“Delicate aroma” may be something of an understatement in the case of Touch Organic Organic Jasmine Green Tea. I taste nearly no jasmine! It’s true that I have been drinking some heavily scented haute jasmines teas of late, but this is a stretch. I am not calling the folks at Touch Organic liars, but one possibility is that the flimsy paper envelopes (à la Lipton, Salada, et al.) do not preserve the precious scent of jasmine.
It’s also possible that my can is old, but I have ruled that out since the expiration date is far in the future, indicating that the package was only recently produced. That does not prove that the tea is new, of course, since these filter bags are filled with sub-fannings dust, which may well have sat on the floor of tea rooms for ages before being swept up into large receptacles for the purpose of filling mass-market filter bags.
This tea reminds me somewhat of the Touch Organic Green but perhaps closer to chun mee than that blend. It’s a middle-of-the road green tea: better than some grocery store greens, but nowhere near the quality available in loose leaf far from the tea aisle. Not bad in a pinch, for a quick hot beverage fix, but not a great tea, and definitely nothing I would identify as jasmine without coaching. I might use the remaining bags for iced tea this summer.
(Blazing New Rating #39)