Equisetum

This is a very fresh oolong, and considerably lighter than some. A lovely hint of freshness behind the traditional earthy oolong flavours. Quite a pale gold colour, but this may have more to do with reducing the quantity of tea to two rather than the recommended three teaspoons.

Tried this 50-50 (by spoons, not by weight!) with Jing tea’s peppermint leaves for a “home-blended” version of their Moroccan mint tea. Used slightly hotter water than recommended (80C, not 60) as the sweetness of the mint means that IMO more tannin is needed. In any case it was excellent and very refreshing on both the first and second infusions.

Very refreshing, very lemony, with none of the over-sweetness you get from commercial bagged lemon teas. Tastes quite similar to, and is every bit as good as, fresh lemon balm tea.

1st Infusion:

I had thought the tasting notes on this tea provided by Jing (“graceful, sappy…”) were a bit pretentious, but I can really understand why this tea is described as graceful now I’ve tasted it. Grace implies balance and this tea is very well balanced between sweetness, freshness and tanin. It is quite refreshing and I can see this becoming my breakfast tea for when I don’t need a strong caffeine hit.

As the rating shows I consider this tea to be perfect. It is a tea for jasmine lovers, with the tea taking a back seat to the wonderful jasmine aromas and flavours.

Looks: Plump, fresh, green buds.
Scent: Fresh, strong, sweet jasmine
Taste: Balanced fresh, cool jasmine

1st infusion:

Nutty and deeply flavoured. In fact a bit too nutty/rich for my tastes (I prefer a very fresh tasting green tea). The tea had a lovely honey-sweet scent and the dry leaves smelled just like the earth after summer rain. The smell of the infused leaves was disappointingly “mushroomy” though.

I will make the next infusion cooler (70 deg.) and brew for longer.

I think I must have made a mistake in preparing this tea because it was awful, not at all per description. I prepared it as per the instructions (jing tea produce brewing instructions specific to each tea they sell) – 1tbsp per cup, 3min, nearly boiling water. The dry leaves had a wonderful rich, dark earthy aroma and the infused leaves smelled almost like a green tea but creamier. The infusion however was massively, massively overpowered by tannin. I couldn’t bring myself to finish the small pot I made and it was so bad that I wasn’t tempted to try adjusting times and temperatures with a second infusion. I think that I must have put in quite a lot more than what jing tea considers a tablespoon. In future I think I will use a proper measuring spoon to avoid this kind of mistake.

2nd infusion:
The balance shifted slightly towards the green tea flavours with this infusion. Much more tannin as well. I probably slightly overinfused it this time (should have been 3:30 rather than 4 min). I preferred the first infusion, but this was still a very pleasant and drinkable cup, though not quite up to the standard of the magnificent Rare Tea Company Silver Needle Jasmine.

1st infusion:
Strong honey + jasmine aroma (dry leaves, steeped leaves and liquor)
Well balanced between tea and Jasmine flavours, more tea comes through than white jasmine teas.
A little of the fuzz from the leaves is present in the infusion (a good thing!)