Jasmine green tea (#60)

Scented green tea
Pipers Coffee & Tea

Ingredients: Japanese sencha, whole jasmine flower blossoms, pure jasmine oil.

This pot of tea is gorgeous! Large enough that it's hard to hold in one hand. It's a lovely porcelain look with a solid cork. Tea is sold in the pot, or you can just buy a refill.



The dry tea has a faint but wonderfully fresh smell. As I make the first pour into my gaiwan, the aroma lifts from the cup immediately as the water hits it.

The first aroma from the lid after steeping is lightly floral with the smell of the tea still shining through. The color of the tea is warmer than I expected, a light honey. I taste right away that I've oversteeped it, though; I've brought too much astringency through. It's easy to handle this tea less carefully than it deserves. Steeped properly, it's a beautiful tea with the lightest floral tone.



I've found that this tea, even at only one teaspoon, infuses best in more water than a single-size gaiwan. I used my gaiwan for 2-minute infusions, then in the teapot at 1- and 2-minute infusions, and then just in a tea ball at 2 minutes for single mug brews. Surprisingly, the tea ball in a mug works best!

I call it a delicate tea, but the sencha is sturdy enough for multiple infusions and the amount of jasmine is consistent throughout.

Make sure to give this tea enough water to try its wings, and you'll have a warm-colored tea that actually tastes like a white tea with the most natural echo of jasmine. Jasmine can be overpowering in other teas, but this jasmine is a perfect complement to the high-quality sencha. It isn't too sweet.

Pipers is offering my readers 10% off their tea purchase at checkout with this code: ALLTEA10. No limit on the number of times it can be used, so you can share with your friends. If you would like some of these cards, please contact me.

Next I'll review an unusual-looking oolong from Nepali Tea Traders.