Chung-Hao Special Grade Jasmine ZJ41

Jasmine tea has been on my mind for a while now. Specifically Harney’s jasmine pearls, but I didn’t want to have them this late in my work day since I wouldn’t be able to get as many steeps out of them as they deserve. So I went for this jasmine to satisfy my craving for the moment. Certainly not as sweet and jasminey as the pearls, but still with a good dose of lovely floral jasmine.

Of course it’s kind of not working because it’s making me want the pearls more, but oh well.

It’s hot and humid today, and for some reason I find myself wilting in it more than normal. Since my morning involved a long walk across campus in the already murderous sun, I didn’t feel like drinking a cup of hot tea before I went. A nice cold tea for when I got back, however… I brewed this one like usual but let it cool and stuck it in the fridge. An hour wasn’t quite enough to make it cold before lunch, but it was cool enough to be refreshing. Cold, this tea is mostly a strong green with a light jasmine flavor. I found myself wishing for more of that jasmine sweetness, and now that I think about it I bet a bit of sugar might have brought it out (even though I normally wouldn’t sweeten this tea hot). All in all it was a nice glass of tea to have. And today I remembered to put a glass of black tea in the fridge to cold steep overnight for tomorrow’s lunch!

While I have enjoyed this tea in my past cuppings, I was never blown away by it or felt I would want to reorder it after my sample runs out. It partly has to do with the fact that it’s a fairly standard jasmine green; when I want a hot jasmine tea, I really want jasmine pearls and overwhelming jasmine flavor, so it could never fill that role.

However, that was until I cold brewed it. I am very impressed with this tea’s performance; I wouldn’t cold brew jasmine pearls because of the sheer cost, but this makes a fantastic iced jasmine tea that would be much more affordable. When I iced this tea after brewing it hot, the green tea was still the main player with a jasmine supporting character, but cold brewed the jasmine comes out way more (though the green is still definitely present), which is what I want. For whatever reason I had yet to cold brew a jasmine green, but with this one I can see that it will definitely make it into my standard rotation of cold steeps along with Earl Grey creams and Mango/Passion/Rhubarb-vanilla blacks.

I brewed this one at a slightly cooler temp and a slightly shorter time than my last cup, and it has definitely improved it. No bitterness from the green tea, and a slightly more subdued flavor. It’s a nice, smooth, pleasant green tea with a prominent jasmine aroma and lighter jasmine flavor. This one is a good tea if you primarily want a green that’s been scented; I don’t get much of the jasmine sweetness or honeysuckle notes in this one like you might get from a more heavily jasmined tea, but the jasmine isn’t an afterthought either.