A jasmine pearl is comprised of green tea buds and leaves, nimbly hand rolled and, once dried, fragranced with the scent of jasmine.
What defines an exemplary Jasmine Pearl, however, is its provenance, the quality, how this is controlled, and the scenting process itself. You’ll find many tea brands that sell Jasmine Pearls but these are likely to have been fragranced with artificial jasmine flavours rather than real flowers.
Our Jasmine Pearls –… Read more
A jasmine pearl is comprised of green tea buds and leaves, nimbly hand rolled and, once dried, fragranced with the scent of jasmine.
What defines an exemplary Jasmine Pearl, however, is its provenance, the quality, how this is controlled, and the scenting process itself. You’ll find many tea brands that sell Jasmine Pearls but these are likely to have been fragranced with artificial jasmine flavours rather than real flowers.
Our Jasmine Pearls – one of our most popular JING green teas – are laid with fresh summer jasmine flowers from Guangxi over five consecutive nights. Each morning, the pearls are separated from the jasmine flowers only to marry once again with fresh blooms in the evening. This natural, traditional way of scenting gives a deep, long-lasting aroma of jasmine: a true labour of love.
We are delighted to have taken a step further in sourcing what we are calling our ‘Jasmine Pearls Supreme’ but what makes them ‘supreme’ in the first place? These are the marks of quality to look for in a supreme Jasmine Pearl:
Colour
A truly exemplary jasmine pearl ought to be almost completely covered in soft, downy white hairs indicating the quality of the young, spring green tea bud from which it was formed. If there is too much leaf, the pearl will be greener in colour.
Flower Quality
It is traditional in China to fragrance Jasmine Pearls using whole, fresh jasmine flowers. What improves the results though, is the use of the highest quality blooms. While the majority of good quality production in China is now in Guangxi, it is Fujian that is home to the sweetest, most fragrant jasmine flowers and where our Jasmine Pearls Supreme was scented.
The Roll
Rolling is a dedicated skill, requiring nimble and careful hands to form a consistent and tightly-rolled Jasmine Pearl.
Quality Control
There are many stages to a Jasmine Pearl, from the drying to the scenting, giving room for even the slightest errors that might impact the ultimate taste. Our Jasmine Pearls Supreme was sourced from a farmer we know who produced a particularly special batch: he coordinated the tea picking, tea shaping, and tea scenting with a keen eye on the required quality of the final product.
