Comparison of instant jasmine green tea

[Diane Pinkers]

Sometimes I want a genuine cup of tea when backpacking, and sometimes I don’t want to deal with the tea leaves or tea bag.  I’ve tried 2 instant jasmine green teas, one by Cusa, and one by Pique, who had their product out before Cusa.  They are pretty similar, but I think that the Pique instant tea is a little more astringent and a little more bitter.  Cusa gives you a bigger cup, using 12-14 ounces of water instead of 8 ounces for the Pique tea.  Both have a very noticeable floral aroma.  So, if anyone has wondered, that’s my very unscientific taste test of both products.  Now, to order a large amount of Cusa for the upcoming hiking season.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Diane

Curiosity impels:
My wife likes jasmine tea, but she likes the versatility of tea bags. They let her decide just how strong she wants it, each time. Disposal after use is easy: break bag, scatter used teas leaves in the mulch, and pack out the bag.

What are the advantages of ‘instant’ tea?

Cheers

[Diane Pinkers]

Instant tea is just that-instant. Water doesn’t cool off while steeping. Scattering tea leaves I think would be frowned upon in the backcountry here, not being Leave No Trace, so this way I’m not carrying out wet tea bags. Smaller packaging– can fit lots of tea in the corners of my food bag or bear cannister.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a little more acidic/astringent than tea from a bag. Other than that, it is pretty darn close, especially since I usually take mine with a little honey or honey powder.

[Roger Caffin]

Scattering tea leaves I think would be frowned upon in the backcountry here, not being Leave No Trace
I have to disagree here. If I tear open a used tea bag and scatter the tea leaves into the mulch, they are no different from any other leaves in the mulch. To be sure, if I tried to scatter 1,000 bags of tea leaves in an area of 1 square foot, you would probably see them. But at any realistic density the individual tea leaves will simply disappear. We are indeed hard-core LNT, but a few small damp chopped-up leaves are not a ‘trace’.
We also poo in the woods – away from water and buried of course.

In practice, in some areas, we do take the tea bag out. When Sue takes it out of her cup she squeezes it semi-dry and then leaves it in the sun. By the time we have finished our meal, the bag is dry and no more trouble to carry out than it was to carry it in. We brought it, so we remove it.

But, HYOH.
Cheers

[David D]

Hi Diane,

Big tea fan here on trail too!  Matcha tea is powdered, green, subtly sweet and real.  I drink jasmine daily and developed a taste for matcha in Japan.  It’ll pack like instant.  If you haven’t tried it, you might like it.  You just need an extra glass of water at end to rinse the cup, drink the “green water”

[Diane Pinkers]

I did try matcha tea for awhile, i found it gritty. Do you use some sort of whisk?

 

[David D]

Just very hot water and moderating the amount but some residue green vs grey water) is part of the “charm”!

 

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