Boiling water. Steeped about 4 minutes. The packet said summer bouquet but the bloom looks like Noble Madam so I am not sure what this is for sure. The pod on this one is oblong. All the others so far have been round. Couldn’t find any willing helpers in sipping this so I used my 4 cup press, which is really two mugs in super-sized America. And before you ask – no I did not use the plunger. The bloom is exquisite. All those long wonderful green tea leaves surrounding a literal bouquet of red flowers. As you can tell I thought this was quite attractive.
The liquor was deep orange-amber. The jasmine smells very strong in the dry pod, so I was a bit nervous. In the sip it is as light as it has been in all of these so far. Unfortunately it was accompanied by a nasty sour taste. Not candy sour – milk sour, eeeeew. I thought maybe I didn’t get all the puerh washed clean from the last use of the press. Poured out the pot. Washed the press. Started over. Steeped about 3 minutes until the liquor was golden amber and poured. The jasmine is still light and the green tea would be pleasant if not for the soured taste. Less prominent but still present. Apparently it is the flowers. On all the other blooming teas I have used a used a six cup pot. That might have helped here. Glad I didn’t try this one first. I would not have tried more. I am going to rate this higher than the tea deserves because the bloom is so pretty.
