Snow Jasmine was named for the pale white down that coats these 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, sweet but not cloying. Our Snow Jasmine strikes a balanced harmony between tea and flowers.

Scenting is completed in small batches. An initial low temperature baking dries the tea, and a fresh layer of jasmine flowers is scattered over the leaves. The dry tea absorbs the residual moisture and aromatic oils from the flowers overnight, and the flowers are fanned off the next morning. The tea is baked again, and the process is repeated. In total, Snow Jasmine received 5 rounds of jasmine scenting, resulting in a sweet and intensely aromatic tea with wispy leaves.

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.