The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants

Another sample I picked up at Whole Foods to try. When I first smelled it I was worried it would be too much like the dreaded darjeeling I don’t really care for. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a very mellow, slightly fruity and slighty chocolate-y tea. We drank this for breakfast and it was delicious. Very non-astringent without a hint of bitterness. I may have discovered a new favorite type of black tea!

Backlogging and sipdown! See previous notes :)

On my way home from a job interview, I made a pit stop into The Jasmine Pearl HQ for a bowl of matcha. (Yes, that’s right. Most people stop by normal bars on the way home, I stop for tea. Shush.) While having my bowl o’ matcha, I was coaxed by the owners into trying one of their “bingcha” raw pu-erhs.

I…love…sheng pu-erh. This was an ‘06. Other than that, I don’t know much about it. I can tell you that it had a deep, winy, floral-fruity character on even the first thirty-second infusion…and didn’t deviate from that. While I only had three infusions, I’m more than certain it could’ve lasted more. I wanted to buy an ounce of it, but it wasn’t exactly in the budgetary cards. Next time…next time. Le yum.

Enjoying a cup of this tea before we leave to run errands. Today, I’m getting much more anise from the flavor, but that’s quite alright with me. I love how the fig and anise work together. So delicious and calming.

Tea on nitro. Wow. I had already made my frivolous tea purchase for the month, but a discussion on Twitter between me and three others caused my curiosity to swell. I had heard of GABA teas before, never understood the fuss of it all, and chalked up the health benefits claims to “hooey”…like biodynamics.

For instant gratification, I went to The Jasmine Pearl HQ to test drive the stuff. The host and hostess politely humored my request, and steeped it gongfu-style three times. Each time, the flavor profile was pretty much the same; creamy, fruit-like, mildly leafy, and zero oolong “chalkboard-on-tongue” feeling. And it packed a wallop of strength each steep.

I’m not sure if it did anything to my…uh…“neurotransmitters”. I was still hurling expletives at rush hour traffic on the way home. But I felt good while do it, if that says something.

Since I’m on such a Yunnan Gold kick lately, I felt it was time to revisit this. This time, though, I obeyed the brewing instructions on the Jasmine Pearl website. Instead of boiling water, I dialed it down to 190F (oolong-ish). The result was sheer perfection. That does it. This type is my favorite black tea ever. I have decided.

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

I received a bit of this to try from LiberTEAS and it was quite unusual.

The initial fragrance was strong of licorice and berry. Once brewed, it became slightly citrusy and sweet.

The taste isn’t what I expected. From the name, I thought this would be sweet and fruity. Instead, it had the citrusy, astringent “snap” of a good darjeeling (+ points) and a slightly bitter and herbal taste from the anise. I didn’t detect much in the way of blackberry but you could sense the fig as a mellow, lingering subtly sweet fruit aftertaste.

Overall, I really liked this as it has an excellent base. However, the product doesn’t seem to match its name well.

I drank this a week ago at my local Wholefoods. I keep wondering when I’ll be able to go back at try it again. I wasn’t paying much attention at first. I just wanted something wet. I dumped in half and half and started sipping – a very nice, mellow breakfast blend with a surprising and delicious caramel in the finish. I found myself slurping. Very nice.

I actually mooched this off my brother. Yes, I mooched a tea off someone who’s not a tea drinker. It’s an unusual blend that doesn’t appear to be on the merchant site yet, indicating its…uh…new-ness. Or something. The one ingredient I was worried about was the lavender, but thankfully its understated. Lemongrass and fennel seem to be the dominant flavors I can identify. Overall, the effect is a good one, and it – indeed – does make you tired.

I’m starting to think that the existence of Yunnan Golden Buds (or Needles) is unfair to the rest of its black tea brethren. It is quite quickly becoming my favorite type of black tea. Nectar-like in its initial delivery with only a slight – but complimentary – bitterness, this amber cup has an effect on me. I started this morning in pretty foul spirits until I sipped this. This quickly relaxed me and revitalized me at the same time. Such a perk-up, no other black tea can come close to comparing.

I knew of this merchant for years – knew they were a local wholesaler – but aside from their Cranberry Sencha (which I had at a coffee shop) I hadn’t sampled many of their wares. Until tonight. They finally had an actual teashop open, and allowed for tastings at the counter. I had eyed this particular rooibos blend for years, mainly for the inclusion of honeycomb. I tried it, liked it and bought some. But I wondered how it would stand up to MY way of brewing.

I steeped it for six instead of the recommended five. That and I added a glob of Greek honey to the mix. It probably didn’t need it due to the honeycomb and honey flavoring, but I was going for broke. And I’ll tell ya what…it was a good garnish. The cup was sweet, creamy, and nutty. The rooibos base with the added elements actually takes on the attributes of its cousin – honeybush. Which also makes me wonder, why they didn’t use honeybush as a base instead…perhaps they didn’t want to go for a trifecta. I dunno.

All said, a damn good drink.

Also almost out of this one too! Had a cup this morning…was pretty good but over infused and it caused it to be a little astringent but not anything I couldn’t handle.

This tea is so yum. The Darjeeling is beautifully light. The fig and blackberry blend together into a delicious fruit taste that is complimented nicely with the muscatel of the Darjeeling. And the lovely little note from the anise is a perfect finishing touch.

Delicious!

Another tea from LiberTEAS!!!! I’m so grateful!

This smells awesome! Very sugary or candy like. The first thing that popped into my head – to compare it to – would be like old fashioned ribbon candy around the holidays…no one flavor but all the flavors combined!?

The anise ingredient somewhat made me nervous but there is just a hint…not much…

There is a bit more blackberry than anise…which is great but I can’t necessarily pick out the fig individually, persay. I’m thinking the fig is giving it the candy-like or sugary taste and smell and that works well in my book!

This is a nice treat!

The other day I went to the mall with my youngest daughter, and whenever we are in an Oregon Mall, one of the stores I always visit is the Made In Oregon store, I like to shop there because I like the idea of supporting local business. That is where I found this tea.

I have had a couple of teas from The Jasmine Pearl in the past that I’ve purchased from Whole Foods, but, I have never seen this particular flavor of tea. The FIG part intrigued me first, because I love figs. I was further intrigued when I saw that it was a Darjeeling tea … and when I read the ingredient list and saw anise… I was sold! I had to try it.

Lovely! The strongest note in this tea is the tea itself, this is a very nice Darjeeling with a pleasant muscatel flavor that really compliments the blackberry flavor very well. The fig is present at the end of the sip. The anise reveals itself throughout, although it is strong it is not overwhelming… just very pleasant. I really like it.

It has a very nice balance of flavors, with nothing overwhelming anything else… everything is light and crisp and flavorful. NICE!

I love Lapsang Souchongs and sometimes find it difficult to differentiate between them. They all start with a high score for me and then I try to grade them on smaller details such as sweetness and smokiness and whether or not the aroma and taste seem to be closer to tar, bacon, Bar-B-Que sauce, or whether there’s a je ne sais quoi about the tea. My personal morning favorite is Black Dragon by Upton Teas because it’s got a sweetness to it that does not compromise the punch.

LiberTEAS was kind enough to send me a lovely canister of The Jasmine Pearl’s Lapsang Souchong. I would call this a “medium” blend. In my mind, a “medium” blend is one that is not overwhelmingly smoky to the point that you think it’s close to being charred but one that is more like the leavings of a camp-fire and not a house-fire. This tea would make a great tea for those who are testing their LS wings or for those who want to explore the different gradations of the Lapsang Souchong experience.