Flowering Green Jasmine Tea

Thanks for the sample, Verdant! This is my first experience with a flowering tea. I never bothered before because I was worried the tea may taste too bitter or vegetal. And to be honest, I’m not a fan of jasmine, so when I got this one in particular, I was ultra hesitant.

It took nearly ten minutes to unfurl or so. Wasn’t counting, but slowly but surely, that beautiful amaranth appeared.

And would you know that it also tastes simply delicious? I actually don’t detect any jasmine. It’s a little buttery, but as it starts to cool, it’s leaning more towards vegetal. Then there’s something a little floral in the background, but not jasmine nor amaranth. I just ate beets so my sense of taste is a little off, so maybe it’s the clover honey? Could be blending in with the sweetness of the beets.

Either way, it’s good stuff, and I’m glad to have finally experienced a flowering tea.

This is my first flowering tea and I didn’t know what to expect but it worked out well. I drank this with my roommate and we both enjoyed watching it unfurl and pop up.

The jasmine isn’t very strong, especially when compared to the likes of the yunnan jasmine white, but it is still pleasantly present. My roommate said it reminded her of buttery dragonwell- the green base is a very smooth one with little to no vegetal undertones. The finish contains a clover honey like sweetness. It’s filling in a rich, heady floral way but it’s never overpowering.

The great thing about this one is we were able to take our time admiring the flowering tea, get distracted and look at animal gifs on tumblr, and pour ourselves some more tea without having to worry about it getting overwhelmingly bitter or strong. This is a beautiful, easy going tea, with a decent flavour profile, even on its third steep.

Sipdown, 219. I got this as a sample with my last Verdant order and decided to try it today. I actually have never tried a flowering tea because I am a tad scared of them. Leaving tea in the water long enough to actually open sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. But I will try this one because it’s Verdant.

I am using my 12oz glass mug for this one. I heated my water and poured it in over the little ball, and then my boyfriend and I watched it slowly unfurl. After a while , when I could see the pink amaranth flower reasonably well, I sniffed and was surprised by an aroma of… well, pretty much green tea. No florals that I could detect. I took a tenative sip and yeah, I don’t get any jasmine here at all. I started sipping it, as it continued to unfurl. The liquor does have an amazingly smooth, thick mouthfeel. The flavor is vegetal, a little grassy, a bit buttery and perhaps a touch sweet. Eventually it fully opened and I started seeing the white jasmine flower as well, then finally the ball of tea sank, but the amaranth flower refused and popped off, still floating. When I poured in more water, perhaps I was not gentle enough because the amaranth flower began to come apart. Also, I don’t know if this is part of the design or not, but now it is on a crazy jasmine flower tether to the tea ball at the bottom, while it floats at the surface. The photos of it expanded on Verdant’s site don’t show it doing that, so perhaps mine was just special. Here’s a photo of my cup for those who are interested: http://flic.kr/p/e2pNw4

The second steep is definitely sweeter, a little more honeyed. I think I was misled by the description that this is a “green jasmine” tea in the name. It is a decently tasty green tea, but I didn’t get any jasmine from it, and its not something I would go out of my way for. Like I said this was my first flowering tea, so it may be that this one is great as a showpiece for people who like to have them for parties and such, because it still tastes good once its done blooming.

I drank this a couple of weeks ago with my daughter Arianna, & I swear I wrote a review, but it isn’t here. Oh well…

One of my adult harp students stuck around & had tea with me this afternoon. I didn’t have another students right after her, and neither of us were in a hurry, so it was really nice to just hang out. I brought out the glass teapot & we watched the flower bloom. She had never had a blooming tea before & was mesmerized. We sipped, savoring the moment & the tea. It is a very mild jasmine, & the first pot especially had a really nice mouth-feel, like drinking a cup of warm almond milk. We re-steeped, & after she left I resteeped some more.

How does this tea note have any notes? (Unless I have missed it some how.) I made some this last night and found it to be lovely. It tastes strongly of clover honey and leaves a wonderful creamy soft, and dewy mouth feel. I wrote a full review on my blog, but short story is I am going to pick up another ounce of this on my next verdant order.

http://tunesntea.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/tea-flowering-green-jasmine-tea/

This one is certainly beautiful to watch. The brewing process was more exciting than drinking the tea for me. I do not taste any jasmine in this. It has an intense vegetal flavor and tastes like a plain green tea. I did not like drinking it very much (just my tastes, not because the tea was bad). However, I enjoyed watching my first flowering tea “bloom”

I just used this for a staff tea party at my work and it was a big hit! I am actually not a huge fan of the flavor, but the flower that blooms is wonderful! The picture doesn’t do it justice. I also showed some children this tea and they thought it was magic. It really is lovely. Even though I didn’t love the taste, the ladies at my work did (or were perhaps being polite) so that’s a win. Try out this tea! I liked it more than other flowering teas I’ve tried.