Jasmine tea is one of the most pleasant tasting green teas available on the market. On the nose the dry tea has a floral bouquet, which literally causes your senses to come alive with pleasant thoughts. The flavour is enhanced with the addition of jasmine blossoms which give the tea a visual appeal few other teas are capable of copying. There are many different grades of jasmine tea. This particular grade is the first grade below the exotic jasmines. It has all the flavour, aroma and good green tea qualities but not the exorbitant price. In China they declare this jasmine tea as 'Jasmine #1'.
The production of jasmine tea is quite interesting. It is important to begin with high quality green tea - tea that has been produced between the middle of March and the middle of May. Equally important for jasmine tea are fine jasmine blossoms - flowers that bloom between the 1st of May and the end of May (these have the most intense aroma). Traditionally layers of jasmine blossoms were placed between fine green tea. In time the scent of the jasmine permeated the tea. Today, hot air is passed through the jasmine blossoms and then filtered through the tea so that the blossoms can be used more than once. The exhausted blossoms are then used to decorate the tea. Produced in both China and Taiwan, jasmine tea yields a cup with all the concentrated heady bouquet of a garden in bloom.