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This is the best tea I’ve had thus far. I tried it for the first time at Samovar Tea Lounge and bought a tin for myself. At the time, I hadn’t yet started steeping loose tea and it looked like it was going to be too much and last forever. I was mistaken. The tin recommends using 2-3 tablespoons of tea per 16 ounces of water, more tea than I’ve yet been instructed to use; consequently, the tin empties pretty quickly, especially if you simply can’t get enough of the tea.

As others have said, it’s a very warm, mellow tea that does what chamomile is supposed to do: warm you to the tips of your fingers and toes, loosen those tight muscles, and help you relax. In addition, it has such a smooth, comforting flavour and lovely fragrance that just steeping a mug makes me happy. One of the nicest things about it is that although cinnamon appears in its list of ingredients (it seems I can’t seem to get away from that stuff), the overall flavour and fragrance are both extremely well balanced. Cold weather + Ocean of Wisdom = very quickly depleting stock. Fortunately, I’m headed back to San Francisco in two months so that I can re-stock in person; this time, I plan to buy more than one tin.

Amazing what a difference six months (and a whole lot of better tea) can make. I seem to have joined the rest of the tough crowd1. Sweetened or unsweetened, I really don’t like this tea anymore. It tastes fake to me now. Either it’s that I’ve developed a mild dislike for the overpowering fragrance and flavour of cinnamon or it’s something else, but whatever it is, I’m pretty sure I won’t be buying this one again. Rating lowered from 70.

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/36637

Vegetal is an understatement. This tea smells and tastes like spinach. Yet, somehow, I kind of like it. I can’t imagine drinking it daily, but every once in a while, sure. I’m wondering if I can mix it with the rice water1 and replace a meal. =]

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/53671

This is a really lovely, smooth, jasmine green tea. As far as the jasmine bit goes, it’s more subtle than Adagio’s Rooibos Jasmine1 but not as subtle as Adagio’s Jasmine #122. The pearls are quite potent and stand up well to multiple steeps.

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/53571

2 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/53959

My first experience with pearls. I missed out on the fun of watching them unfurl while steeping as I don’t have a glass mug and just a regular infuser. The pearls make me want to buy one of those fancy glass contraptions.

Taste-wise, I like Adagio’s Rooibos Jasmine better. A lot better. I initially appreciated that this tea is more subtle, but soon discovered that I missed the stronger flavour of the other jasmine teas I’ve tried. It’s just my first cup, though, and it could be that I mucked up the steeping time. If you’ve read any of my other tasting notes, you’ll know that I have a tendency to forget that I’ve got tea steeping. Oops. I think I’ll pay more attention next time and re-evaluate.

I’m not really sure what to think of this. I waited to have a few cups to form some sort of opinion and I’m still pretty ambivalent. It’s a pleasant enough tea and tastes very green. You know how “green” things have a certain flavour, like young, sweet peas? This is kind of like that. In fact, it does remind me a bit of young, sweet peas, which is probably what I find a bit odd about it.

Really interesting. Felt like I was drinking hot rice water and I’m very tempted to try it with milk and sugar to see if it tastes like rice pudding. A hearty tea, something that would be good around breakfast time.

MLT’s Silver Jasmine is very sneaky. trishadenise is exactly right in saying that it’s light and crisp. I say it’s sneaky because at first, I could barely taste anything at all, which made no sense to me given the tea’s heavenly fragrance. But the flavour sneaked up on me, suddenly revealing itself after a few sips.

“Subtle” is probably a better adjective, but sneaky’s so much more fun. Really a rather lovely tea.

The description is very accurate! My infuser does not like these leaves; I had to smush them up a little to fit properly. I forgot and steeped for too long again, so I did end up getting just a hint of bitterness, but that’s my own fault. I sweetened the tea a bit and it is nice and smooth. I was thinking how to describe the almost grainy sense I got from my first sip, and the description’s “nutty” covers it pretty well.

I admit that I seem to prefer more flavour in my tea, so I gravitate toward blends. Maybe I’ll blend this with something down the road and see how it goes.

This is what jasmine mummies and daddies warn their little jasmine buds about at night before they sleep. My kitchen smells like a garden and I feel like a cross between a vampire and a hummingbird.

You must, by now, have concluded that this tea is powerfully fragrant and has a very strong flavour. You’d be right on both counts: it’s like drinking a bouquet. If this is jasmine with rooibos (rooibos? what rooibos? there’s rooibos in here?), I reckon I’m in for an interesting experience when I steep the jasmine without rooibos.

Anyway, so ya, if drinking a bouquet doesn’t appeal, stay far away. I loved it; but then, I munched on rose petals when i was a kid. =)