Jasmine tea is tea scented with fresh jasmine blossoms, which gives green, white, oolong and even black tea a sweet floral aroma.
Hand-rolled Jasmine Dragon Pearls and Imperial Jasmine Dragon Pearls unfurl slowly in the cup. Jasmine Yin Hao and Jasmine Phoenix Eye are other green tea favourites.
Beyond green tea, try Jasmine Yin Zhen Silver Needle, Jasmine Mei Shan Jin Xuan Oolong, Jasmine Pu'erh or Jasmine Black. Lychee Jasmine Green adds fruit, and Decaf Jasmine Green suits later in the day. See also our Chinese green tea.
The finished base tea is layered with fresh jasmine blossoms, often overnight, so the leaves soak up the scent. For fine grades this is repeated several times. Most of the flowers are then removed.
For jasmine green or white tea, use 1 teaspoon per 250 ml cup, water at about 79°C, and steep 2 to 3 minutes. Jasmine oolong likes about 91°C, and jasmine black tea about 96°C for 3 to 4 minutes.
Jasmine pearls are young tea leaves and buds hand-rolled into small balls and scented with jasmine. They slowly unfurl as they steep, so a few pearls go a long way.
Yes, it has the caffeine of its base tea. Jasmine green and white teas are usually lighter than jasmine black tea. Decaf Jasmine Green has most of the caffeine removed.