Sampling new teas from iTeaworld in China

The first day of spring. I had thought it might be nice to wait until the first day of spring to share the jasmine tea samples that iTeaworld.com recently sent me directly from China, but when I saw this elegant packaging and tasted some of their smooth floral teas, I couldn't wait!

This Jasmine Tea Selection arrived in an elegant golden-yellow-sleeved box.

It had an "Open" tab at the end, so of course I removed the sleeve and opened it!

Inside? All sorts of goodies to delight the senses, from 20 individual packets of loose-leaf jasmine tea to an envelope of fillable tea bags and a beautiful pamphlet detailing how to prepare both hot and cold-brewed versions of the tea.

I started with the Jasmine Bi Luo Chun tea, which is scented three times. Did you know that "bi luo chun" literally means "green snail spring"? Those tiny little snail-shaped tea leaves are always fun to behold—and although I've eaten snails before, precisely once, I am pleased that there are no snails in this tea! If you're not familiar with the process by which jasmine tea is scented, you can visit this page to learn more. I've seen videos online about the scenting process, and I'm always impressed at the time and care it requires. (And at night, according to iTeaworld. If I ever knew that, I'd forgotten it.)

This envelope of tea bags was a thoughtful addition to the package. I had assumed it would contain your standard-issue paper tea bag filters. 

But no! Inside are *silken* tea bags for you to fill if you so desire, and I did! Preparing the tea according to the directions required just 10-20 seconds of brewing in water at 80-90 degrees Celsius, and I went for 20 seconds, wondering if that could possibly be long enough. It was! The pamphlet said the tea could be brewed three to four times, and I easily brewed this Bi Luo Chun four times. I'll be trying the others throughout this month as well and will let you know what I think, but as impressed as I was with this first one, the lowest grade, I look forward to working my way up the progression in quality. (The teas range from three scentings with jasmine to nine scentings.)

Now, I knew that I enjoyed this tea, and I also knew that I was quite impressed at the splendid packaging, but when I went online to check it out (not wanting to be influenced by their PR before I'd even tried the teas), I was absolutely stunned to learn this set retails for only $39.99, and the first order over $9 gets free shipping. And even though the package was shipped from China, my teas arrived in less than two weeks, I believe, which is quicker than I can receive a letter here in the US these days. (A girlfriend mailed me a handmade card on January 11, and it arrived February 22, so I got teas from China much faster!) iTeaworld.com was a new name in tea to me, and I am absolutely delighted to share it with all of you! You can learn more about this sampler as well as their other Chinese teas at iTeaworld.com.