Jasmine Green Tea

I have been drinking this for the past three or four days (multiple bottles, I admit) because it was the only non-sweetened iced tea available in the area. Imagine my surprise when I came on Steepster to see a fresh review of it…

The color is light, the aroma is faint jasmine. Enjoyed cold from the bottle. Drinking straight from the bottle interferes slightly with the bouquet from the tea, but I do not think it hurts the flavor. The flavor is faint jasmine but not obtrusive, it is light and airy, green tea, no vegetal just jasmine. The unsweetened is also very enjoyable, the jasmine brings enough to the slightly floral jasmine that it is all the sweetness you need without any additives. Overall, very good.

Grabbed this at the store last weekend and decided to have it today as part of my post-lunch tea ritual. Tastes very jasmine-y. It’s pretty strong, even when directly from the refrigerator. As it warms up, I start getting hints of green tea in there but oddly enough, it’s making me think of cookie dough. Jasmine flavored cookie dough. It’s something about the sweetness of it that gives me that feel, I think. Getting warmer now and the green tea is coming through in a less cookie dough way and a more astringent whoosh at the end. Not bitter or tart but kind of fresh feeling. And I’ve either gotten used to the strong jasmine or the green is countering it a bit. It’s not the most sophisticated jasmine I’ve had but it’s certainly not the worst. Much more of a natural jasmine floral than a perfumed jasmine floral. I think this ends up being a pretty nice RTD tea.

This was on sale at Mitsuwa this week, so I bought a big ol’ bottle of it. I had not tried it before.
It’s the best pre-bottled jasmine tea I’ve ever had! The floral flavor is really strong, but the tea remains very light and refreshing. Really awesome iced.

((As a comparison, the other prepackaged jasmine tea I usually drink is Adagio’s. It’s pretty good too, but if I compare it side-by-side with Ito En’s I can taste a slight bitterness in Adagio’s tea, which I believe is the preservative they add to their “pure” tea. ))

I have a feeling that this is not, in fact, the exact same tea as the one described, but I am too lazy to make a new entry and this IS a jasmine tea by Ito En so…oh well!

What I’m drinking is actually called “Natural Jasmine Tea” and gives no indication that it has a green tea base, although that seems to be the most common so it probably does. It’s big thing is that it doesn’t us anything except actual jasmine flowers to induce the jasmine aroma and taste (hence the “natural”). I didn’t really pay that much attention to the other jasmine tea that I’ve tried so far, but the implication is that all the other ones use artificial means in order to strengthen the impression of jasmine. I guess.

The jasmine aroma/taste DOES seem to be fairly subtle here. The aroma definitely is lighter than it was in the other jasmine tea, but I think I preferred it that way. The more this tea warms up the more the base green seems to overwhelm the jasmine within it and I quite LIKE the taste of jasmine. That is, in fact, in fact the reason why I BOUGHT jasmine tea and not green tea. The bottle also tells me that there isn’t much caffeine in the tea, which makes me wonder if it isn’t quite lightly brewed (thereby deepening the “naturally scented” image they’re shooting for). Thus, this is not my favorite jasmine tea, although it’s not really bad, either.

I had this tea and was ready for it to taste great but I have to say it was beyond great. I’m beginning to think this might be my tea of choice for summer.
Teas’ Tea Green Jasmine smells like jasmine from the moment you open the bottle. I didn’t feel the need to add sweetener to the drink. If I had I’m sure the flavors would have popped just as it should. I did add it to ice but drank it quickly.
Note: The bottling is different than what is listed in the above picture.
This is what my bottle looked like. http://www.itoen.com/tea/index.cfm?sp=product&catID=1&id=105

Tasting Notes:
Steeped Tea Smell: jasmine, vegetal green tea
Flavor: astringent, bitter, jasmine, vegetal
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: bitter, astringent
Liquor: honey yellow-brown

Served iced from the bottle, I think it’s a good prepared, store bought, iced tea.

I would buy it again as a pre-made, but not as a preferential to loose leaf.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/ito-en-company-bottled-green-tea.html

While this certainly doesn’t compete with loose leaf this is hands down the best pre-bottled jasmine green tea I’ve ever had. When I’m traveling I like to stop by Whole Foods and pick up a few bottles to keep in the cooler. It has a very strong floral flavor and scent to it that I like and I find it very refreshing. It is unsweetened and I think it is perfect that way, but I have added honey on occasion when I’m craving something a little sweeter. This is nice at room temperature or iced but I do tend to find this a little more astringent when it is room temperature.

The scent is pleasant, but hard to smell unless poured into a glass. For some reason my bottle of tea smells like maple syrup and this is really messing with my head every time I go to take a drink because it makes me crave pancakes. It also keeps me from smelling the wonderful jasmine scent from my tea.

I must be the outlier here. I’m still working my way through my recent Ito En acquisitions, but so far, this is the only one for which I really do not care. It’s a jasmine green tea that neither smells nor tastes like jasmine.

On the nose, I do not get much of an aroma. There is maybe a hint of floral character and a slight grassiness, but not much else. In the mouth, the taste up front is very grassy and vegetal. It kind of tastes like a combination of straw, hay, and grass. There is a slight fruitiness too that I can only describe as overripe cantaloupe. The floral character is faint, and to me, only barely identifiable as jasmine. Also, I must say that I find the ascorbic acid presence to be pretty noticeable. I have not gotten as much of it from the other Ito En teas I have tried to this point.

After being impressed with the golden oolong, I was more than willing to approach this bottled tea with an open mind. Unfortunately, it has really let me down hard. I have yet to find a bottled jasmine tea that I enjoy. I guess I’ll keep searching and pass on this one in the future.

I was traveling today, and picked up a bottle of this at the airport. It’s pretty nice. The Jasmine is very sweet and candy-like. I’ve said this about another jasmine tea before, but the smell is very much like the candy shell of Cadbury’s Mini Eggs. I probably would not pick this up again, as the jasmine flavoring is a little too sweet for me…

As far as bottled teas go, this is by far my favorite. It’s absolutely delicious and refreshing when served ice cold. Although it’s little expensive, I always keep a couple in the fridge at work for convenience. In my opinion, this tea tastes exactly as it smells (easiest way to describe it); the jasmine is very prominent with almost a nectar-like sweetness. I only start to pick up on the green tea aspect when the beverage starts to warm up.

While this tea can’t really compete with the loose leaf variety, I would definitely recommend picking up a bottle or two if you can find it.