How to brew Jasmine tea.

I went to my local market the other day and purchased a tin of Jasmine tea. I brewed it as per the instructions (boiling water for 5 minutes), but I found the tea to be incredibly bitter. Is that the nature of Jasmine tea or did I do something wrong?

Is it green tea with jasmine? If it is, then it's not supposed to be bitter. The jasmine is supposed to add a mild flowery flavor to the the green tea. I've found that some green teas are more forgiving of overbrewing than others, though, and if your tea is green with jasmine, then the bitterness might be more from the tea than from the jasmine.

By "boiling water for 5 minutes," do you mean you are boiling the water for 5 minutes before pouring it over the tea, or boiling the tea in the water for 5 minutes? Either way is not a good idea. (Sometimes the translations of brewing instructions are unclear!) I'd suggest pouring the boiling water over the tea (as soon as the water boils), then steeping for 3 minutes. I hope that works better for you.

Oops. My mistake. I meant that the directions called for boiling water and to steep the leaves for five minutes. That's what I get for typing while in a hurry to do something else.

Thanks for your advice. I'll give it a try tonight.

Green tea and boiling water make bitter tea. Boil the water and add some cold water so you get it down to 80-85 degrees Centigrade. Pour it on the tea and let it steep for five to six minutes.

Also called 180 - 190 degrees Farenheit (as usual for green and light oolong teas). The other options, of course, are watching the bubble size and removing the water from the heat before it reaches boiling (tricky, depending on your kettle), judging this process by sound or 'feel' - time-wise - once accustomed to the process, or simply allowing it to boil and waiting briefly as it cools to 180. (A tea or candy thermometer is helpful for the purpose - though obviously not essential.)

Three minutes is a much better aim. (GRrrr..... I hate it when teas come with generic directions, about which no one can have troubled to think!)

Codyed: enjoy your tea!

Green tea and boiling water makes for bitter tea, I agree. Also, it needs to be steeped for 7 minutes. Honestly, making all the different teas just right is a pain (I always leave it in the brew too long).
I just purchased a "Trinitea" tea maker. It makes green tea, black tea, you name it tea automatically.Makes my life easier :)

Seven minutes: If it's an oolong, maybe. But green? Usually not, I think.

If you want to be picky, each blend will probably have it's own unique brewing time at which it tastes best to you

SO try a few different times, and writ eon the packet which you find best for that packet.

I normally make green tea with water just off the boil and leave 5mins or so, because most of the time I'm not too fussy with how it comes out.

For really bitter green teas, wash them, as the chinese do:

Boil, wait till off boil, add to tea. leave for 5 mins. Discard all the water leaving the leaves in the pot meanwhiel reboil fresh water. Wait till off the boil, add to tea, leave to brew for 5 mins again.

Tea is now ready to drink, and nowhere near as bitter as previously.

I wouldn't suggest doing this for a jasmine tea. Either put less in or don't brew for as long.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I'm pretty much set on the method Eurydice described above--heating the water to 180 F (82 C) and letting the leaves steep for 3 minutes. Another method I found helpful was the washing method mentioned by reading_fox.

Thanks again, everyone. Each reply helped me a little bit in getting the maximum taste from this interesting tea.

I guess there is something to be said for not following the rules.

I've seen tea leaves washed by pouring the boiling water in and then pouring it out right away (rather than waiting five minutes). More water is then added, and that's the tea that's drunk!