I fell in love with Teavivre’s dragon pearls so when I placed a Harney tea order for my daughter I bought a couple of jasmine samples. I tried their plain jasmine first, which is also a pouchong base, and I liked it very much. It was getting bitter as it cooled but for some reason reheating it made everything nice again.
This one…not so great. I prefer the other one, and it is less than half the price. I was very careful about time and temperature because I noticed that the two jasmine teas had very different instructions even though both had a pouchong base. This has a lower steep temp and time which I followed, but it still has a bit of bitterness and a sour taste, and I think the jasmine is less prominent. Jasmine is really what I was after today since the puppies have had me up since four-thirty a.m. and now I have to iron.
I did read one review of another jasmine pouchong that said it helps to steep it for even less time than recommended. I may try that with the bit remaining. Supposedly this is a higher grade of pouchong than the other, and supposedly, the higher the grade the less jasmine they scent it with so as not to cover the base.
Well, sometimes it is progress to get a tea struck off the list, yes? LOL! And I know that I like the cheaper one even more, so that’s a win, too. But neither one beats Teavivre’s dragon pearls!