Notes of sweet nectar and lily.

Green tea from Sichuan, China・Harvested April, scented September 2023・飄雪・EU standard conventional

Snow Jasmine was named for the pale white down that coats the leaves, resembling fresh snowfall. The base green tea is Gan Lu, or sweet dew, from Mengding Shan in Sichuan. Young leaf buds were hand picked in early spring, pan roasted, finished, and stored until summer jasmine season.

A jasmine tea is only as good as its constituent parts. The base tea must have enough character to stand up to scenting while remaining sweet and smooth. The flowers used to scent the tea should be intense but not overwhelming, and sweet but not cloying. Snow Jasmine perfectly harmonizes green tea with jasmine flowers.

Scenting was done in small batches. An initial low temperature baking dried the tea, and a fresh layer of jasmine flowers are scattered over the leaves. The dry tea absorbs the residual moisture and aromatic oils from the flowers overnight. The flowers are fanned off the next morning, and the tea is baked again to ready it for more scenting. In total, Snow Jasmine received 5 rounds of jasmine scenting.

The result is a sweet and intensely aromatic tea with wispy leaves. When steeped, they unravel to reveal delicate young leaf buds and an intoxicating bouquet of sweet nectar, lily and of course, jasmine.

Brew: 3 grams・150 ml・180° F・1 min

Brew Snow Jasmine as a Gan Lu, albeit at a slightly higher temperature. The resulting tea yields a buttery, round texture whose complexity belies its delicacy. The trick are short steeps that begin with a pre-warmed vessel and slow additional of water in a gradual stream. Brew covered.