A friend came over for breakfast this morning and brought me a tin of Palais des Thes Grand Jasmine Chun Feng and a couple of samples, including this one.
The packet that the sachet came in smells like those strawberry hard candies that have a soft center. I love that smell!
The steeped tea is mostly a decent black tea with strawberry flavor but you can tell there is more going on. There is a flavor that tones down the strawberry, keeping it from being a tart strawberry. That could be the honey. I didn’t lavender.
I had trouble with some Palais teas in the past because they were finicky, so right off the bat I made this with slightly cooler water (200F) and kept the steep shorter than their recommendation. First steep 3 1/2 minutes and second was 3 minutes. The two steeps were combined in one pot and enjoyed first with lunch which included fresh garden tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar, so I may not have had the clearest palate for tasting the tea.
The last cup was paired with a couple of Lindt Stracciatella truffles. Strawberry is still the dominant flavor, florals are not coming through, and the strawberry is at a really nice level. I would absolutely buy this to have on hand for a nice little strawberry black tea.
