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Jasmine Pearls
Jasmine teas are primarily produced near Fuzhou City
in Fujian Province, China. The Jasmine tree was native to the Persian
Gulf, and according to some sources was brought to China in the 3rd
Century.
We were never terribly enthusiastic about jasmines until we had a friend make these.
Our Jasmine Pearls are processed by taking the fine young leaf-and-bud sets picked in April of each
year. They are then rolled into pearls, carefully stored until late
June, when jasmine trees blossom with thousands of flowers per tree.
 The tea is then separated into mesh trays and placed
in a heated drier. In between each tray of tea pearls, a mesh tray of
freshly picked jasmine flowers is placed. The drier gently blows
80-degree air through the tea and the blossoms, allowing the tea to
gently absorb the scent of the flowers. In the morning the trays are
removed, and the pearls are re-fired to remove any moisture absorbed
from the blossoms, and then they are packed into chests and prepared
for shipment. Often the blossoms will be saved and used over the next
few nights on lesser-quality teas. The only aid to the scenting process
is the gently blowing warm air of the drier.
Less expensive Jasmine Pearls and Jasmine teas do
exist in the market. These teas can be quite old (more than 18 months
since harvesting), or are summer-picked teas rather than spring-picked.
Other tricks in the trade to cut corners and reduce costs are to
perfume the teas with oils in combination with scenting, or using
several-day-old blossoms rather than freshly picked blossoms.
Top-quality jasmine teas often have only a few blossoms in with the
tea, as most are carefully removed and reused for scenting
lesser-quality teas. | 
