And I certainly do not like jasmine teas. The ones I tried before were just too aromatic using artificial jasmine flavor. Not my cup of tea.
So when I received this jasmine tea – Dragon Pearls from Hobbes my first thought was to try it and then donate the rest of the tea to some, who can fully appreciate it. Sorry for that, Hobbes.
I prepare green teas in my office mostly using very few leaves - just about three grams. I brew the tea in my flat red tetsubin with rather cool water and doing only one long infusion.
The reason I decided to keep all this tea to me is its aroma. Wild strawberries. I do not know if they grow in other parts of world but here in Slovakia you can find them growing in forests. These strawberries are very small, but the taste of one huge domestic strawberry is concentrated in fruit ten times smaller. I love them and I love this tea. It brings me back memories when as a kid I used to eat those strawberries each spring.
Picture : Flickr
6 comments:
Dear TA,
A lovely article, thank you - I love reading about the associations you have for it. My wife brought these back from Maliandao last summer, and they're one of my favourite jasmines - though, like you, I don't venture that way too often.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
P.s. Do please send any samples along to others that you so wish, without remorse!
Oh no, dear friend, I kept ALL of it for myself. Yes, I'm the greedy one.
T.
Thats why some people say: If a cup doesnt taste good or even smell good, dont drink it! Something like that happened to me with Oolong tea due to my clumsy brewing techniques ^^
I've been wanting to comment on your artistically presented teaware, I loved the photos of your office stash, and I like your comments on tea. I've always had trouble liking jasmine although I've repeatedly tried it. Guang warns about some preparation techniques on his blog and now has a traditional Fujian Yin Hwa pomelo-flower tea on his website which although reminiscent of jasmine doesn't have the sometimes sickly-sweet scent or flavor. Can you divulge the source of these dragon pearls, beyond Hobbes that is. He's also one of my favorite bloggers to follow, artistic and very articulate about tea and other matters. Did you ever receive your package misdirected to Slovenia?
Thank you for you kind words.
Well, the parcel arrived to customs, so I should get it in next few days - hurray!
Hobbes said, that this tea is from home town of her wife - so it probably isn't available online.
I really do like your blog, tou cha tea! In my part of the world (Sweden) these berries are called smultron while strawberries are called jordgubbar (old earth men!). I like Jasmine Tu Long Zu very much, glad that you could appreciate it too.
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