Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Description:
This flavorful and zesty blend is our own recipe – Assam black tea is mixed with carefully hand-roasted spices to provide a delightful twist on an Indian tradition. Try simmering in milk with a touch of honey.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I’m having a chai latte!
This Organic Chaz’ Chai Black Tea from Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants makes a seriously good latte! It is good and spicy, and it is still spicy after I added the milk … I love that the milk didn’t dilute the spices to the point of tasting lackluster. This is still very flavorful. YUM!
The black tea is an organically grown black tea from India. The label on the canister doesn’t elaborate about which type of Indian tea is used here, but if I had to guess, I’d say that it’s either an Assam or a blend composed of Assam. After visiting the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants website, I see that my guess is accurate, it is indeed Assam. It is rich and malty, and something that took me by surprise is that it was not as bitter as Assam tends to get after a four minute steep. There were some bitter tones to the cup in my first couple of sips – sips that I took before adding the milk just to gauge whether or not I should make a latte. The milk eliminates the bitterness … a definite plus! It is a solid tasting black tea, full-flavored and robust and it doesn’t lose that impact even after milk is added to the cup.
The spices are strong! It surprised me at how spicy this tea actually is, especially after reviewing the ingredient list and noticing that there is NO ginger in this blend? What? It’s so peppery! The peppercorns are doing a good job at providing a very savory kick to this cup. And I love the anise! Just a hint of licorice-y flavor, and I find the combination of the licorice taste and the pepper to be really delightful. The cinnamon is warm and zesty, and the cardamom and cloves add a nice background of spice. Also worth noting is the nutmeg, not just because it adds a delicious, warm nutty flavor to the cup, but, also because it is often an overlooked spice when it comes to chai blends and I love that it was utilized here. The taste is understated but it is a really lovely addition of flavor.
To make my latte, I brewed this tea slightly stronger (by adding a little extra leaf) and then I steeped it in water. Then I added a splash of milk to the brewed tea and frothed the cup a little bit with my hand-held frother. The frothing wasn’t necessary, but I like to make it a little foamy (for more foam, I recommend heating the milk first, and then frothing before adding the milk to the tea). You could also make a chai latte the “messy way” – aka the stove top method – which entails simmering milk in a pan on the stove top and adding the loose tea and simmering for a few minutes. I don’t like this because it is messy (as I’ve so aptly coined it). And when I make a mess in the kitchen, guess who has to clean it up? Me. I prefer to make my tea brewing as mess-free as I possibly can while still experiencing the true joy of tea – in other words: loose leaf! I think that by brewing this chai double strength (or even triple strength if you like a very strong chai) in water and then adding the milk to the brewed tea still yields a very flavorful chai without the mess of the stove top method.
But, hey, feel free to brew your chai any way you want! If you do decide to go non-latte, I recommend a slightly shorter steep time to ensure that your cup of chai is not bitter. This is a really flavorful chai blend – I highly recommend it to all chai lovers out there!
Long Zhu from Infussion
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Infussion
Tea Description:
The aroma of this unscented tea is delicate and insanely magnetic. Leaves and buds are rolled into small and regular “pearls” with utmost care to produce this famous Dragon Pearls tea. The resulting infusion is clean, smooth and strong. Quality of this particular batch is outstanding and well worth the price.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It is so unusual for me to look at these beautiful pearls and not smell the jasmine aroma wafting in the air. I guess pearls and jasmine have kind of become synonymous for me. But these Long Zhu pearls from Infussion Tea have not been scented with Jasmine … they are pure green tea.
The tightly wound pearls began unfurling pretty quickly, and by the time I finished the second infusion I could see that the pearls were nearly open … but not quite (so that means more infusions!) This first cup (containing the first and second infusions) is sweet and delicious, lightly vegetative but not bitter. The vegetative tones fall somewhere between grassy and lightly steamed vegetables … there are notes that are distinctly grass-like but also some hints of a mild vegetable (maybe asaparagus?) that’s been freshly steamed.
I like that while this is a vegetative tea, it isn’t overly so. It has a very crisp taste with a moderate amount of astringnecy that seems to become more apparent as the tea begins to cool slightly. It tastes very pure and clean … a very refreshing cuppa!
Fragrant Pearl Jasmine Green Tea from Life in Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2010
Production Season – Spring
Production Region – Sichuan Province
Style – Chao Qing (stir-fry to kill enzyme), scented with jasmine flowers
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There is something about jasmine pearls that make me so happy … I love to watch them brew, I love their aroma, I love the delicious tea they brew. It is a very happy tea for me. And this Fragrant Pearl Jasmine Green Tea from Life in Teacup is an example of jasmine pearls at their finest!
The dry pearls are very aromatic, smelling of the exotic flower. It took a few infusions to get these tightly wound pearls to open fully, but, that’s a big part of the joy for me … more infusions mean more tea! I brewed the pearls in my gaiwan, and infused the leaves six times and combined all six infusions in my jasmine Yixing mug. (Yep, I have a mug just for jasmine tea!)
The result is a very flavorful cup of tea that tastes strongly of jasmine. But what I like about this is that the floral notes do not taste fake … this is a jasmine tea that was flavored with the scenting process. Lovely!
This cup has a wonderful balance of green tea and jasmine … sweet, alluring jasmine with hints of buttery vegetation. So delightful! But then, I’ve come to expect that from Life in Teacup. They offer some of the very best teas I’ve ever had.
Phoenix Pearl Black Tea from Zen Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zen Tea
Tea Description:
Hailing from the Yunnan province, this Phoenix Pearl is naturally sweet and smooth with a touch of earthiness. Comprised of only the highest quality leaves and buds, expertly rolled into a pearl-like shape. Subtle cocoa notes whisper gently as each pearl unfurls delivering a superior tea experience not to be missed. Recomended to steep 2-3 times for different nuances of flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, my! I am loving this tea! It is so rich and creamy and incredibly decadent!
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The leaves were a little surprising for me, because generally, when I think of “Pearl” black teas, I think of leaves that are very dark (black!) that have been rolled up into near perfect pearl shapes. These leaves are a bit lighter in color, more like a chocolate-y brown rather than a black color, and some of the leaves are tipped in gold. And they aren’t rolled into careful little pearls. They look a little more like disheveled knots rather than pearls. Nothing wrong with that, of course, just my observations based upon what I’ve experienced in the past with teas called “black pearl” teas and this Phoenix Pearl Black Tea from Zen Tea.
The little knots, when dry, possess very little discernible fragrance, I do note some earthiness to the scent but not much else. Once brewed, the aroma of the liquid has a slightly earthy, rich, almost chocolate-y note.
The flavor is superb! Rich and chocolate-y, these are the most profound flavors of the cup – from the very first sip to the last. I note caramel-y tones in the undercurrent, earthiness in the background, flavors that remind me of leather and even a touch of woodsy flavor. This is one of those teas that once you start drinking, you don’t want to stop, and you want more the minute you finish the cup! It has a very pleasing texture to it, it feels full and smooth on the palate, and there is some, but not a lot, of astringency to the sip. The aftertaste is sweet, reminding me of raw sugar.
I REALLY like this tea a lot. It’s one of those MUST TRY teas for those who truly love tea.
Jasmine Pearl from Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Jasmine Pearl Green Tea leaves are handpicked and rolled into a pearl-like shape and scented with jasmine flowers. When infused, the jasmine pearl unfurls slowly like a flower in bloom. The Jasmine Pearl Tea has a powerful, sweet, and floral aroma with an audacious and brisk flavor making it the perfect selection to be served hot or chilled.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I do love a good Jasmine Pearl, and this one is definitely a good one!
The beautiful, tightly wound pearls unfurl slowly as they release their flavor and fragrance. The aroma is beautifully jasmine, evoking thoughts of sitting out in a garden as the breeze wafts through jasmine vines to deliver the sweet, exotic scent. It’s wonderful imagery to enjoy on this wet and chilly fall evening!
The flavor is just as nice as the aroma. It has notes of vegetation, but, it tastes more of fresh, vibrant leafy greens (think of a fresh, very mild baby spinach), rather than what I’d call grassy. This vegetal note melds quite beautifully with the light, refreshing note of jasmine.
I like that the jasmine here is strong enough to be enjoyed without coming off as soapy. It is a soft type of flavor and fragrance, not sharp or artificial.
A very enjoyable experience from Nature’s Tea Leaf.