The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company

Although the roast isn’t heavy, it’s enough that the bright floral aroma of a green Taiwanese oolong has been deepened slightly, blending well with the nutty note brought out by the roast. Once the leaves open up in my gaiwan, it’s easy to see the two teas that make up this blend. Some of the leaves are a little smaller and more heavily oxidized, while the others are larger, nicer looking, more typically Taiwanese pairs of greener leaves, leaving no ambiguity as to which ones are Gui Fei and which are Jade.

While the mouthfeel is a bit thin at first, it does thicken up later and sticks to the back of my throat, which combined with the floral and honey notes gives the impression of wildflower honey. It’s quite fruity as well, with a pleasantly sour lemony note early on and various stone fruits coming and going throughout the session, peaches and apricots being the most obvious. Cinnamon shows up in the first half of the session, while the second half gets more woody. The last infusion has a wonderful finish of honeyed peaches that doesn’t want to end.

If my description makes this sound like a powerful flavor bomb, don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not. The experience is more in the aroma and the sweet, long lasting aftertaste than the flavor when it’s in your mouth, so I wouldn’t suggest this to someone who can only appreciate a tea with a strong flavor.

Don’t be afraid to pour just boiled water and brew this for a very, very long time. Unlike a lot of oolongs, especially Dancongs, this tastes best with long infusions. The mouthfeel thickens, it gets sweeter, more aromatic, more complex, and the sweet honey, fruity, floral aftertaste lasts longer.

Another pick from my Sips By box. I have loved this subscription so much. Sure, it’s not enough tea to get me through a month, but I love the variety.

First of all, I’m impressed by the sleek black packaging. I love the sort of turn-of-the-century style. Very cool, looks good on my kitchen counter.

As far as Ceylons go, this one is sort of different. It’s very smooth and the leaves are gorgeous. Long, elegant, and in great shape. Very low tannins with a nice woodsy note. The fruit flavor isn’t overwhelming or artificial. It’s on the milder side, very natural. It sort of compares to Harney & Sons’ version. It tastes more like dried mango than mango juice.

Anyway, I’m going to have to check this company out. I’d like to see what else they have to offer.

Found this in bulk at Whole Foods! I’m not big into puerh, so I kind of stumble through the steeping process a bit. Did a 20 second rinse that smelled very fishy and had me worried. Steeped it for under a minute after that and for the first half of my cup it tasted like new leather shoes… in a delightful sort of way. Probably helps that I’m into Irish whiskeys and like leather, peat and smoke flavors. The rest of the cup has a much more mellow taste, but it doesn’t loose the leather flavor. I’ll be steeping this some more throughout the day!

This is probably one of my favorite rose flavored teas ever. When you open the bag the scent of rose is overwhelming and it has large chunks of whole roses (petals and stem included). But once it’s steeped the rose flavoring is perfect. It MAY smell overwhelming but properly steeped and it’s perfect. It has just the perfect touch of vanilla to balance out the rose flavor. With a touch of milk and honey this is a great black tea.

The perfect blend of lemongrass and green tea that gives it a nice, sweet flavor. It was out of stock for awhile, so we’ve been nursing the last bit that we have left because it’s so tasty. It doesn’t seem to be too caffeinated either, making it a great mid-afternoon tea.

Sour and full of lime. The essential oil means that the second steeping seems almost more flavorful, and it can get about three steepings. A great night tea.

A wonderfully mellow Jasmine tea. The Jasmine is flavorful without being overwhelming and it feels like you can re-steep forever without losing taste. A favorite comfort tea.