TeaWhere to Buy Jasmine Tea
The Best Jasmine Tea
Jasmine tea is usually made from green tea, although sometimes white or oolong teas are used as a base instead. The subtle floral scent and aromatic flavor come from the addition of jasmine flowers. The best jasmine tea is looseleaf, that is to say it"s composed of mostly whole leaves and buds.
My personal favorite is Jasmine Pearl tea: young green buds are hand-picked and hand-rolled into pearls. Then jasmine blossoms are layered with the tea and dried. When the pearls reach the optimum flavor they are fired to preserve their taste. The result is a smooth, sweetly aromatic tea.
Sometimes whole jasmine flowers are left in the final product which open when you brew the tea. These are really just for decoration, as they don"t impart any real flavor. They do look fantastic though, especially if you brew up in a clear glass vessel.
Where to Buy Jasmine Tea
The chances are that you don"t live close to a speciality tea shop. And even if you do, their products may be on the expensive side. In my opinion, by far the best place to buy jasmine tea, or any other tea, is online.
By using a specialist online retailer you will gain access to a large range of high quality teas at a much more reasonable price. And you can"t beat the convenience of having your order delivered to your door in a couple days.
An online specialty tea store will know their products inside out - ask a question about the tea in your local supermarket, and all you"re are likely to get is a blank stare. When buying online however, you will find detailed descriptions of every tea, and you will have access to their expert advice if you need it.
In the bad old days, I only used to drink bagged tea. Only after a friend introduced me to buying tea online, did I realise what I was missing! Now I buy all my tea online. I personally like a good Oolong (my favorite at the moment is organic Wuyi Shuixian) in the morning, and Jasmine Pearls or Baihao Yinzhen white tea the rest of the day.
I strongly encourage you to buy jasmine tea online. You"ll benefit from superior taste, quality, lower cost and convenience - what more could you ask for?