Sunflower

Rat lunch today, looked my office stash over and noticed a long forgotten and neglected friend. This was quite tasty with my grilled cheddar and rye with yellow mustard on the side. This tea partners well with a lot of foods. I was eating Thai fried rice the other day wishing for some of this. I think my next order will be carry out. :) Nothing new to add, other than this is one tea that has stayed consistent and I have never lost my taste for it. I need to keep the tin closer to the front!

Been reading about blends, both the successful and disaster varieties. So…..drum roll please, I blended this Jasmine with the Ti Kuan Yin I had on hand going about 1/2 each with a favorable result. The Jasmine was toned down and the Ti Kuan Yin brought a full and rich tea taste to the cup. I will be doing this again, and may just mix the whole lot.

2nd steep of the day, this is very good. I wonder if I would like it more with the Jasmine toned down a little.

I like it though, very much.

My other special purchase at the Asian market…the simple joys of trying something new and imported.
I won’t attempt to out verbalize other tasting notes on this tea, I just want to say that for me, a converted coffee drinker, it is joyous.
I actually drank it most of the afternoon, had multiple steeps (can’t do that with bags) and even iced with my evening meal of chicken parmigiana.
The more I sip, the more I want, the more I want, the more I sip…repeat. I am going to read up on Jasmine Green, I want to know more about it’s origins
and history. One thing is for sure, I can understand why it is so popular. Taking in a sip, iced or hot brings in a pre-taste aroma that is so refreshing.
The green tea is crisp, snappy, but the Jasmine provides a delicacy that restores balance. If I had this much fun with a so called average Jasmine, oh boy,
bring on the quality. However, for the price, I am going to love this one for a long time, I can tell.

Great Tea compares to the more expensive Rishi….

Smelling the aroma reminds me of driving down the highway at night in the middle of June, and spending the week at my favorite place to reflect and gain spiritual renewal. Walking along the streets of Lakeside crunching mayflies underneath my feet is one of the highlights of my summer. This was one of the first loose teas I bought when I found the Asian grocery in the area. I find this to be a lovely tea….and a lovely price too. I just grabbed it to take to work with me and yes it’s marvelous. It works very well iced too!

this was my first loose leaf tea. I am very surprised to see it on here i didn’t know it still existed! when i would go to a friends house she would have coffee and she had this in her tea selection. i noticed i liked putting more of it in there and i couldn’t get enough. but it’s what started me my journey. I’m sure it’s not the best jasmine tea out there but it’s notes of jasmine are light and enjoyable for a person that doesn’t know any better at the moment. i did not have to use any sweetener or milk and i would like to try steeping it longer to see if that would help. until next time i try it

A friend from China gave me a small tin of this tea. I now have a larger tin at home and one at work. For the price….$6.39 for one pound, it is a good Jasmine tea.

I consider this an everyday tea and always have it in my stash.

I really like this tea. I pick it up on the rare occasions I make it into chinatown. It’s the best jasmine I’ve found (the Dragon Pearl Jasmine from Teavana is also good, but way more expensive).

Ah, my first loose leaf. I’ve ignored you for so long, but you’ll always be there for me.
I smelt the leaves today, very cloying which is to be expected as I’ve had it for like 2 years now. Still this is what I think of when I think tea, even if I recognize its not the best.

I use this to make big batches of Iced Jasmine Green Tea

This tea is very old (as I’ve said before: http://steepster.com/laze/posts/4200 ), yet maintains its flavor. Kind of crazy. And scary.

Didn’t use hot enough water for this steeping (brought it to a near boil, but took too long to get it poured over the leaves), but this is a very forgiving tea. I guess if a non-pu-erh tea can last nearly a decade, it can handle some variation in temperature, too.

Not subtle, kind of fruity, quite strong.

I have no business continuing to drink this tea. I’ve had it for 8+ years. Seriously. I’m not kidding about that.

But the tin it’s in is sealed really tightly and believe it or not, the flavor and scent are still in tact. Not bad for a cheap-o black tea I bought a pound of for a mere $5.

I have fond memories of this tea, originally drinking it in college, when I was just starting my tea exploration. Sometimes it just does the trick.

(Here’s a pointer to my story of rediscovering this tea on my shelf: http://www.laze.net/fait/archive/2006/02/16/lichee_tea.php )