much fragrance left because I couldn’t detect much smell in the dry flowers, but when I started steeping the tea it started giving off its perfume right away, so I guess hot water is the magic ingredient to bring that out!
There are tons of jasmine flowers in this tea, too. Like, actual jasmine buds. And they smell like a combination of candy and perfume once they’ve started steeping. The green tea fragrance isn’t really coming through at this point, but I’m not surprised at all given how flowery the smell is.
I let it go to four minutes because I didn’t want to waste any of the jasmine fragrance.
Once the tea is steeped, I noticed that some leaf has escaped the ball; the tea is orange-yellow in color and, as mentioned before, highly fragrant.
First sip: Apparently Jasmine tastes sweet as well as smelling sweet. There’s an edge of bitterness to the green tea, though; there’s also some umami and maybe a little seaweediness to it, rounding the flavor out. I blame myself for the bitterness, because I used 200 degree water instead of 195 degree water like recommended (because hey, my electric kettle only has so many settings. Next time though I’d go with the cooler option, which I think would be 185 on my kettle).
A little sugar helps with any bitterness; or you could just steep at the recommended temperature, unlike me, and do a less intense steeping as well (three minutes instead of four). It’s really great as is, though, and tastes like drinking flowers!! Jasmine is so magical it kind of blows my mind every time I try a good jasmine tea (the reason I don’t try them more often is probably because I’m kind of scared of getting a not-so-good one).
I’m also really impressed by this tea company’s mission and activism; they don’t just say that they support charitable causes, they also give 25% of their proceeds (that’s a quarter of everything they get!) to mental health causes, according to their website.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
Jasmine tea is one of the most pleasant fragrances to all people. To the nose, the dry tea has a floral bouquet, which causes your senses to come alive with pleasant thoughts. This tea is filled to the brim with an abundance of beautiful jasmine blossoms which gives the tea an amazing presentation value. In China, they declare this jasmine tea as ‘Jasmine #1’.
This high quality green tea – produced between the middle of March and the middle of May – has jasmine flowers that bloom between the 1st of May and the end of May (the time of the most intense aroma). This tea yields a cup with all the concentrated heady bouquet of a garden in bloom, even if its your neighbor’s jasmine bush.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragon Pearl Jasmine from Teavivre
Jasmine – Take Me Away!
I swear this stuff is better than any bubble bath for soothing frayed nerves! My jasmine vines are in bloom which set me to hankering for some delicious jasmine tea.
The first jasmine tea I ever tasted was a painful experience. I will try to distance myself emotionally enough to recount it for you. It was EXACTLY like drinking perfume. Or soap. Or something nasty that was supposed to taste like a flower but tasted like chemicals instead. It was synthetically flavored with jasmine, and it showed.
Then along came Teavivre and they sent me a sample of jasmine tea and I nearly wept for sorrow. But then I tried it and….OH JOY! I was hooked. I have had nearly every jasmine tea they make and they are all good, but this may be my favorite, although Peach Jasmine Pearls and Silver Needle Jasmine are all in the running.
The scent caresses your poor overworked brain and then you sip the tea and just taste pure, smooth green tea with essences of naturally infused flavor. It resteeps, too, stretching that tea-buying dollar a little more.
Oh jasmine, jasmine, how do I love thee? I will never be without a Teavivre jasmine on my shelf. (I hope!)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Jasmine “Dragon Pearls” is a deliciously sweet green tea that combines the absolute highest quality green tea with a jasmine aroma and taste. Made from unopened bud and small leaf, this tea hand rolled into small balls, which slowly unfurl during brewing, releasing an amazing taste and aroma combination of green tea and sweet jasmine. Brewing a cup of this sweet, fragrant tea only requires a few tiny pearls!