A bit exhausted at the moment, I don’t think I have the mental faculties currently to write a tea review to do this lovely tea justice. But I want to set down my tealog before too long elapses since I drank it lest I forget too much of the experience and what I want to say. This is the tea I most wanted to try out of Series 3. I had a lovely experience with a jasmine green from Life in Teacup that I was a bit shocked to enjoy and I wanted to see if I really like jasmine teas.
The Dry Tea Leaves — Are very dark black-green with only bits of lighter browns, grays, and greens, mid-length/thickness and only slightly twisted. Smelled very strongly of a floral scent I’m coming to know as jasmine. Delightful. Like standing in the middle of a strongly scented garden on a hot day. Much much stronger than Life in Teacup’s JG, which I smelled again for comparison.
The Wet Tea Leaves — Are a deep warm green, uncurled pieces of leaves. Smelled strongly distinctively of grass with a bit of jasmine of a hot rainy day. Then changed to mostly jasmine with a bit of grass. Then ended up as jasmine and grass followed by a good amount of hay. I had kept sniffing to be sure of the grass, which I’ve never smelled so surely in a tea, and was surprised that the combination of smelled changed as I sniffed.
The Jasmine Green Tea — Is a light yellow-brown but not pale. Smells of jasmine but not nearly as strongly as the leaves. At first, tasted too faint. Where was the tea I liked so much in the LiT version of this? Even as it began to slowly cool, the yummy taste came on. There it was: Goodness. I think I can safely say that I really enjoy a cup of jasmine tea. I’m always a bit surprised by just how much I like a new type of tea when I try it since it has happened for each type since I started exploring loose teas and teas beyond black teas and herbal teas. It may just be my memory of a really nice first experience, but I think LiT’s JG is better. I do need to taste it again to refresh my memory. And A&D’s JG is close to it.
2nd steep: 3 min 30 sec, 180° F.
The wet tea leaves smelled only of jasmine after this one and less strong than before. The husband drank this steep and said it was good and he liked it. I’m a bit skeptical. We’ll see if he accepts some next time I make JG or asks for something else.
3rd steep: 4 min 15 sec, 180° F.
JG was not all that obviously weaker and still enjoyable. I think JG could definitely take 4th steep. But it was late and I wasn’t sure I wanted more tea since I drank two of the previous steeps consecutively.
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Pardon me while I geek out over jasmine for a bit. After reading your review I ended up spending a good 20 minutes reading about jasmines on the webs and got absolutely lost (it means “gift from God” squee!). I’d never knowingly smelled jasmine until one spring evening I was driving home from work in New Orleans and as I entered my neighborhood I smelled the most heavenly aroma. When I got home I asked my boyfriend what it was and he said jasmine. (I’d just finished reading Jitterbug Perfume, so I geeked out about that as well). And jasmine was the reason I got into tea. I saw that my mom had some jasmine teabags and I thought that if I could drink that smell, then I’d be in heaven. Those were yummy and I’d heard that loose leaf is even better. The rest, they say, is history. All this rambling is to say that I hope someday you get to experience the scent of this beautiful shrub/vine in someone’s garden – it really is special. :)
Aww, that’s a cool “how I got into tea” story, Rabs. Thanks for sharing.
Cool story, Rabs! :) For me, jasmine reminds me of libraries and books and grade school—all good carefree memories. Those buildings were surrounded by jasmine shrubs.
Lovely post & comments! I love this tea – the scent of the dry tea leaves and the aroma of the brewed tea are amazing and same here – jasmine is a scent from childhood – we drank a lot of jasmine tea when I was growing up! Comfort tea!
Pardon me while I geek out over jasmine for a bit. After reading your review I ended up spending a good 20 minutes reading about jasmines on the webs and got absolutely lost (it means “gift from God” squee!). I’d never knowingly smelled jasmine until one spring evening I was driving home from work in New Orleans and as I entered my neighborhood I smelled the most heavenly aroma. When I got home I asked my boyfriend what it was and he said jasmine. (I’d just finished reading Jitterbug Perfume, so I geeked out about that as well). And jasmine was the reason I got into tea. I saw that my mom had some jasmine teabags and I thought that if I could drink that smell, then I’d be in heaven. Those were yummy and I’d heard that loose leaf is even better. The rest, they say, is history. All this rambling is to say that I hope someday you get to experience the scent of this beautiful shrub/vine in someone’s garden – it really is special. :)
Aww, that’s a cool “how I got into tea” story, Rabs. Thanks for sharing.
Cool story, Rabs! :) For me, jasmine reminds me of libraries and books and grade school—all good carefree memories. Those buildings were surrounded by jasmine shrubs.
Lovely post & comments! I love this tea – the scent of the dry tea leaves and the aroma of the brewed tea are amazing and same here – jasmine is a scent from childhood – we drank a lot of jasmine tea when I was growing up! Comfort tea!