The Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants

Phenomenal floral flavor and aroma. You’d think this was a scented tea at first because of the strong floral aroma (something like jasmine, gardenias, and camellias all mixed together), but you know it isn’t scented because that aroma lasts through multiple steepings. I took this tea through 5 infusions and was still getting the floral notes. Not an everyday tea by any means, but an incredibly fun addition to the tea cabinet. It’s one of those teas that I like to serve to people as a “taste experiment.” It’s a great demonstration of the range of natural aromas you can get out of just Camellia sinensis leaves without any added extracts or flavorings.

Herbal tea of the evening and not sure exactly what this is supposed to cleanse or be good for, but I thought I’d give it a whirl tonight.

Steeped for 10 minutes because I lost track of time, but I don’t think that’s too much to worry ’bout with a tisane. When you open up the bag there is something “fluffy” and green looking about this tea and it smells very “herby”, I wonder if this is due to the nettles?

This is a very pleasant herbal blend, I think the rose and the sarsparilla adds a bit of sweetness. It is fairly mild and soothing, which is nice. Some herbal teas that promise cleansing benefits are a bit on the bitter side for yours truly but this is pretty nice, IMO. Not sure I would go out of my way to get this again but it’s quite pleasant.

Backlog:

This chai makes a darned tasty latte! I like that it’s spicy even after I’ve added the milk, and the milk doesn’t drown out the spices.

A flavorful black tea base, and while the canister that I have of this tea doesn’t elaborate on the black tea base, I see that the description here states that it’s an Assam tea, and I suspected as much, given robust, malty character. A really good way to start off a chai, in my opinion! I find that I’m often disappointed with chai blends that use Ceylon rather than Assam … the bolder flavor of Assam really brings a chai to the next level for me.

It is a peppery blend with a hint of licorice, and a hint of nutty flavor from the nutmeg. The cardamom and cloves add a nice dimension to the cup.

A really enjoyable chai!

Slight cocoa fragrance, faintly chocolatey flavor. It’s a great ingredient list but the flavor doesn’t live up to expectations. I would not describe this as having surprising depth and body, even after I added almond milk. I think this tea might be nice as a low-key flavoring element for a fuller bodied puerh.

Finishing off the rest of my sample today, this is quite good; malty, rich and with a rich flavor of sweet potato pie. Similar to a golden monkey but a bit deeper in flavor. Would definitely get this one again.

Yum!
I got this as a sample with my recent Jasmine Pearl order. I confess I let it steep for too long while I was goofing off reading some poetry by Ranier Maria Rilke: http://sanfrantea.teatra.de/2013/01/26/going-blind/

So my tea got really dark, I think I will wait to rate it until I’m paying more attention to what I am doing. I am definitely getting a sweet potato or squash type of flavor, along with the slight bitterness that Geoffrey mentioned in his tasting note. This is really good but I think I made it a touch too strong.

Sipdown!
Finished this one off but am trying to resist buying any more. I need to put myself on a tea diet. :)

Tea of the morning here, I’ve been on somewhat of an assam kick lately I guess…

I was fortunate to find this is the bulk bin at the Local Whole Foods. I don’t know that I will get any more once it runs out because I have a few other assams to drink now! Still, this is very nice, mellow, almost creamy in flavor. Perfect with a touch of soymilk!

Tea of the morning here, another one I got in the bulk section at Whole Foods yesterday.

I got a Teavana tea mug for Christmas from my brother and this is what it looks like, very pretty!
http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-cups-mugs/infuser-mugs/p/okura-ume-blossom-infuser-tea-mug

As far as the tea is concerned, it’s a pretty nice Assam, hefty and enjoyable with a bit of soymilk. It definitely has a nice malty flavor, maybe with some caramel notes. I would consider getting more of this when the current supply is running low. For me Assams are a great breakfast tea! I think I’ll drink some more tea while I’m doing my chores today. :)

Meditation of the day from Dale Carnegie: “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.”

This tea is a bit strange…
I love darjeelings but I’m not really sure this combo does a lot for me.

The blackberry reminds me of elderberry and seems slightly medicinal. I’m usually a fan of anise but in this combination it just seems weird. At least it’s supposed to be good for your stomach. Probably my least favorite of the teas I got from the Jasmine Pearl so far but I will drink it eventually. I felt it was much improved by the addition of some soymilk.

I think this would be really nice as an iced tea — I will have to try it that way someday. :D

Tea of the morning here.

My general feeling on chocolate teas is that they leave a lot to be desired, especially if you are expecting them to taste like hot chocolate.

This is a nice blend of black tea, pu’erh, carob and chocolate. I believe there is some vanilla flavoring in here too. It’s mildly chocolate-y and has a bit of heft. I like the fact that they decided to put pu’erh in here which gives the tea a nice added dimension. I am not blown away by it, but I do like it. It’s nice with some vanilla soymilk added in. Probably would be more appropriate as an afternoon/dessert tea. I’ll certainly finish off the bag happily.

Tea of the afternoon here; very vegetal with corn notes. The package says it’s green tea but this is most definitely an oolong. The leaves have unfurled quite nicely. See previous notes for more info. :)

Tea of the afternoon here… an oolong from the Jasmine Pearl.

GABA is supposed to have a calming effect and who couldn’t use more of that?

I decided to use the gaiwan to steep this and put in about 1 tsp of tea, steeped for 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells very much like fresh corn to me.

1st steep is a light yellowish infusion. I am getting the sweet starchy quality that gets compared to bananas & yams. For me it is still reminiscent of corn since it has a slightly vegetal quality. The overall flavor is quite pleasant.

The 2nd steep I did for around 30 seconds and it is a bit darker. Now that the leaves are starting to open up, there is a definite buttery flavor coming up in this tea.

3rd steep is much like the first. I think I am detecting some subtle notes of vanilla. It’s difficult to say whether or not I feel any calmer from drinking this, although I am inspired to do some meditation right now.

Tea of the morning here and it’s a sipdown… Black yunnans never disappoint me and this has been an enjoyable tea, one I would not hesitate to buy again if I place another order with the Jasmine Pearl. Nice and malty this morning and I do get the peppery kick today.

See previous notes if interested.

You can never have too many straight black teas, which is really the reason I got this with my last order. :)

First tea of the morning here, the sun is out and I will need to go for a nice, long walk later.

I steeped this for 4 minutes and am enjoying it. I don’t think its anything in particular to write home about, just a nice yunnan black tea. It has some light notes of malt/sweetness along with a very mellow character. I would definitely recommend trying this plain before adding anything to it, it doesn’t really need a lot. I am not really getting the peppery note described, but perhaps it’s too early in the morning!

Here’s another tea I got from the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants.

This tea sounded very intriguing to me… a smoky dark blend with orange and spice. I would say the predominate black here is the keemun, along with a bit of lapsang. Then I am picking up the orange, clove and lemon… the rose is very faint. It is a bit like a chai but with more smoke and more citrus. I like this a lot better than I thought I would, it is very warming on a chilly night — especially since the heat is still not on here at full force.

This is yummy afternoon/evening tea that is really good! I like this blend.

One of the teas I got yesterday from the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchant.

Last night I had Indian food for dinner which didn’t really sit well. I thought perhaps this tea might be nice for settling my stomach a bit.

In my opinion the spice in this tea is VERY strong, the ginger really stands and then the cardamom. The peach is a very faint note somewhere in the background. This blend is not for the faint of heart, it is definitely stronger than any other ginger peach tea I’ve had. I like it though, and ginger is really nice for a chilly San Francisco day.

Tea of the morning here… I got this one at Whole Foods yesterday in the bulk section. I’ve been to a bunch of other WF stores in our area and none of the other ones have bulk tea. I’m not complaining though!

Yesterday I got an IngenuiTEA from Crate and Barrel and I’ve used it a few times already. So far I really like it. And this is one of my favorite blended teas, I really like the combo of cardamom, rose and ginger.

I’m sipping on it this morning hoping for some peace of mind. It might be time to go back to tulsi… I found out yesterday through my network that a new person was hired to replace me at my former workplace and it’s just really difficult not to take this personally since I was there for so long. Anyway I hope in time I can just begin to feel better about things and move on with my life… to somewhere I am happier I hope.

This is a sipdown for me… however I might be getting more if they still have it at the bulk department in Whole Foods. I really like the cardamom in this blend.

My sweetheart and I both enjoyed this for breakfast today, it’s kind of a romantic brew anyway. I’m not too wild on straight rose teas but I love the addition of cardamom here. This is definitely going to become a part of my permanent collection!

Tea of the morning here!
You wouldn’t think that roses and cardamom would make a good breakfast tea but it really works here. I love this blend with soymilk and just a touch of sweetener. This is a good start to the rest of my day, which will involve yoga class and a concert of Indian classical music. :)

Tea of the morning here. Sometimes I forget that I have this but it’s such a satisfying brew. I tend to like roses in tea but the cardamom is also a lovely touch here. Goes really well with this lovely music by Jai Uttal I was listening to last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsEhuWENkN0

Tea of the morning here… why yes, roses and cardamom do make for a delightful morning tea. Excellent with my morning toast.

I really like this stuff, it’s better than I remember it. I wonder if that’s because I steeped it longer this time. I bumped the rating up another point. :)