80
drank Jasmine Pearls by Steepster
1737 tasting notes

Perhaps it was a sense of dejection engendered by my momentary lapse from the self-imposed and somewhat solipsistic Blazing New Ratings challenge, but I spent the entire afternoon walking around in the sun! Upon my return, I read a note by Cheri who seemed to think that I had thrown in the towel—or sachet, as it were.

No, not at all! I accidentally brewed up a tea which I had already reviewed, but the point of the Blazing New Rating challenge is precisely to brew up every tea in my house still new to me before consciously choosing to brew an old standby. Mistakes were made, but they were unintentional. My lapse was closer to involuntary manslaughter than to first-degree murder. And so I pick up the ball—or pearl— and move on…

Tonight’s steep-off chez sherapop pits Teavana’s Jasmine Dragon Pearls against the Jasmine Pearls “curated” by Steepster Select (can we talk? I hate the way the term curated has been appropriated by the social shopping industry! It used to actually mean something. Now it means: we want you to buy this product. To illustrate the utter vacuity of the concept, ask yourself the following question: what product for sale was not curated?).

Tonight’s more pressing question is simply this: Which Jasmine Pearl reigns supreme? Could they perhaps be the very same tea?

No, I have determined, they are not. In a direct side-by-side comparison using 2 grams in a 9 ounce glass of water at 76C steeped for about 3 minutes, I have determined that, although the Steepster Select pearl is good, the Teavana is just a touch better.

The dried pearls look very similar, with visible silver striations. The fully unfurled leaves, too, look nearly the same: long, slender, and light green. The first noticeable difference between the two teas was the color of the liquor. The Steepster brew was slightly more golden than the Teavana, which was slightly more green. More green does not necessarily translate into better tea, but often it seems to—at least to me.

I am not knocking the Steepster Select Pearls, mind you. I started with that glass and determined that the tea was very good. It’s just that when I a took a sip of the Teavana Pearls glass, I realized that it was slightly better.

(Blazing New Rating #27)

Flavors: Jasmine

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 g 9 OZ / 266 ML
Cheri

Just a minor lapse. I’m okay with that. Carry on!

sherapop

I shall, Cheri!

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Cheri

Just a minor lapse. I’m okay with that. Carry on!

sherapop

I shall, Cheri!

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Bio

I have fallen off the “tea log boat”, as I am now in New Zealand and was really flailing about for a while, having depleted all of my Chinese and Japanese green tea supply! Fortunately, my first order of 2015 has now arrived! I should begin writing very soon about tea at my new blog, sherapop’s tea leaves. Please stop by and contribute your ideas—all viewpoints are welcome!

A long-time tea and perfume lover, I have recently begun to explore the intersections between the two at my blog: http://salondeparfum-sherapop.blogspot.com//

The scent of tea can be just as appealing as—sometimes more than—its taste! Tea also offers boundless visual beauty in its various forms and states of preparation.

A few words about my ratings. In assessing both teas and perfumes, my evaluation is “all things considered.” Teas do not differ very much in price (relative to perfumes or any luxury items), so I do not usually consider the price when rating a tea.

What I do consider is how the particular tea compares to teas of its own type. So I might give a high rating to a fine herbal infusion even though I would never say that it is my favorite TEA. But if it’s good for what it is, then it deserves a high rating. There is no point in wishing that a chamomile blend was an Assam or a sencha tea!

Any rating below 50 means that I find the liquid less desirable to drink than plain water. I may or may not finish the cup, depending upon how thirsty I am and whether there is another hot beverage or (in summertime) a source of fresh water available.

From 50 to 60 indicates that, while potable, the tea is not one which I would buy or repurchase, if I already made the mistake (I have learned) of purchasing it.

From 60 to 70 means that the tea is drinkable but I have criticisms of some sort, and I probably would not purchase or repurchase the tea as I can think of obvious alternatives which would be better.

From 70 to 80 is a solid brew which I would purchase again.

From 80 to 90 is good stuff, and I probably need to have some ready at hand in my humble abode.

From 90 to 100 is a tea (or infusion) which I have come to depend on and look forward to imbibing again and again—if possible!

If you are interested in perfume, you might like my 2400+ perfume reviews, most of which have been archived at sherapop’s sillage (essentially my perfumelog):

http://sherapop.blogspot.com/

Finally, please note that after a great deal of debate with myself, I have decided to use the cupboard here at Steepster as a “museum” of sorts—to commemorate all of the various teas which I have purchased and truly enjoyed since December 2013.

I do not currently possess all of the teas listed in this cupboard, but am using the function as a way of recording how many times I drank every tea which I did own at some point and wish not to forget. Teas found both in my “cupboard” and on my “wishlist” are those which I did own and intend to restock. Teas best forgotten have been removed from the cupboard once depleted (in some cases tossed…).

I have also decided (beginning in 2015) to use the tasting note function to maintain a chronological record of the teas I’ve consumed since December 15, 2013. Most new reviews will now be posted directly at my blog, sherapop’s tea leaves.

Location

Curio Bay, South Island, New Zealand

Website

http://salondeparfum-sherapop...

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