I'm drinking a jasmine tea in which the leaves are rolled pearl style. Each pearl is perhaps half or three-quarters of a centimeter in diameter, and consists of a single tea leaf. It's similar to gunpowder, but it isn't so tightly packed, the leaf size is larger, and the quality is high. During brewing, the pearls unfurl to their full size. It's fun to watch, and since the leaves are not in small fragments there is no danger of eating the leaves if they're not kept in a tea ball or filter. Like many high quality teas, this tea takes repeated brewing well. I'm just finishing my third mug brewed with the same leaves. I've been savoring this tea all evening, brewed in a glass mug so that I can see the unfurled leaves.

Tea is lovely stuff, no doubt.

• Currently drinking: Jasmine tea