Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls

Very floral, but soothing and it smells divine. And it tastes like green tea underneath, which is lovely

I find it odd that this jasmine pearl tea is made from green tea, when most, not to mention the truly high quality, jasmine pearls are made with white tea from the Da Bai Hao cultivar. Anyways, cut the crap and straight to the review.

I judge all green, white, and scented teas by the following criteria: dry and wet leaf appearance, dry and wet leaf aroma, flavor of first steeping, number of steepings that the tea can get, and its tendency either toward or away from bitterness.

The dry leaves are evenly shaped pearls. Teavana claims that each pearl was hand rolled.

The aroma of the dry leaves is extremely jasminey, almost to floral to be true. Nonetheless, Teavana claims that it was scented six to eight times with real jasmine flowers.

The first steeping was extremely floral. I steeped it according to Teavana’s instructions. Even so, there was a hint of bitterness to the brew. Sadly, I was pleased by the intense floral aroma, but let down by the flavor. For a truly high quality jasmine tea, the flavor would emphasize the aroma.

The second steeping was more flavorful, some of the bitterness gone. However, the aroma was not even half of what the first steeping produced! Again, I was let down. I knew by this time that the third steeping would not increase in either flavor or aroma, so I tossed the leaves.

My high rating is only because of the amazing aroma and appearance of the dry leaves. Then again, it is easy to take a worthless book and rebind it with a fancy looking cover.

I’m going to preface this review with the caveat that I got this tea as a gift eight months ago, and only recently put it in a container. My lack of expertise prevents me from commenting on whether the age of the tea would strongly affect its flavor—I’m sure some of you would know.

This is my first Teavana tea and I was really excited to try it. I followed the directions (one teaspoon, steeped two minutes), but found the tea to be really weak. It was completely colorless and the flavor almost imperceptible. It was a whisper of a taste that left me wishing for something stronger.

After doubling the steep time, I found this tea to be quite good. The taste is still faint, but very smooth and completely inoffensive with no hint of bitterness (which is actually a bit strange for a green tea…?). As I understand it, though, Teavana is expensive; I’m not sure how the price compares to the jasmine green by Two Leaves and a Bud, but I found its flavor much more pronounced—and thus probably more responsive to resteeping.

very relaxing. Tried it at Teavana blended with Strawberry Lemonade herbal and it was such a calming tea, I bought some to bring home and have been drinking a cup in the evenings. Will refill the tin when it is finished.

This tea smells wonderful! The little pearls are gorgeous. I had been wanting to get a sample from Harney & Sons or Samovar for a long time, but I wandered into a Teavana on vacation and smelt these little beauties and couldn’t say no.

The flavor is very nice. There’s the jasmine in the forefront. It’s almost too strong, so I’ve been learning to steep it for less and less time. I do think I like jasmine tea, as long as the jasmine isn’t overpowering. It reminds me of heavy perfume when it’s too strong, and since I’m allergic to a majority of perfumes, it’s a major major turn off for me in tea.

The other things I taste are – a sweetness I can’t describe, and a slight, ever so slight nutty flavor. That nutty flavor is what I’ve come to love in green tea. I was very surprise it was in such a floral tea, even for how slight it is. And I loved that it was there.

Over all, this tea is beautiful and delicious. And I love how many steeps I can get out of one teaspoon.

This is strong jasmine tea. The jasmine pops almost to the point of being bitter, but I do prefer bite in teas. I do wish the jasmine was a little less in my face. This is a good tea for resteeping a thousand times! The green tea has a good kick and it smells wonderful!!!!

Drank the last of this one this morning — I really don’t know where all these Teavana teas came from! I found it to be a little bit… meh. Although it’s very possible that the tea was a bit too old, or there wasn’t quite enough of it, so no rating. Doubt I’ll be purchasing it (again?).

Always a favorite of mine! A good, flowery aroma and a light, sweet taste.

This is the first tea I bought when I first bought my cast iron tea set. I have to say, if you steep it right, it will be one of the best green teas you will ever have. I absolutely love it. Personally, I always add a little bit of sugar to whatever tea I drink, just so I have a little sweetness but not to where is over powers the tea. So like, half a teaspoon. If you leave this tea in longer than 2 minutes, it will become very bitter, but it’s still good. The best part about it is that you can use the tea leaves more than just one brew. It’s amazing how far this tea can stretch out. Truely one of my favorites.

This was good, but not the best Jasmine I’ve tried. I may have been over-steeping – I’ve been drinking tea for years and yet have so much to learn!