Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearls Green Tea

Thank you, Teavivre, for this sample!

I do like to drink tea with jasmine, but only every so often (at least a month in between) because it’s a scent and taste that I don’t want to become accustomed to it. I prefer to experience it as if I were having the first time. That said, this one heck of a jasmine green tea. The dry leaf smells freshly of jasmine and other flowers in full bloom. I felt like a honey bee enticed by nectar. The jasmine intensifies once the leaves haves steeped. There is something else in the aroma but I can’t put my finger on it. Freshly baked pastry with coconut or pineapple? Melon? The liquor is medium-bodied, the jasmine flavor light. Very pleasant.

How did I go more than a week without drinking any jasmine???? Well, that unacceptable state of affairs has now been rectified, as I just enjoyed a large glass of Teavivre Premium Jasmine Pearls.

Today I really noticed the quality of the base tea, which is very silken and smooth. This is a case where the floral flavoring and the base tea are equally important and neither is present to cover up the deficiencies of the other. The liquor is pale green veering peach.

The uniform smallish-sized pearls have not yet fully unfurled and are still extremely fragrant, so another tasty infusion definitely lies on the horizon…

This tea is so beautifully crafted! Each and every perfect little hand-rolled pearl :) Just amazing quality.

I did my first steep of this for 1 minute, by which point the tea had just barely uncurled. It was still very flavorful.

Second steep was for 3 minutes. Strong! This could easily have passed for a first steep.

Third steep, probably about five minutes. Wow, still punchy!

Because I’m so sensitive to jasmine, I think I actually prefer the milder jasmine silver needle white tea that Teavivre offers, but I still have to say I’m impressed. Between the show-stopping presentation and the remarkable staying power, it’s easy to see why this tea is so popular.

This is a really nice jasmine green. I’m definitely enjoying it. I love jasmine green teas.

Jasmine teas of various sorts are staples in my cupboard, mainly because they work better than chamomile and Valerian as a sophoric for me, and when I can find a heady fruity one they instantly transport me to either the flower markets in India, or my landlords patio at dusk in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

This is a nice dragon pearl and is different enough from my existing one: http://steepster.com/yyz/posts/164356. Whereas my current one has the deep heady fruity jasmine of flowers laid out in the sun, this TeaVivre tea has a crisper cooler jasmine like that which has been just brought out of a cooler in a flower shop. It is not powdery or insency ( until the later steeps), nor overly perfumy, it is slightly fruity, and in the first steeps the tea is very sweet even stevia like. Roasted notes of amber, cream, plum Green peas, later on cooked greens, insence, and other savoury notes are also present.

The dry leaves were smaller and more tightly rolled than my other jasmine with about 25% silver buds visible, with the rest of the leaves being mostly olive green with some brown notes. There is a little astringency in the tea but it mostly has a creamy texture. It has a moderate level of intensity in the jasmine flavour, by the third steep the jasmine and the base tea fully balanced each other. It is by no means as intense a jasmine as my current favourite green jasmine http://steepster.com/teas/sichuan-emei-shan-zhuyeqing-tea-co-ltd/36227-emei-shan-flower-mao-feng-jasmine, but this one is of good quality and easily obtainable.

I would consider getting this tea when I run out of my existing pearls!

@1.25tsp pearls/200ml/85°C
45,60, 80, 130, 150, 180s

Thanks again to Angel at Teavivre for this sample. I will thoroughly enjoy the rest of it.

And yet another generous sample from Angel at Teavivre.

I think I may have overleafed this slightly, but the jasmine in this particular tea is a bit strong and one-note for my tastes. I’ve had jasmine dragon pearls in the past with a hint of sweetness underneath almost like orange or honeysuckle, but I’m not experiencing that in this blend.

I steeped the leaves twice, both for 3 minutes: once at 85C and the second time at 80C. Both times the tea was palatable, but I believe that this tea might be better at a slightly lower temperature than indicated on the label.

Maybe this will really blossom if done gong-fu style. I’m withholding a rating for now.

Angel also sent me this tea to try. Thank you, Angel! If you like jasmine tea, this one is really delicious. I kind of have to be in the mood.

Tea #9 from Considering a new TTB
I’ve tried TeaVivre’s Peach Jasmine Dragon Pearls, they’re one of my favorite summertime teas, but haven’t had a chance to try the unflavored variety before. I love floral teas and this tea is no exception, it manages to be heavily floral without edging into the soapy range. As with the other teas from TeaVivre I’ve tried, the quality is exceptional, I’ve already steeped this three times and could likely keep going for several more. This was exactly what I needed after two teas in a row that I didn’t care for.

This tea will not be continuing on, there was only a sample size in the box.

quite good. really good jasmine taste. i hope to buy some more sometime

I always forget how much I enjoy a good jasmine green.