Jasmine Pearls (Whole Leaf Silky Pyramids)

NOTE:This tea is very exciting for me for two reasons:
1st I won this tea in a Twinings Tea Competition, and get to submit my review to Twinings Tea UK.
2nd I am the first to review this tea on Steepster!!

I’m very anxious to review this tea, and am honoured to have won. Thank you Twinings Tea UK for this free gift!

Leaf Quality:
The tea came in a decorative box with 15 sachets of Jasmine Pearls. When I opened the inner bag containing the tea, I immediately smelled the wonderful floral aroma of Jasmine. The leaves had been individually rolled into minute spheres, with green leaves and silvery buds showing. The leaves were marbled, each one having its own unique pattern. They were as beautiful as they smelled. Underneath the pleasant Jasmine aroma, I could smell a faint hint of the green tea. The Brewed Leaves unfurled inside the sachet and still smelled floral enough for another brewing.

Brewed Tea:
For the first steeping, I brewed the tea in the sachets. The color of the liquor was a light yellow-green. The only detectable smell was that of Jasmine. The first sip brought notes of sweet nectar and orchids. This was a very floral tea indeed! Very delicate.

For the second steeping, I brewed the tea in a Gaiwan. The leaves unfurled more this time. The tea retained all the same floral notes as the first steeping, but was sweeter. It could have easily been brewed for a third time.

This tea was marvelous. Very fragrant, and very floral. I’m really satisfied with the tea I won. I’ll have to enter more competitions, and order more of this tea. Again, Thank you Twinings Tea UK!

I’ve said this before, but green tea isn’t usually my favourite. I’ve been inspired by recent sucesses on this front, however, and today I decided to try this tea — Twinings Jasmine Pearls.

As with many of these teas I’ve come across before, the green tea leaves are rolled into balls, and then infused with the fragrance from fresh jasmine flowers. As I expected, the somewhat dusty scent of jasmine is the first thing I can smell on opening the packet.

Brewed, the smell is less pervasive, and the flavour is more delicate than I expected. Strangely enough, it’s still something I can smell rather than taste, even as I’m drinking. The jasmine seems to settle at the back of my throat/nose, which is both interesting and somewhat difficult to describe.

The taste is a lot sweeter than I was expecting, though. It’s very smooth, almost honeyed, in texture. There’s no dry bitterness or astringency, and it’s not cloying either. It really is very delicate, and surprisingly refreshing.

The liquor is a clear medium yellow-green, which, again, surprised me. I expected a much paler liquid, given that I only steeped for 2 minutes. A lot of teas are catching me unawares at the moment, it seems.

I have to say that I actually rather like this tea, despite my initial reservations. Green teas, and teas with strong floral notes, have never been high on my list, but I’m having to revise that opinion just lately. Who’d have thought it — two green teas I like, twice in one week!