Yunnan White Jasmine

Decupboarding. I gave this away to a friend of mine who will appreciate it much more than I do. Jasmine tea and I are not happy together, I have to be honest. I seem to like some green jasmine pearls now and again, but that’s about it.

soooo you know how sometimes you think you should branch out and try things that you might not like just in case your taste buds have changed?

shudder yeaaaah… mine haven’t. LOL Picked this up as a sample with my last verdant order and sadly i couldn’t even manage to drink half the cup. Floral much? Jasmine… check! In to the spreadsheet it goes.

Not rating this only because i know that it’s ME not the tea in this particular instance.

Ever try to enjoy a bit of pumpkin custard while your dog cries and looks longingly and pitifully at your food? I felt like the hugest jerk in the world not sharing my my dessert with him. So then I let each pup get a lick. Those darn cute faces get me every time. My dogs own me.

Fortunately, they are not interested in my tea so I don’t have to feel bad while I enjoy a cup. :) I had a terribly stressful day at work today. Called someone early in the morning to get some info. She directed me to someone else. That person directed me to yet another person. And so on. Until about 4pm when the last person I get directed to directs me back to the person I had called in the first place. It’s such a classic failed bureaucracy situation it’s almost funny. Now I’ve been directed to yet another two people whom I will call tomorrow morning. Someone save me.

Anyway, despite the fact that I know white tea can get me pretty wired sometimes, I really needed something that tastes soothing and delicious. Jasmine tea is perfect for that. And Verdant is guaranteed quality.

First whiff of the dry tea was heavenly. I absolutely love the smell of jasmine. The scent has me practically salivating. It also reminds me of peach. I can just feel the sticky sweet juices from of perfect summer peach. yum. The liquor is a very pale grayish brown. Not the most attractive color, but it’s all about the taste! and the taste here is fantastic! Juicy and floral and exactly what I need. There is a pleasant drying effect here as well.

Did I mention how I love the dry leaves? They are like little fuzzy twigs. Awesome!

There is a funny taste here, but I suspect it’s my kettle because my mom has a kettle that gives a similar taste to her water. Gotta boil some water in a pot and see what happens. Will withhold rating until then.

It’s been about a week since I first tried this tea, and I’ve now had four extended sessions with it. Four times in one week. . . . that should say something about how much this tea has impressed me. It’s had the same effect on everyone I’ve showed it to. People put their nose in the bag, take a nice deep inhalation and come up looking like one of Odysseus’s doped-out sailors on the Island of the Lotus Eaters. This was exactly the effect it had on me too. Let me put it this way, with jasmine scented tea I normally take a whiff and think, “Bluh, jasmine, I don’t want any.” But with this one, I catch its fragrance, feel goosebumps, and think, “Mmmmm, jasmine, I must have some nooowwwww . . . .”

The taste delivers in spades. I would have to say that this is the most enjoyable white tea I’ve tried to date. Interesting comparison occurred today by happenstance. I brewed up some of this after I woke up, and did about 4-5 gongfu infusions in my gaiwan. Then I left the apartment to visit my parents’ house for the day, and while there I took the opportunity to try another jasmine scented silver needle white tea that one of my mother’s friends had sent her recently. The fragrance of that one did not inspire me, in fact it produced the normal reaction I mentioned. The taste was also nowhere close to being in league with this one, it was actually pretty bitter by comparison. Not entirely un-enjoyable, but it barely held a candle in the sunlight of this Verdant tea.

I came back home, now at the end of the day, and decided to brew up the tea still in my gaiwan until all flavor was exhausted. It took me another 5 gongfu steepings! So the general experience has been that this tea will typically give generously for about 10 gongfu infusions. There are so many things I love about this jasmine white, but I’ll reserve for you the pleasure of making your own discovery of most of them. One quality that I can’t help but comment on though is the exquisite texture this tea leaves on my tongue. The sensation is like a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s heavenly!

First review from a generous sample that David included with my Verdant Tea order.

This is my 100th review Woo Hoo and a big thank you for all encouragement and comments to a newcomer to the tea community especially to David at Verdant for personal notes and samples and Angel at Teavivre for samples both companies being highly regarded!*

I’ve only ever tasted really good Jasmine tea which is fortunate so I was looking forward to this Yunnan White. The timing on my steep was 3 minutes which produced a lovely blush pale golden tea. Some Jasmine’s knock you down with floral scent but not this one. It’s more refined and gentle…a peach, jasmine, paperwhite floral with a hint of pine finish, if you can imagine such a thing. There is a creaminess and spice tingle on the tongue. We’ll see on a further pour what develops. Very delicious.

Second steep Oh My this is a bit fizzy on my tongue when hot and still lovely and creamy floral but I got distracted and put my cup down. The tea cooled. Oh well, it’s probably ok, I thought. OK? it was GREAT cool! No longer fizzy but just short of buttery and definately SILKY SMOOTH oh yes it is! Sometimes we all know how tea cools and goes all bitter, but this stayed lovely. I didn’t steep more than 3 minutes so that is important also. Quality tea has to be respected for potency… zillion proof tea needs restraint compaired to fluff and dust. I’ve been drinking so much tea that I’m going to get wicked and slice a 3 inch California strawberry and plunk it in a tall glass with the remains of the second cooled steep and a few ice cubes. Be right back…….pause…..ummmm ummmm that’s good!

Oh Steepster! It’s been too long!

This past month has been a real challenge. First a close family member passed away, then things took a bad turn at work, and now a major problem has surfaced in my personal life. I’ve had trouble sleeping so I’ve been limiting my tea drinking to earlier in the day only. And I’ve been drinking it mostly to wake up, rather than enjoying it like I used to. But I want to change that; I want to get back to savoring it.

One of my favorite things about tea is the way it allows you to slow down and focus on the moment, and I think I need that right now. It’s the first day of a new month, and today I’m going to start over, beginning with mindful tea drinking. Because sometimes all you can do is focus on the things you can control, one step at a time.

So I’m starting with one of my favorite soothing teas. Thank you AureliaFish for sending some of this my way to hold me over until my order came in. This tea is so lovely and delicate; beautiful long white leaves softly kissed with jasmine. It’s crisp yet cozy, subtle yet complex, savory yet sweet. It reminds me that life can be complicated, but there is beauty to be found if you take the time to look for it.

A review of Yunnan White Jasmine by Verdant Tea

Date: 10/29/2012
Company: Verdant Tea
Tea Name: Yunnan White Jasmine
Tea Type/Varietal: Green
Region: Lincang Region, Western Yunnan
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf:
Plucking Season: Spring 2012
Liquor Color: very light yellow
Leaf Characteristics: Silver Needle White tea, 100% bud material, picked and steamed, then allowed to dry with fresh jasmine petals changed out once a day for seven days to absorb full fragrance.

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 175 Fahrenheit
Time: 2 minutes

Note: I use one teaspoon of leaves per cup of water and steep for 2 minutes with 175 degree water, and waited for the leaves to have sunk to the bottom of my cup. This is a lovely tea to view; the leaves open up but in small roll like since they are more like pods and there are small flower that floats atop of the water. The effect is kind of like in a pond…with some flowers floating on the water.

Tea’s color is most lovely, with this first steep, it is a lovely very light yellow and as I steep this tea a bit longer, tea’s color did brightened to a pale yellow, more yellow than white or that light green when first steep.

Throughout all of this description is the tea’s aroma and it is that of Jasmine, full of the fragrant perfume of Jasmine and there is not mistaking of this. And when tasted I did not like it since scent is too over powering.

2nd Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 2 minutes

Note: I let the water boil fully and steep the leaves for the same amount of time as before. What I want is less of the jasmine fragrant and to just enjoy this very mild tea with its strong perfume. And with more water added the strong, heady scent of the jasmine does dissipate, allowing for a more sedate cup of this tea. And it is fine with me for now.

This tea has a heady floral bouquet and does make this tea reviewer think of a pond with lilies, and lilacs that floats about in the pond. I am not sure if the jasmine plant is one that floats around in ponds, but could as well be.

All of this is suggestive of another’s tea description by Verdant Tea, of which they stated: Shui Xian is a tea shrouded in mystery -its name is either a reference to a Taoist immortal, a spirit of the water, or the narcissus flower. This triple-meaning is fitting for the immense complexity and richness that the tea offers.

Anyhow, this imagery / description seem true of this Yunnan Jasmine Tea. I did view the silver white needles and the buds of the plant as well. This is a lovely tea and for me I must learn to appreciate the headiness of jasmine flower…made popular in China and is rich with antioxidants and vitamin C and to help sooth the digestive system, as this is the benefits I hope to obtain/gain when drinking this tea.

Beautiful long leaves with an immense jasmine fragrance – gorgeous to watch brew.

Taste is silky soft jasmine with a refreshing coolness that must be the pine needle reference, and is wonderfully delicious.

Sweet cinnamon, cool pine, incredible jasmine – a soft, fragrant and extraordinary tea.

Oh wow! This is the cleanest, sweetest, crispiest, nicest Jasmine I have had to date! Most Jasmine’s I can take or leave…but this one…I will TAKE any day! Very nice! No funky floral aftertaste…smooth and fairly creamy, even! I really like this! Very VERY good!

Thanks to Invader Zim for the sample of this! (I’m typing on the iPad as I wait for my car to be fixed, so please forgive any spelling errors!

I wasn’t paying attention and mistook this for Teavivre’s white jasmine, so I only got one steep out of it. It was only the next morning when I saw the empty bag on the counter that I realized.

It was delicious, really delicate and soft and just a little bit sweet. The jasmine wasn’t overpowering. I only wish I had more to say! I’ll leave off the rating because I cant really rate it very well right now.