Jasmin Mandarin

Tea: Jasmin Mandarin - 8200
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Source: China
Vendor Description: A Jasmin Tea with Chinese Green Tea as a base. It has an unforgettable sweet fragrance like a light spring wind.

Leaf: This is a dark colored green tea with some dried yellow flowers in the mix. There is a fair amount of dust in this tea. The rolled appearance to the leaf reminds me of a kamairicha. There is a strong jasmine aroma to the tea which has an uplifting and invigorating feel to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: The tea has a honey brown hue to it. It is mostly clear with a light murkiness to it. The distinctive aroma of jasmine is bold and assertive. It dominates over the warmth and aroma of the green tea base. The tea itself is a smooth full bodied green tea. The jasmine aroma is quite noticeable all throughout the drinking process. The green flavor is quite bold with the flavor centered on the front to middle of the tongue. There is not much to be found at all on the back end of the tongue. There is a light astringency and a little bit of an aftertaste which houses a little bit of jasmine flavoring.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 185F, 1:30

2nd Infusion: This infusion has a bolder brown hue to it. It is lighter on the Jasmine aroma, but it is far from gone. It is still quite distinctively Jasmine. There is an early bitterness in the flavor that transitions into a sharpness. Aside from that there is not much taste that lingers past that. The green flavor isn't as impressive as the first infusion.

Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: I would have liked the green flavor in this tea to have held up stronger in the second infusion. The Jasmine scenting was enjoyable and prominent, but not overpowering. I'm still not that big of a fan of Chinese green teas though. Like a lot of people I know say with coffee, this is a tea that you love to smell, but don't so much care for the drinking part of it. Not to say that the flavor is bad, but it just doesn't compare to the aroma.