Friday 5 August 2011

Tea of the week – Jasmine Pearls

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I have been thoroughly spoilt. As my friends and family know what an obsessive tea nut I am I received lots of tea related gifts, hurrah! One particularly exciting gift came in the form of two new tea cups by one of my favourite ceramics designers, Pip Studios. I had been lusting after these beauties for some time now, check it out – mmmm!


As all tea fanatics will know the mug/cup saucer you use for your tea is very important for the quality of your tea drinking experience. You can't go drinking a milky Saturday morning tea in fine bone china or a flavoured white tea in a chunky mug, that would be all kinds of wrong. So when I unwrapped these gorgeous specimens I knew immediately that they were destined for a fine tea indeed. So imagine my delight when I unwrapped another present of Jasmine Tea Pearls and a Tea House to brew them in! Presents coming seamlessly together, got to love it.

So I dedicate this tea of the week to my lovely friends. Thank you for being so kind and spoiling me with tea time goodies, my belly thanks you.

Jasmine Tea

What is is?
Jasmine tea is literally flowers in a mug. It is usually mixed with green or white tea and the jasmine gives it a subtle sweet and (unsurprisingly) a distinctly floral taste. Jasmine tea originated in China and has been a speciality there for over 800 years! Anything that has stuck around that long has got to be good.

How do you drink it?
Never with milk! I would suggest going light on the amount of tea you put into your strainer to begin with as it can become bitter fast. It also won't colour very much so stop brewing after a couple of minutes even if it's light and clear. I think this makes it perfect for pretty cups as you can see the patterns inside through the clear tea.

Where can I get it?
A good friend of mine spent some time in China and buys her Jasmine tea in bulk from Chinese supermarkets, very economical indeed. I am drinking Jasmine Pearls from Whittards which are absolutely delicious. You can also pick up a Tea House while you are there!

Happy Tea Drinking!

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