Yunnan White Jasmine

This is super tasty. I’ve been blissing out on it all afternoon long. Nice and comforting for a BUSY day after a holiday at work!

This Silver Needle Jasmine truly came about as a sort of conspiracy between Wang Yanxin, our scout for Yunnan teas, especially fine pu’ers, and Weiwei, Verdant’s employee in China who works with farmers mostly in Laoshan and Anxi.

Both Weiwei and Wang Yanxin have some of the most formidable and discriminating palates in the world. The conspiracy here is that neither of them have any inclination towards jasmine tea at all. When Weiwei and I are drinking tea together with a workshop or farmer, she always asks for a glass of water to discreetly wash the taste out of her mouth when jasmine is served. I would just shake my head. Come on Weiwei, you can find some of the most heady and floral Tieguanyin, but take that profile a bit further towards Jasmine and you wash your mouth out with water?

Wang Yanxin always had a bit of jasmine on hand, and was known for supplying Qingdao with the best jasmine of anyone. One day I asked her if I could buy a bit of her jasmine to take home for family member less inclined towards pu’er than myself. She flat out said no. She said that normal jasmine is not good to drink, and pulled out a variety that cost several hundred dollars a pound. “This is the only one you can have.” Wang Yanxin has a strong will, so I didn’t argue. I tried to pay, but she gave it to me for free. She said that she didn’t want my family drinking anything less.

Keeping this in mind, I imagined a pretty cold reception when I started making inquiries on a jasmine for Verdant Tea. To my surprise, Weiwei said that her and Wang Yanxin had been talking, and they thought they found something that was good. I asked Weiwei if she liked it. She seemed slightly embarrassed to say yes, but admitted that she did. Wang Yanxin pulled her connections to get us a jasmine from Yunnan, made with a silky silver needle white tea. Weiwei approved the scenting.

When I got the first box, and cut open one of the heat-sealed bags, I knew that Wang Yanxin and Weiwei had found something special. Most of the tea-lovers here in Minneapolis that come by Verdant HQ when new shipments get in are pu’er or oolong people. This jasmine seduced pretty much everyone.

The update from Wang Yanxin and Weiwei is that they are now actively scouting more jasmines. In my last shipment, there were over 40 new samples to try. This silver needle variety actually got them excited to drink jasmine. I get jasmine pearls, little blooming teas, twists of scented Huangshan Maofeng, and a large variety of possibilities. While none have yet approached this one for staying power, it is good to know that my friends in China have broadened their horizons.

I just received this tea and I when I opened the bag I felt nothing but excitement and anticipation. I was about to have a sip of water while I held the bag looking at the leaves, when the wonderful scent hit me. Just amazing, I’ve had around 4 other white Jasmine teas and non have hypnotized me like this.

The buds are just beautiful and when I picked them they were soft, felt like picking up a bunch of cotton in my hand. While steeping the scent because more apparent and more pleasurable. The liquid was almost clear with just a bit of yellow and the scent was as if it had cloned into the liquid itself, yet the leaves felt just awakened not depleted of its smell.

I was able to do multiple steeps of the leaves with out it becoming bitter or astringent and the scent wasn’t faded at all. It has a bit of delicate spiciness to it. If seems savory but it has an apparent sweetness to it. I’d recommend it to any Jasmine lovers and if you had bad experiences with Jasmine before, this should be the one that makes up for it.

My late evening tea. Such a soft subtle fragrance with a flavor bordering on magical. As I said in my previous tasting I fell in love. I am still in love.

Another wonderful tea full of flavor and complexity. I can’t add anything to what so many have already said, except that this truly is an exceptional Jasmine White!

Got a sample of this in my last order – it has a lovely true jasmine scent, and big fluffy silver needles. The taste is surprisingly smoky, and there’s a hearty – almost brothy – texture. I just dumped the whole sample in my mug, started drinking once it was cool enough, and plan to re-steep by adding water through the day. I think my steeping practices peaked in diligence… awhile ago, and are shamefully casual now. I jest – it’s more that I’ve learned enough of tea culture to articulate my own philosophy, which hinges on appreciating and sharing tea rather than fretting about it _ If it tastes good and makes me smile, then I’m doing it right.

Oh, wow- this jasmine!!

I am really excited for other people to try this; prepare for your socks to get knocked off.

Now, I’m normally not one for jasmines- period. I find them often bitter with an unpleasant metallic base, or the jasmine scent is positively choking in its powdery perfume. Sure, you can find one that tastes nice like candy and floral sweetness, but I’ve never really been convinced of why the flavor is necessary. Why would someone think of scenting tea with jasmine? Well.. now I know.

First, the dry leaves of this tea are just beautiful. Gorgeous yunnan white buds with some flowers.. the whole thing reminds me of lovely Victorian lace. The smell of the dry leaves almost bowls me over with how mouthwatering it is. I smell jellies, oranges, strawberries, peaches.. thick candies and creams.
Once I steep it up.. woah, Nelly! This is going to be fantastic!! (my technical note here was: “YUM!!”) It’s thick and warm and floral like being in a flower conservatory in the middle of our Minnesota winter, with a suprising undercurrent of pine.

The taste begs multiple steepings. I think we did at least ten or so in the gaiwan? Usually, I’m never moved to steep jasmine more than three times. You drink it, and say to yourself: “Yep, that’s jasmine, alright,” and then you’re done. This one- you just want to bask in it.

The taste is lovely and thick in texture with a bit of warm spice.. very much in keeping with the budset base. There are notes of pine along with fruit like peaches, candied lime, or that pink watermelon flavor you find in jollyranchers. There is no perfume choking the throat or drying the nose as I drink. The texture through later steepings reminds me of gelato (vanilla.. or very very light, delicate strawberry+cream), with an intriguing aftertaste of blueberries. The taste of plumerias on Hawaii…

The fantastic thing about this jasmine is how calm and perfectly together everything melds. I drink it, and it really reminds me of Verdant’s Alchemy blends. The jasmine is there to accent and show off how delicious the white tea base is! The jasmine scenting fills in and picks up exactly where the white tea leaves off, and you’re left (shifty-eyed) wondering.. is this really just the most fantastic white tea ever?!? Brilliant! Just what scenting should be.

An ambrosial white tea, decadent but at the same time thoroughly cleansing. It’s a tea I want to have as soon as I wake up, to start the day off right. A spa in my mouth.

Now I understand why you’d want to scent tea with jasmine, and why I want to drink it. Thank you!!!

Oh LORD this tea is old! I think I got it sometime during the summer last year? So it’s right about a year old. Haha whoops. I only drink white teas once in a blue moon, and I was on a jasmine hiatus for a long time because I just got so sick of it. So not a quick demise for this poor tea.

This one went in the gaiwan tonight. Originally, the tea of the night was going to be my Laoshan Green, but I burned it. (Laoshan Green and I… I just don’t think it was meant to be.) I remember very little from the last time I tried this, just that it tasted like a white tea with jasmine.

Dry leaves look like they do in the picture; very long and soft.

Water is in the 170-180 degree range? The teapot had just started hissing.

Steep 1: 10 s. We – e – ell! This is unexpected! Floating atop the jasmine flavor of this gently pale liquor is a ringing overtone of… citrus? What in the world. I am seriously getting, like, quasi-lemon something. No, not lemon, lemon’s too “dark” a flavor, but it’s legit kind of citrusy. I am so surprised that I am paying more attention to that than the jasmine flavor. Not a complaint, though. And I just spilled a bit on my pants.

The jasmine is more pronounced, almost to the point of being husky, in the aroma of the wet leaves.

Steep 2: 15 s. They dry leaves smell almost woody now. (This tasting is certainly full of curveballs.) Honestly, I don’t get a ton of difference between this steep and the last, just maybe that the “husky” jasmine is a little stronger. Now, it’s not husky as in overpowering or anything even close; that word is just what came to mind when I tried to think of how to describe the texture.

… Are my tastebuds being influenced by my burnt Laoshan Green debacle?

Steep 3: …whoops. I had just enough for one mouthful, so I did about 15-20 s. Again, flavor is still about the same.

So overall, this is a really nice little white tea that’s got some surprises in it. It’s a good sleepytime beverage, too.

To sum up this tea: If gorgeous was a taste, this tea would be it!

Full Review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/yunnan-white-jasmine-from-verdant-tea-tea-review/

LOL, okay okay, I’ll write more. This tea is good and the silkyness is just wow! I love floral teas and Yunnan White Jasmine was just pure art. If I had more, I wouldn’t drink my other white jasmines! Wahh!

This tea is beyond good. This is the best jasmine I have tasted. I actually GIGGLED while sipping it. I was expecting greatness, but I wasn’t expecting the wonderful white tea base to come through so much. It’s actually CREAMY. Creamy and jasmine together equals epic win. And there’s more!! This tea is sweet. Stealing from someone else, it reminds me of powdered sugar, plus vanilla. Creamy vanilla jasmine powdered sugar. Da bomb.
Because of my husband-induced limited tea budget( he just doesn’t get tea yet..he’s proving to be difficult to convert lol) I normally would have never ordered this tea. Now, I can’t resist. Thanks, David, for including this as a sample in my last order. Meant with sarcasm. :P No, really, if you like jasmine or even if you don’t like jasmine, try this tea.
As this is a yunnan, I am still getting that linen aftertaste I’ve described before as not enjoying. But I can’t get over this tea. It’s indulgent, luscious, and exquisite.