Well dear reader I have been a very busy little birdie this morning; done the food shop, cleaned our chickens out, done the ironing and emptied the dish washer. As you can imagine, after all this activity I’m a bit pooped and more than a bit parched. You can’t beat a good cuppa in my humble opinion and on our visit to the Northern Tea Merchants at Chesterfield last month James Pogson very kindly gave me some speciality teas to take home.
I fished one from the cupboard at random; it happened to be the Jasmine Pearls, a blend of loose leaf Green Tea, White Tea and Jasmine Flowers. The fragrance that wafted to my nose when I opened the packet was beautiful, quite delicate and inviting.
I remembered a few of the pointers James gave me about making a great brew, so I used filtered water on this occasion with it being a delicate tea and warmed the teapot beforehand. With this being the first time I had tried this tea I didn’t really know how long to infuse it for so I gave it my best guestimate and left it for 2-3 minutes, watching as the water gradually took on a pastel peach haze.
The resulting cuppa is really rather good I must say, very delicate on the palate and surprisingly floral, but in a nice way. It is a very refreshing beverage and you get a wonderful breath freshening effect too. So, I am pleased to say that I really like this tea although ordinarily I wouldn’t have picked it up as a first choice as I didn’t know anything about it. It retails in the Northern Tea Merchants shop on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield, and you can always have a quick bite or drink in Pekoe Cafe whilst you’re there.
The Jasmine Pearl tea retails at £10.96 for 50g (correct at February 2017) which you might think is a bit expensive, but you have to take into account the fact that this is hand rolled, and also that you only need approximately 5g for a pot of it that easily makes two large cups of tea. This works out at about £1 a pot, and I most definitely think that we’re all worth this; well I certainly think I am, and I’ve blooming well earned it this morning!
Anyhow, I wish you all a great weekend, whatever you’ve got planned :)
