Tavalon | Jasmine Dream

Many years ago, I tried my first green tea that was jasmine flavored, and I quickly realized what a powerful complement jasmine was to green tea.  To me, jasmine has a balance (sweet and flavorful without being too fragrant) to it that makes it appealing to those of us that don’t always enjoy floral flavored beverages.  Some floral and fruit flavors can simply dominate the flavors of the tea rather than complement the tea.  Having said that, this is totally my opinion and many people still think jasmine is too flowery for a cup of tea – as always, the consumer is the final judge.  If you don’t like jasmine, don’t buy jasmine infused teas.

Tavalon’s Jasmine Dream unfortunately didn’t have the balance I was expecting.  Since it was called “Jasmine Dream,” I was anticipating more jasmine flavor.  However, the lack of jasmine power was not my main problem with this tea.  The green tea used in Jasmine Dream, for my taste preferences, was too smokey.  A rough, smokey, and slightly bitter flavored green tea mixed with jasmine just didn’t appeal to me.  I made several cups of this tea trying to get the most out of it.  It’s very important that the tea be steeped in water that is 180°F for about three minutes.  In the end, I needed more jasmine in the mix.  I enjoy smokey flavored green teas, but it didn’t fit with this mix.

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Anteadote Jasmine Tea

I literally have every variety of Anteadote offered by Adagio and I can’t wait to drink all of them (16.9 fl oz plastic bottles).  I grabbed Ateadote Organic Jasmine Tea to start my reviews.  I had a feeling this was going to be really good.  I’ve had a lot of excellent green teas and oolongs that were infused with jasmine over the years.  Jasmine, to me, is one of the few floral flavors that I absolutely enjoy.  It has a mix between a flower and fruit scent and flavor; therefore, jasmine makes an excellent complement to tea when it comes to my taste buds.  The great/healthy thing about the Jasmine Tea is it is unsweetened.  So, you have a beverage that has zero calories with plenty of flavor.  Trust me, if you enjoy jasmine flavored teas, this will floor you.  I’m talking from the first sip – WOW!  It’s early in the game, but I’m going to say Anteadote Jasmine Tea might be one of my favorite unsweetened teas of all-time.  I can’t get over how well the jasmine flavors explode with a smooth and satisfying freshness.  I sat in the sun for hours before breaking the seal on the bottle.  The unsweetened teas are very refreshing.  My only issue with this tea – I’m not sure what kind of tea was used in the product.  I’d at least like to know if it’s black, green, or oolong.  If I had to guess due to the color (pale brown/yellow) and sweet flavor, I’d say it was an oolong.  Either way, I think this tea will be enjoyed by many.  A fresh jasmine tea with no preservatives and a touch of vitamin c  is much appreciated by this tea drinker.  I’ve been drinking a lot of sweet teas lately, so it’s a great time to start drinking more zero calorie bottled teas (everything in moderation).  This one is simple, if you like jasmine infused teas – this is a must.

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Monkey King Jasmine Green Tea is an organic green tea selection from Numi.  It offers the tea consumer a lightly floral flavored cup of green tea.  The package does not indicate an origin for the green tea.  I enjoy jasmine flavored teas.  With any flavoring, balance is the key.  Tea companies can’t blend and flavor their teas for everyone.  They must have standards in place to produce a cup of tea that consistently satisfies their quality control as well as the consumer (ultimately we decide with our spending).  Just as important, the quality of tea must meet or exceed the expectation of the consumer.  A bitter, flat, flavored tea cannot be saved by coating it with jasmine flavoring.  Tea consumers have more choices than ever these days.  If a tea brand is not satisfying our taste buds, we’ll move on to one that does.

Numi strives to meet many standards to satisfy a diverse group of tea drinkers.  Label readers will be happy to see many icons on Numi products indicating the product is: Organic, Kosher, Halal, and Fair Trade Certified.  The green tea I’m drinking today, comes in a standard tea bag (sachet) form.  The tea in the bag will not overwhelm you with its shape or size.  Having said that, after letting the boiled water cool below 200 degrees and soaking the sachet for 2-3 minutes, it does create a decent cup of green tea.  I detect a bit of smokiness to the green tea. I do like how the jasmine flower flavors balance with the smoky notes of the green tea.  The jasmine flavoring is not overpowering. I think it’s balanced well.  If I’m drinking green tea, I like to taste the green tea.

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