Chinese Jasmine Tea

So you've heard that Jasmine tea is delicious, but when you tried it out yourself, it may not be what you expected. Don't worry, that's actually what we often hear from people who made their Jasmine tea the first time.
Now there are two ways to approach this. The first way is to tweak your preparation method and the second way is to add sweeteners. We always recommend tea lovers to try out the first method, so let's get started.

How To Make Jasmine Tea Not Bitter
There are several reasons why your Jasmine tea ended up bitter. It's important to understand this first, before we try to solve the problem. Here are basically the main reasons:
You used too much tea.
You applied water at a too high temperature.
You let it steep for too long.
You got mediocre quality Jasmine tea.
You're not drinking Jasmine tea at the right temperature.

How Much Jasmine Tea Per Cup?
Generally one needs around 2-5 grams of Jasmine tea per cup. The exact amount will depend on individual characteristics of the tea and ones own preferences of the intensity. As a rule of thumb, we recommend to start with 3 gram if you want to brew a mug of tea or 5 gram if you want to prepare tea the traditional way (in a small gaiwan).
Note: If you're using a Jasmine tea bag, then obviously the amount isn't the problem. You'll learn more about applying the right temperature and steeping time in the below sections.

Temperature
Because Jasmine tea is generally made using either green or white tea, we recommend to apply a lower temperature of 80-85ºC (175 – 185 ºF) to steep the tea. This will in any circumstances give the best result and bring up the natural sweetness of Jasmine tea.

Steeping Jasmine tea at full temperature will always end up bitter or too astringent. So even if it's stated on the packaging of the vendor. Ignore it.
If you have some good quality loose leaf jasmine tea or even very delicate tea buds, then you'll be sipping very delicious sweet Jasmine tea. Now for tea bags this may still not solve the problem. If that's the case, lower the temperature even further and see if that works. Lower temperatures draws out more sweetness and less of the bitter stuff that's in the tea.

Steeping time
Steeping time for jasmine tea is the hardest to get right. That's because this will depend on the Jasmine tea in question. Crushed Jasmine tea in a tea bag will release flavour much faster than young Jasmine tea buds.
For tea bags, follow the instructions of the vendor, while applying our temperature suggestions above. Then adjust to get the intensity right.

For loose leaf teas that are either whole leaf or buds go for a steeping time of 3 minutes and then adjust according to taste. With traditional brewing, try a steeping time of 25 seconds.
Note: If you've tightly rolled teas such as a Jasmine pearls tea or Jasmine rings, you may need to increase the steeping a little, as those teas need time to unfurl and release taste.

Tea Quality
As mentioned before low grade tea quality can result in bitter brews. That’s because crushed or broken leaves releases too much bitterness, fully covering the natural sweetness that good jasmine tea can bring. The only thing you can do is to lower the temperature further, while compensation this with additional steeping time. When you get the right balance of lower temperature and longer steeping time right, it may work. If not, move on, and get better tea!

Drinking Temperature
To drink a sweeter tea, you need to consume it at the right temperature. We've made the mistake before of consuming tea too fast, while burning the roof of our mouth. The ideal temperature of consuming tea is 55ºC (130 ºF). If you’re brewing tea in a mug, then it will take several minutes to reach this temperature.
With traditional brewing, tea is served in small single sip cups. The benefit of those cups is that tea cools down in a matter seconds.

How to make jasmine tea sweet
While the above tips and tricks will definitely make your Jasmine tea not bitter, or even naturally sweet, it obviously will never be as sweet as a milkshake or bubble tea. For that, you'll have to add sweeteners. Here's a few things you can do.
Add milk: Milk is naturally sweet and by adding milk, you can enjoy a classic tea latte.
Add sweeteners: White sugar or rock sugar are the best options. Avoid honey, this doesn't go so well with the floral aroma of jasmine tea.
Add sweet tapioca pearls: These pearls are made with sticky rice and brown sugar. Besides additional sweetness, it gives your tea some extra sticky texture. Together with milk, you're basically enjoying a classic Taiwanese pearl bubble tea.