tea.ceo How to brew jasmine tea
Jasmine tea is not a blend of tea and petals. It is a green tea scented with jasmine flowers, the leaf left to take up the perfume and the flowers then taken away, so what reaches the cup is green tea that smells of jasmine. Brew it as a green tea and it is sweet; brew it like a black tea and it is bitter perfume.
The tea used here
Jasmine Pearls from The Tao of Tea, from Hunan. Only newly sprouted spring leaves are used: the top bud and a long stem, the lower leaves discarded. The buds are withered in bamboo trays and each one is rolled by hand into a pearl between thumb and forefinger, at least 2,000 pearls to a pound. The rolled pearls are then heat-infused with jasmine flowers several times; the higher grades at least five.
What you need
2 teaspoons of pearls for 8 oz, about 240 ml, of water, and a way to get the water to 85°C (185°F). A glass cup or a small pot lets you watch the pearls open.
The method
Bring the water to the boil and let it cool to 85°C, or stop the kettle short of boiling. Pour it over the pearls and steep 2 to 3 minutes. Pour off all the tea, leaving the leaf, and brew again the same way: the pearls give 2 to 3 infusions.
What it should taste like
Smooth and balanced green tea under a strong jasmine scent, with no bitterness. If the cup is harsh, the water was too hot or the leaf sat too long; if it is thin, use more pearls rather than more time.
Other green teas
Dragon Well, China's best-known unscented green tea, takes its water a little hotter; gyokuro wants much cooler water.
How to brew jasmine tea: questions
What temperature for jasmine tea?
85°C (185°F), like most green teas. Boiling water makes the leaf bitter.
How long should jasmine tea steep?
2 to 3 minutes per infusion, with 2 teaspoons of Jasmine Pearls to about 240 ml of water.
How many times can jasmine pearls be brewed?
Two or three times, by The Tao of Tea's instructions.
Is jasmine tea green tea?
Usually, yes. Jasmine Pearls are a green tea from Hunan, scented with jasmine flowers several times, at least five for the higher grades.
Source: The Tao of Tea, Jasmine Pearls checked against the source
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