Jasmine Tea
Jasmine tea is tea, usually green, scented by layering it with fresh jasmine flowers overnight so the leaf absorbs their aroma, then removing the spent blossoms.
Definition
Jasmine tea (茉莉花茶, moli hua cha) is a scented tea. The base is usually green tea, though white tea and light oolong are also used. The leaf is made and dried first, often in spring, and stored until the jasmine (Jasminum sambac) blooms in summer. Scenting then happens in rounds: fresh flower buds picked in the afternoon are mixed with the tea, the buds open at night and release their aroma, and the leaf absorbs it over several hours. After each round the spent flowers are sifted out and the tea is dried again to remove the moisture it took up. Ordinary grades get one to three rounds. High grades get five, seven or more, each with fresh flowers. A good jasmine tea contains few or no dried flowers; the blossoms in cheap blends are often added for looks after the scenting is done. Fuzhou in Fujian is the historic center of jasmine tea making, and Hengxian county in Guangxi now grows a large share of China's jasmine flowers. Jasmine Pearls (Moli Long Zhu) are hand-rolled balls of buds and young leaves that unfurl in the cup. Jasmine Silver Needle uses a white tea bud base.
In Depth
Brewing: treat it like the base tea. For green-tea jasmine use 75-80°C (167-176°F) water, 2-3 g per 250 ml, and steep 2-3 minutes. In a gaiwan, use 4-5 g per 100 ml with 20-40 second steeps. Jasmine Pearls give three or four good infusions. Boiling water makes green-base jasmine bitter and flattens the flower note.
Scented or flavored: real scenting is labor-intensive, so cheap jasmine tea is often sprayed with jasmine flavoring instead. Flavored tea smells loud on the dry leaf but fades fast in the cup. Scented tea holds its aroma through several infusions and smells of fresh flowers, not perfume.
Storage: airtight and away from light. The aroma is the product, and it fades within a year or two once opened.
See Also
- Chinese Scented Teas
- Fujian Tea