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(Free sample provided by Teavivre. Thank you!)

This will be the first tea from sample pack I’ve received from Teavivre some month ago or so. I’m not a big fan of jasmine scented teas, I’m OK with mild jasmine aroma but when there’s a tea scented with perfumy and overpowering impression it makes me run for the hills.

With a sample pack weighing 5,5 grams I managed to distribute it for traditional western and gaiwan gong fu brewing method, so I’ll be doing western method now and gaiwan gong fu some other time.

This tea was chosen for me to review by one fan from my Facebook page, so if you’re from ex-Yugoslavia area I encourage you to check it, just search – Dobri čajevi.

Setup:

Glass teapot (250 ml)
Leaf – 2,5 gram (2 tsp.)
Water – 80 Celsius 200 ml
Time – 1 min, 1 min, 2 min

Leaf & infusion:

Dry leaf – Leaf is somewhat broken (most likely due to handling and tight packaging) revealing its flakey leaf texture, but it retains a lot of whole buds with white-grayish color texture and almost completely covered with fine white hair. In complete sample pack there’s only few yellow jasmine flowers. Jasmine scent is mild, pleasant and natural.

Wet leaf – While brewing this tea almost no buds sank, with few standing upright as heavier stalks free of air get soaked up. Once drained, buds air with cucumber-like aroma and appear more fat with emerald green color and accent on veins.

Infusion (1st) – First infusion is clear with light gray-yellow hue and on the bottom there are some leaf parts that have managed to pass through the strainer. While jasmine aroma seems to be gentle but firm, and almost sweet-like.

Taste is soft, fruity (peach) with jasmine finish that lingers for short time. On first sip, the tea makes a strong impression, as with additional sips that stretch out sweetness even more and introduce smooth, silky flow across the tongue and light tingling sensation in throat. With last sips minty freshness appears and one can enjoy lingering fruity peach and jasmine notes in between.

Infusion (2nd) – Second infusion is more intense in taste, and even savory. As jasmine aroma shifts to almost an undertone, for best enjoyment it’s better to drink it when it gets almost lukewarm as sweetness and smoothness get accentuated. With last sips some dryness on tongue can be noted.

Infusion (3rd) – Third infusion reveals less delicate but still pleasant aspect of this tea as it gets more dry and even with a touch of astringency.

Conclusion – As I’m not a fan of jasmine scented teas I was actually surprised how much pleasant sips I got from this one. This tea is both delicate and delicious even if I got this session a bit of the balance with steeping time, but I’m sure that I would get it even better provided that I have more leaf. Anyways, I’m expecting some good results with the rest sample and gaiwan brewing method.