I drink most of my tea at work, as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon treat. Am I too far gone if I say that one reason I looked forward to coming back to work today was so that I could try a new Golden Moon sampler?
I chose their Jasmine tea today; this has been one of my favorite flower scents since we had a jasmine vine at the house where I grew up. The smell reminds me of long evenings during summer vacation… I love jasmine pearl teas for their aesthetic qualities, so it’s been a while since I’ve had a straight jasmine tea. When I cut open the sampler packet, the first whiff I got gave me not so much jasmine as bubble gum/Juicy Fruit! Very sweet and fruity aroma. The leaves are quite dark green and it’s really a very generous sample size.
After three minutes, the tea is quite a deep greenish brown color, so I’ll call it quits there. The taste is very fruity, and again I wouldn’t call it a quintessential jasmine flavor or aroma. There’s also quite a pronounced astringency – I think this may have been better at a lower water temperature than the 190 I used this time.
It’s not unpleasant, but I can’t help comparing it to my favorite jasmine pearl teas, which are unmistakably scented with the flower and leave a lingering aftertaste for a long, long time.
