Fujian Tea

I think Steepster sent my review into ghost land.

This tea is reminiscent of my favourite Chinese restaurant. I’m pretty sure they serve it there. I drink this strong when I have a cold and I drink it traditional Chinese restaurant way (put a few leaves in hot water and let it steep) other times. I like the flavour of it and it’s really really affordable. I’m pretty sure my grandmother and my mother have tins of this in their cupboards. This is like an old friend and I will probably leave it in stock as long as they continue to sell it. That about Dim-sums it up! har har

Still on a mission to find good jasmine tea, and as the sense of adventure obliges, yours truly found herself drooling over shelves after shelves of tea in the local Asian food market. Being heavily tea deprived for that day wasn’t really helping the matter either…and then a glint of golden yellow piqued the interest. Hence the reason I’m currently having a staring and brewing contest going on with an innocent tin and its content.

Most of my experiences with this tea come both from restaurants and cafés, and yet I can’t wrap my head around the odd phenomenon how many places can basically ruin just about any green tea here in the land of constant rain and darkness. Maybe light and green just doesn’t sit in our melancholic blues. Anyhow. This tea type isn’t, sadly, any exception in the unfortunate bunch, as in most places the outcome is something one really tries their hardest to swallow without grimacing. The tangy, offensive liquid claiming to be jasmine is an excellent way to test one’s adrenaline levels, but not as the first cup for the day (or better yet after having a very hard day). Thus, needless to say, the frustration has been quite tangible in the passing summer months, since I have been treated to very tasty jasmine that had been brewed well, so the question of it existing on this tiny planet had already been answered. I just have to find it, which brings us back to the current morning.

Disregarding the default steeping instructions that came along with the tin (since, honestly, boiling water and green tea is an equation I have already solved way too many times, ending with a sound and round NO), the morning starts with an entertaining performance presented by ‘Trial and Error’. I have been working on balancing the water temperature without a thermometer for the past years, and can proudly say that nowadays there’s much more success than fail in that sector. Not much to brag, but hey, small joys are sometimes the best ones.

The tin does have an impressive seal inside to keep (or at least offer an idea on somewhat of a guarantee) the tin airtight. Making it feel special already. The scent of the dry leaves is both sweet and fragrant, as well very heavy with the jasmine that curls around the nose and gives a gentle, teasing pinch. Getting a similar feeling as when sitting next to someone wearing a tad too much perfume/cologne, but not as suffocating, though. Nevertheless, at least it gave the needed confirmation that this tea indeed is what it claims to be.

The temperature of the water seemed to suit this shy specimen, as the tea doesn’t at first give any alarming taste or scent for the water having been too hot, which leaves me with quite nice mouthfeel. Subtle, a bit sweet, floral taste which does stay a bit thin also. May have had a bit too hot water still, as the aftertaste reveals now the sliver of bitterness which reminds me of the messed-up cups I’ve had before. Ah well. New try, new cup.

Not as tasty as I recall having drank somewhere sometime with someone, but it does make the early winter sun shine brighter.

$3 for a box of 100 bags from the Chinese grocery store… can’t go wrong with that!

Just your basic green tea, which I drink quite often, so it’s a great price. I’ve been putting two tea bags in my teapot. I also used to just oversteep this teabag, liking the stronger taste of this green tea. :)

they also have this bagged. but i couldnt taste/smell the jasmine very much…so im wondering is there really that huge a difference between the loose leaves in the tin and that bagged ones when they have the same name?

i will try steeping with 2 bags next time.

Either I am spoiled by Teavivre’s Jasmine Teas or this hasn’t aged well. I tried cold steeping it and there wasn’t much jasmine to it, and the green base was a bit astringent. Ah well, at least I hve some other jasmines to enjoy!

Doggone it, I am having a hard time justifying ordering Jasmine by Harney and Sons when this one is so darned drinkable, and only $2.50 or so at our local Asian market. While this is no Teavivre Jasmine Dragon Pearls, it is an easy to drink jasmine tea that doesn’t curl your toes. I have had a whole pot of this, sipped throughout the day. I am really grateful to K S for writing the review that pushed me over the edge to go get this one. It says it is a green base, but tastes very much like pouchong to me. Yum.

I am cold steeping this one, and technically it should have a while to go, but I couldn’t wait to give it a taste. I must say, this is very refreshing, even at this early stage! I used about four tablespoons in a Bodum pitcher. The jasmine is the prominent flavor right now, and the tea has less astringency and the bitter edge is much subdued. I am eager to see what it tastes like tomorrow when it will really be done!

When I saw teawing’s review of this, I knew I had seen this tin before. We have a fairly large Asian market and I go there every now and then. Today I had a good excuse to go and there it was! This was only $2.39 for the small tin which is 120 grams.

Upon opening, there is a nice, strong jasmine aroma. It is strong, but it doesn’t accost you like the jasmine black I bought at A Southern Season.

I prepared it as I would any green, and not as the tin recommends.

Steeped, the aroma is really lovely. The tea is smooth with a little astringent edge, but quite good, and pretty unbelievable for the price. I could happily sip away on this regularly.

Thank you, teawing, for alerting us to this little treasure! There is another listing for it under Jasmine tea by Sunflower, and I think Fujian is just the distributor, but the tin is unmistakeable!

Pretty sure I burnt this so i’m gonna wait to review until later. Need to stop trying to brew tea while making dinner. Not really impressed with the smell or taste of this one so far.

I’m fairly sure that I oversteeped this, as it came out so incredibly bitter that I had to add sugar just to drink it. I’ll give at another try and an actual rating some other time.

Note to self: stop getting distracted while brewing your tea!

Although I do have to mention that I have this tea in an utterly gorgeous tin, dark blue with flying cranes, and the tea’s pretty much worth it just for that. I wish I remembered where I got it from.

Yuck. I don’t know what I did wrong, but this tea tastes dreadful today. :P

A co-worker brought this loose-leaf tea back from a trip to China, and I found it in a cupboard at work. It’s not bad, although I’ve had much nicer jasmine green teas. The odd thing about this one is that it seems to have quite a caffeine kick.

This tea is what is served at my favorite Thai food restaurant in Miami. Last time I went, I saw the little butterfly on the tea bag tag and decided to look for it the next time I was at an asain supermarket. I walked up and down the aisle numerous times with no luck and just grabbed the biggest box I could find out of frustration and leave before I got too annoyed. When I got home and sat the box on the counter, I saw the butterfly emblem on the side of the box. I was really happy, but at the same time I felt so stupid looking for it for so long only to accidentally buy it! It is a delicious green tea and you get 100 bags in the box so it’s a bargain!

My second Gongfu of today. My previous experience with this tea was not a positive one (so much so that I did not review or rate). My first encounter was bitter and sharp (from what I remember) which I believe to be down to their default instructions. The packet says to use boiling water and keep covered for 5 minutes. It was yucky.

My Gongfu today is using a cooler water temperature and having my first pot steep for 1 minute. My own instructions :)

The leaves whilst raw are a dark brown colour with the occasional yellow flower bud or stem. It has a scent of musky jasmine.

What is produced is a lovely honey coloured tea with that beautiful sweet, floral jasmine scent (that us much expected). This is much tastier than before, it’s far more subtle with the sweet jasmine being fresh, light and at a perfect strength. The quality is not by any means the best but this was a cheap tea (roughly £3 for 227g/8 oz) so for that price it’s a nice every day jasmine tea.

Well first I thought I would have to throw this tea away but my second try with different methods has worked wonders. I may even take this to work. :)

Bagged
Appearance:
Aroma when Dry: sweet jasmine floral, soapy
After water is first poured: hints of jasmine
At end of steep: hints of grassy jasmine
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: Light yellow
Staple? Type yes, would not buy brand
Preferred time of day: any

Taste:
At first?: flat jasmine notes, hints of grassiness
As it cools?: taste gets lighter, slightly soapy

Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with faint floral creamy notes

I find that I enjoy floral teas more than fruit flavored teas. This is one of my favorites. A very inexpensive tea that you can find at Oriental groceries.

Since I can’t really taste anything, I decided to at least make something warm and comforting. So, I put the tea bag into my mug, along with a little sweetener and a cinnamon stick. Strangely, I’ve never made tea with a cinnamon stick before. I poured boiling water over it all and let it steep. The result is very pleasant. I’m too sick to taste the black tea, but the cinnamon comes through and it’s nice. Reminds me of winter. I finally have a use for this bag of cinnamon sticks!!

350th tasting note!!