Jasmine Dragon Ball Black Tea

Grandpa style!

This was one of several different teas that was kindly gifted to me by Teavivre recently! They asked if I would have an interest in trying anything from their site, and I listed this tea and three others that I had not yet tried. All teas that were a little more floral in nature since I was definitely feeling the Springtime floral vibes on that particular afternoon…

I love dragon balls so, soooo much for their convenience. They’re perfectly portioned for a gaiwan or to brew grandpa style in a giant Western mug (like I did this time), but also wicked convenient for me to grab in the morning and take for my in office days. Bonus points that this was a black tea and even more bonus points that it’s a jasmine black, which is pretty hard to find.

It’s honestly a wonderfully smooth black tea with a very round and malty profile that has undertones of bitter cacao and raisins along with a woodiness in the body as well. Plus, of course, jasmine. It’s a light and more surface level floral jasmine that doesn’t seem to necessarily penetrate the entirety of the tea, but I like how it breaks up some of those more dense tasting notes and makes the whole cup feel a little fresher and lighter. Plus, the jasmine blossoms themselves are really pretty! Keep in mind, however, they do not sink to the bottom of the cup like the rest of the tea when you drink this grandpa style. So, you’re either swallowing the blossoms or you have to utilize nature’s tea filter – your teeth!

Sipdown! (4 | 281)

This was my grandpa-style tea of choice today after getting a free sample in my Teavivre order. I used a single dragon ball for my ~16-ounce glass tumbler. It might be my imagination, but I feel like this dragon ball was smaller than the others I’ve tried from them (rose and chrysanthemum).

At first I was very confused by the lack of jasmine flavor, but after reading the description it makes more sense. This is not a jasmine-scented black tea, it’s just a mixture of black tea and dried jasmine blossoms. So the jasmine is very subtle, at least to my tastes.

It’s a pleasant enough dian hong, with a strong woody flavor profile. I feel like the “ancient tree” dian hong often tastes quite woody to me, not sure if that’s just characteristic of the older plants. There are some nice rich malt and brown sugar notes as well, and a hint of dark molasses. Perhaps the tiniest wisp of apricot, which I commonly find in Yunnan hongcha.

Overall, it’s nice enough. I didn’t really get jasmine much, it was a bit too subtle for my tastes. Plus I think I enjoyed the rose version more (gasp!) so I would be more likely to choose that one if I were going to buy some of these.

Jasmine dragon ball black tea. By Teavivre.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPQWibtAi0l/

Review:

Ru Yao dragon teapot. Gongfucha.

Dry leaf: no smell.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPQWqWAAHjs/

Wet leaf: spices, pepper, floral (?).
forgot to take photo

1x medium rinse.

Light steep; I taste/smell: (smell) nothing. (Taste) slight —→ spices (?), pepper.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPQXbQTgezA/

Medium steep; I taste/smell: (smell) slight pepper (?), spices (?), roasted.
(Taste) slight earth. light —→ spicy, spices, pepper.

Heavy steep; I taste/smell: (smell) light —> pepper, spices, nutty.
(Taste) slight spicy. strong -→ pepper, spices, nutty, earth, floral, jasmine.

All in all; what an adventure! Lovely taste/aroma and cha qi. I rate a 95 since I’m not much for black teas.

where to buy: http://www.teavivre.com/jasmine-dragon-ball-black-tea/

I enjoyed this tea last week but am just getting to this note now.

This black tea dragon ball is quite pretty with it’s large leaves interspersed with numerous jasmine flowers.

I wanted to try the base tea from Simao first so my first steep was 45s. There was a hint of jasmine-scent over a malty fruity scent. The tea is malty upfront with a slight almost grape like fruit note overlying a touch of honey with a hint of the creamy cool taste of jasmine. Steeped this way as Teavivre notes the tea is very upfront and the floral is a faint echo.

For the second steep I took a western approach and steeped it for 1.5 minutes. There were hints of chocolate added to the scent and flavour and the base tea became much sweeter and creamier. There was a plummy note and a bit of cream added to the flavour. The jasmine was intensifying the creamy and fruity notes of the tea. This was a fruity jasmine note that I often find in well scented teas. It is however still very muted. The jasmine is more apparent as it cools and adds a spice incense like note into the grape notes in the tea.

The third steep at 2 minutes had Hints of sweet potato and stronger malt from the base. Jasmine was still presenting a cool creamy accent. Jasmine became more apparent as it cooled and created a fruity slightly candyish accent over a cool hint of floral spice. This steep was more distinctly floral than the previous steep.

Altogether a very nice tea with the subtle jasmine enhancing the flavours of the base rather than being the star of the show. I will enjoy drinking this again. Thanks Teavivre for the sample!

https://instagram.com/p/BOfdywahU1o/

I’m thinking i was sent a different tea than what’s on the label of this sample from angel. Instead of a single ball in my package there were small balls – similar to the dragon black pearls. I’m going to assume that this is NOT jasmine dragon ball black tea since i don’t get any jasmine in the scent nor is it visible. No rating on this one since i don’t think it’s the right tea heh BUT thank you for the sample Angel. Whatever this is, it’s enjoyable to drink this morning :)

Thanks again, Teavivre! I always appreciate the samples! This is a BIG individually wrapped dragon ball of black tea with whole jasmine blossoms embedded in the tea. When I was infusing the tea ball, I saw at least EIGHT whole jasmine blossoms floating! Unfortunately, the usual intoxicating amazing jasmine scent and flavor that Teavivre’s teas usually have is not with this one. I tried tasting hints of jasmine, but I can’t taste it at all. However, there is a TON of tea leaves here, almost completely filling up the infuser basket when steeped, though it never gets too astringent or bitter. The flavor is a lovely black tea — very dark and deep, with notes of dark chocolate and wine. So as a jasmine tea, this is a fail but as a black tea, this is delicious. If only it had the jasmine flavor like the other Teavivre jasmine teas.
Steep #1 // 1 piece for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // rinse // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
I hope everyone who celebrates is having a great Thanksgiving!