Jasmin Mandarin Special Grade

Another tea from my swap with Becky. I actually at one point thought the “mandarin” in the name of this tea referred to mandarin oranges, not the fact that it was Chinese. But it’s just a straight up jasmine green tea, which is fine. It occurs to me that I should try this hot as well, but I cold brewed it for my cup today.

I like jasmine green tea cold brewed, but it can get too strong and bitter very quickly for some reason, so you really have to watch it. At 8 hours, this bordered on too strong but it was ok in the end. Nice and jasminey, not-too-grassy green tea. It’s simple, but it works.

This is the only Jasmin they have at the Lupica in SF. I haven’t seen like the regular, non-special grade Jasmin teas there?
Well, I always make sure to grab a bag of this whenever I visit the city because it’s definitely one of my favourites! It re-steeps really well also. I think I’m on my third or fourth cup? I like my green teas with a very veeeery light flavour so I guess that’s why..

The smell of this tea in dry form is SO STRONG. I was terrified it would be undrinkable perfume water, but brewing did take a lot of the edge off. I want to see this blended with a fruit/citrus flavor to balance out the floral. I like floral teas, but this is really close to the edge for me!

After several FAILS this morning, I went to an old friend. I love how fragrant and light this tea is. It’s very delicate, and just wonderful.

I only have 2 more bags and then I have to switch to the non-special grade for a bit. Not sure what the difference is there, but that’s what they had last time I placed an order.

Some teas speak to you immediately, for good or ill, while others take their time revealing themselves as you drink. This one talked to me loud and clear with the very first sip, and I knew that we were going to be friends.

This isn’t one of the more delicate jasmine teas I’ve tried but the jasmine manages not to overwhelm the tea, just the same. The jasmine is quite strong in the aftertaste, and there’s a hint of astringency lurking alongside it, too.

There’s something very warm and comforting about this tea that really goes well with being safe and dry on a cool, wet night.

Y’know — I have never had a Jasmine tea until today. I needed something soothing, I suppose, so I reached for this in my continued to be disorganized mess of a Lupicia order, and I liked this. It was super relaxing, calming, and that’s what I super need sometimes. Words aren’t coming out greatly today. I just want to say this is a positive drink. I would totally restock this once I finish the other nine tea bags.

God, I love Lupicia.

Got this as a free sample. I liked it. It was a very nice cup of Jasmin green tea, but I didn’t really get any of the Mandarin flavor :(. It pretty much tasted like most other jasmine teas I have tasted. Regardless it was a decent cup of tea.

After trying the Jasmine Silver Needles from Adagio I had to explore Jasmine tea more thoroughly. Man, this one is great. Lupicia in San Francisco has a batch of these with an expiry date in a few months, so they said it will only stay fresh for about 6 months – I think I can finish this off in a few weeks :)

This tea is very nice – the strong Jasmine smell which some people don’t like I think is damn awesome, and I’m keen to grab another cup. This one seems to re-steep well, I’m actually just about to make a 2nd cup of it.

The flavour is very nice and smooth as the Lupicia teas tend to be. It blends well with Green Tea. I tried it boiling as well as at normal green tea temperatures (175F) and it seems to hold up pretty well at both.

Initially, the jasmine in this tea smells overwhelming. I thought this would be way too strong. However, the teabag was really quite good and on par with loose leaf tea.

It’s a great tea to have in the office. I was able to just leave the teabag in my tall cup and keep on adding hot water to it throughout the day. It steeps very well without any bitterness, and was very flavorful even after the third time I topped it off.

When dry, this tea has an incredibly strong floral smell. I like jasmine a lot, this is almost too strong. I think this tastes pretty good though, but i’m not that picky. It is definitely better than the $1.99 2 liter bottle of pre-brewed Jasmine Tea from Donki (i’ll still drink that tho).