Origins: South Asia, circa 206 BC Biggest contemporary producer: China We recommend: Tealyra Jasmine Pearls + Choice Jasmine tea bags
If only photos had smell-o-vision. Those are jasmine tea pearls, which are hand-rolled loose-leaf green tea leaves that have been scented with jasmine flowers, and their aroma is intoxicating. We absolutely love using them for our first ferment brew! Not only do they smell floral and fresh, but they give our booch a soft, lovely note.
The process of scenting the tea leaves with jasmine flowers is nothing short of magical. It is done at nightfall, when the jasmine flowers—which had been picked early in the day, when the petals are closed—open up and release their fragrance. The flowers are then layered, or blended, with the tea leaves, and the scenting process could be repeated several times.
Want to brew your own batch using Jasmine tea (whether in hand-rolled, loose-leaf or tea-bag form)? Get the recipe for our Pear + Ginger homebrew, which uses Jasmine tea as the base.
