Scenting
Scenting is flavoring tea by storing it with fresh flowers, wood smoke or other aromatic material so the leaf absorbs the aroma, as in jasmine and osmanthus tea.
Definition
Scenting (窨制, yinzhi) uses the tea leaf's ability to absorb odors on purpose. Dry tea is mixed or layered with fresh, fragrant material, held long enough to take up its aroma, and then separated and dried again. Because tea absorbs smells so readily, scented teas must be made with care and stored apart from other teas. Jasmine tea is the best-known example: green tea is layered with opening jasmine buds overnight, in up to seven or more rounds for top grades. Other Chinese scented teas use osmanthus (gui hua), rose, magnolia, gardenia, chloranthus and pomelo flower. In Vietnam, lotus tea (tra sen) is made by placing green tea inside opening lotus flowers or layering it with lotus stamens. Lapsang Souchong takes on smoke from pine fires, which is a form of scenting by smoke during drying. True scenting is distinct from flavoring. Flavored teas are sprayed with essential oils or natural or artificial flavorings; Earl Grey with bergamot oil is the classic case. Scenting is slower and more costly but gives a more integrated aroma that lasts through several infusions. The flowers themselves are usually removed; their presence is not proof of scenting.
In Depth
Quality checks: a scented tea should smell of fresh flowers through the second and third infusion. A sharp, perfumed note that vanishes after one cup points to flavoring. Ingredient lists that say "natural flavor" or "flavoring" mean oil, not scenting.
Brewing: brew for the base tea, not the flower. Jasmine green: 75-80°C (167-176°F). Osmanthus oolong: 90-95°C. Lotus tea: 80-85°C. Short steeps protect the delicate aroma.
Storage: store each scented tea in its own airtight container and never next to unscented tea. A jasmine tea can scent a nearby oolong within days, and the change cannot be undone. The same applies to teaware: a clay teapot used for jasmine tea will carry the scent into later brews.
See Also
- Chinese Scented Teas
- Flavored Tea