Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
Don’t fear the strong cherry aroma, it steeps up nicely balanced with subtle
jasmine and rose floral notes. You’ll still taste the earthiness of the white & green teas before the last hit of cherry that lingers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this White Cherry Tea Blend from Aromatica is extremely aromatic. As the description above suggests, it has a very strong cherry fragrance … it almost smells a bit like cough medicine. Personally, I’m not one to be put off by that, because, I kind of like cherry flavored cough medicine. It’s better than unflavored cough medicine, anyway.
But, I don’t want my cherry flavored teas to taste like cough medicine. So, I remained hopeful that the description is right … and that the tea steeps with a balanced flavor. Fingers crossed!
Wow! This tastes very much like cherry! But it doesn’t taste like a medicinal cherry flavor … it tastes like a sweet, ripe Bing Cherry, bursting with flavor! Seriously, with my first sip, it was very much like I had just bitten into a juicy cherry. YUM!
The sips that follow allow the other flavors in the cup to develop on the palate. I notice hints of jasmine in the distance. I taste the lush, “green” taste of the green tea, as well as hints of earthiness and hay from the Pai Mu Tan. The rose starts to come through after my fourth or fifth sip.
This tea definitely tastes more like a green tea than a white tea, but there is a lightness to this too, the white tea has lightened the overall flavor of the cup. The white tea is not a strong flavor, but it certainly does its part to influence the overall flavor of the cup.
The floral tones are subdued but offer a nice contrast to the sweet cherry flavor. The cherry offers a sweet overtone, but there are hints of tartness to the cup as well. The coconut is not a prominent flavor to this cup, but there is a gentle creaminess that I attribute to the coconut. I like this hint of creaminess … it adds just the right touch to the drink.
Overall, this tea blend really IS well balanced. Sweet? Sure. But there is so much more to it than just sweet cherry flavor. It is that complexity that makes this tea well worth trying.
Premium Dragon Phoenix Pearls Green Jasmine Tea from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
This beautiful green tea is a handmade masterpiece. Premium grade green tea leaves are scented with natural jasmine flowers that create a soothing aromatic experience while enjoying this tea. The leaves are shaped like pearls which are each formed by hand. It is a joy to watch the leaves unfurl as they steep. This is an extremely unique tea that produces a satisfying cup. It is a thoughtful gift and an interesting experience to share with guests.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it many times to come … in fact, I’ll say it right now: I love Jasmine Pearls! And I’m really loving these Dragon Phoenix Pearls from Mandala Tea. They are absolutely sublime!
Dry, the pearls offer the sweet, exotic fragrance of the jasmine flower together with a hint of a lush, leafy scent. The brewed tea is enchantingly aromatic without becoming overwhelming. Instead, it is quite soothing, lulling this sipper into a sense of calm that relaxes my stress and tension from the day.
The flavor is soft and beautiful. The jasmine is perfectly subtle; it is not perfume-y tasting nor does it taste artificial. Such a light, lovely taste that mingles with the buttery smooth flavor of the green tea. The green tea does not taste grassy or even really vegetative, instead, it is smooth and rich, tasting fresh without having a strong vegetal quality to it.
These flavors come together so perfectly! Thank you Mandala Tea for this truly wonderful tea experience!
Jasmine Superior Dragon’s Pearls (Molin Hua) from In Nature
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: In Nature
Product Description:
This a top quality flower (jasmine) tea created from only the finest leaves, buds and flowers picked early in the morning to ensure freshness of aroma and flavour.
The tea brews to a pale yellow colour and the beautifully subtle floral aroma invites you to drink.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said before, I adore jasmine teas. I’ve tasted many jasmine teas in the past, and it would seem that I’ve had many “favorites” – I guess it could be said that when it comes to jasmine, I’m quite fickle. Keeping that in mind, this is one of the best jasmine pearl teas that I’ve encountered.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve encountered some rather distasteful jasmine teas. Sometimes, the jasmine is overwhelming, leaving the cup tasting too floral, and there is often a sharp bitterness to it. Sometimes, the jasmine is an artificial jasmine flavoring, and this often produces a soapy tasting tea. But here, the jasmine is absolutely spot-on. It tastes natural. It tastes sweet. It tastes perfect.
The flavor is incredibly smooth. The green tea has a light flavor with mere hints of a grassy undertone. The tea has an almost-creamy texture to it, which highlights the smoothness of the tea.
Truly a beautiful jasmine tea. I recommend this one to all the jasmine tea lovers out there!
White Silver Pearls from Utopia Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Utopia Tea
Product Description:
Our expertly hand-rolled leaves and buds are combined to create beautiful white tea pearls. When brewed this is a delicate, sweet, and fragrant cup. White tea contains an abundance of polyphenols that are plant derived antioxidants, lowers cholesterol, and protects the body against harmful free radicals. White tea provides the body with potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C and K.
Taster’s Review:
When I first saw these pearls, I immediately thought they must be jasmine pearls, but they aren’t. Although they LOOK like jasmine pearls, they do not smell (or taste!) like them.
This has a very interesting flavor – it’s quite unlike any white tea I’ve tasted before. It is more broth-y and vegetative than most white teas I’ve had in the past. It is sweet and it has a very pleasant mouthfeel. I think of all the differences between this and other white teas, it is the mouthfeel that I notice most. It is thick and soft in texture … a little like sipping a consomme (although this isn’t seasoned like a consomme would be).
Overall, the cup is very smooth and well-rounded. I detect notes of fruit and flower. There are palate-pleasing sweet and sour notes. It finishes very clean with very little lingering aftertaste.
These little pearls unfurl slowly, allowing for many wonderful infusions. I recommend steeping this one in a gaiwan using short steeps. My first infusion, I steeped for only 30 seconds and achieved the most delightful flavor with that short short time.
I would highly recommend this tea to anyone, but in particular, I’d recommend this to anyone who feels that white tea is void of flavor. This tea would change their minds with one sip!
Jasmine Pearls from Adagio Teas
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Product Description:
Exquisite Pearls infused with the sublime aroma of delicate night-blooming jasmine flowers.
Taster’s Review:
This is a bagged jasmine pearl which is part of the Artisan Comfort Collection (box is shown above) from Adagio Teas’ new Travel Tea collection. And while I generally prefer my jasmine pearls loose and steeped in my gaiwan, I have to admit that the idea of being able to enjoy my beloved jasmine pearls while traveling is certainly enough of an incentive to try them as a bagged (or should I say sachet pouched?) tea.
And these “pouched” pearls are definitely not a disappointment. The flavor is fantastic. Lightly vegetative with a strong jasmine presence. The jasmine is sweet and smooth and delicate tasting. It doesn’t taste perfume-y or soapy. It doesn’t have that sharpness that I sometimes experience with jasmine teas. These are perfectly delightful pearls!
This is a very uplifting, luxurious-tasting tea that had I not brewed it myself, I would have never guessed came from a teabag. Usually I experience my jasmine pearls while only at home, but these new travel teas from Adagio will give me the ability to take my jasmine pearls where ever I go!