What Is Jasmine Tea?

Jasmine tea is made by mixing green tea, which serves as the base, with jasmine flowers, allowing the tea leaves to absorb the floral aroma.

Jasmine tea is not made from jasmine flowers themselves or from processed jasmine leaves.

The quality of jasmine tea is determined by the softness, sweetness, and the quality and strength of the aroma when drinking the tea.

To create delicious jasmine tea, the quality of the green tea used as the base is extremely important. It is essential that the tea is the first flush of spring, and factors such as the method of plucking, the presence or absence of fertilizers, and the altitude of the tea garden all influence its quality.

Moreover, to extract a good aroma, it is important to use jasmine flowers harvested after summer. Before summer, there is a lot of rain, which makes jasmine flowers cheaper but also results in a weaker aroma.

Jasmine flowers are mixed with tea leaves in the evening. Flowers that bloom at night release a fresh fragrance that is absorbed by the tea leaves by morning. The number of times this process is repeated also determines the fragrance of jasmine tea.

At HOJO, we conduct direct transactions with producers for everything from sourcing green tea to the processing of fresh jasmine flowers, allowing us to develop and produce original jasmine teas such as Pu-erh Jasmine Pearls and Jasmine Silver Needle.

1. History and Culture: Why Chinese Quality is Suitable

Jasmine flowers originated in Iran. It is said that jasmine flowers were brought to China via the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty, and it has been 1700 years since jasmine entered China. At that time, jasmine flowers were used only for decoration purposes. The use of jasmine flowers in tea started around 1240 during the Southern Song Dynasty in Guangdong Province. In the Ming Dynasty, the technology of absorbing the fragrance of jasmine flowers into tea leaves was dramatically innovated, and specific processing methods such as the selection of raw materials, blending recipes, and drying methods were established and manualized. Large-scale industrial production began in Fuzhou during the Qing Dynasty, and by 1900, jasmine tea production in Fuzhou reached 1,500 tons. At its peak (1928–1938), the total production of jasmine tea was said to have reached 7,500 tons. By the end of the 19th century, foreign trading companies had established offices in Fuzhou, and jasmine tea became an important trade item with foreign countries.

As the popularity of jasmine tea increased, production spread from the south to the north and east (Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hunan, Guangxi, Yunnan). However, jasmine cannot grow in cold environments, so in colder areas, it was necessary to move jasmine indoors under heating. This management was very costly, and northern production companies could not make a profit and were eliminated. In addition to China, the aroma of jasmine attracted the attention of Taiwanese tea traders, and in 1873, tea leaves were exported from Taiwan to Fuzhou for commissioned processing to add jasmine fragrance. In 1882, Taiwanese traders brought back jasmine seeds and began cultivation in Taiwan. By 1939, the annual production of jasmine tea in Taiwan had reached 1,300 tons. However, due to Taiwan's unique climate, the aroma of jasmine flowers was inferior in fragrance compared to Chinese jasmine flowers. Since 1980, the government of Guangxi has made significant efforts to expand jasmine tea production. At the same time, Guangxi was recognized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce as a production area for jasmine flowers. As a result of these reforms, Guangxi's jasmine gardens have become the largest and are known for producing high-quality jasmine flowers.

2. Jasmine Tea is Made from Two Superior Ingredients

Many people mistakenly believe that jasmine tea is made from jasmine flowers or leaves. In reality, jasmine tea is made by infusing green tea with the fragrance of jasmine flowers. The quality of the tea used, as well as the quality, freshness, and handling of the jasmine flowers, greatly affect the final quality of jasmine tea. Low-grade jasmine tea is made by spraying jasmine fragrance onto tea leaves similar to bancha, while high-quality tea is made by mixing first-flush tea plucked in March with fresh jasmine flowers, allowing the tea to absorb the fragrance of the flowers. Below, we explain the raw materials used in the production of jasmine tea in detail.

3. Jasmine Flowers

Jasmine is originally a tropical plant and requires temperatures above 20°C. Guangxi's jasmine cultivation areas have been proven to be the most suitable for growth due to their climate. This region is located in a subtropical monsoon climate. This climate allows jasmine to easily survive the winter without the risk of frost. The ideal temperature for blooming is above 25°C. Jasmine gardens are located on the slopes of hills, providing good drainage and ample sunlight for the jasmine. Additionally, the soil is very fertile, resulting in large, highly fragrant flowers. This quality advantage allows the same level of fragrance to be achieved with 70% of the flowers compared to other flowers.

There are several types of jasmine flowers, which can be broadly divided into 3 groups.

1. Single-Petal Jasmine

Before 1963, this type of jasmine was mainly cultivated for jasmine tea processing. These jasmine flowers bloom earlier (6–7 AM) compared to Double-Petal jasmine (8–9 AM). The yield is very low, and only about half of the Double-Petal jasmine can be harvested per unit area of the garden. Additionally, it is very susceptible to diseases and has low adaptability to the environment, so it is rarely cultivated in recent years.

2. Double-Petal Jasmine

This type of jasmine is suitable for jasmine tea production due to its high yield, strong adaptability to the environment, uniform blooming, and strong fragrance.

3. Multi-Petal Jasmine

These flowers bloom at 7–8 AM after being plucked. However, the blooming pattern is inconsistent and random, making the fragrance weaker and unsuitable for jasmine tea processing.

The harvesting season of jasmine flowers varies depending on climate and regional conditions. Generally, there are 4 main seasons.

1. Spring Flowers: Generally from May to June, accounting for 15% of annual production.
2. Summer Flowers: Generally in July, accounting for 30% of annual production.
3. Late Summer Flowers: Generally in August, accounting for 30% of annual production.
4. Autumn Flowers: Generally from September to October, accounting for 25% of annual production.

During spring, the yield is low, and the quality is poor due to the low ambient temperature and lack of accumulated nutrients in the plants. Flowers harvested in early spring and late autumn are small and yellowish and rarely bloom, making them unsuitable for jasmine tea processing. The most suitable flowers for jasmine tea processing are those harvested in summer and late summer. These conditions, with high temperatures and ample sunlight and rain, produce more flowers, larger sizes, and superior quality. A key point in flower plucking is whether the plucked flowers will bloom at night. Therefore, flowers suitable for jasmine tea processing are carefully selected and plucked. The plucking criteria are as follows:

1. The petals are intact and white, with long stems.
2. Green petals do not bloom and are not plucked.
3. Already bloomed flowers are not plucked as most of the fragrance is lost.

The Secret of Jasmine Flower for Making Fine Jasmine Tea

4. Tea Leaves

Jasmine tea is made by absorbing the fragrance of jasmine flowers into tea leaves. Therefore, the type of tea leaves used as the base is an important factor that influences the quality of jasmine tea, just like the jasmine flowers used. Generally, Chinese green tea is used as the base tea. Fujian and Sichuan provinces are particularly famous for their tea leaves. At HOJO, we produce original jasmine tea using raw pu-erh tea.

Green Tea from Fujian Province

The tea leaves used in the production of Jasmine Pearls are produced in Fujian Province. The region where the tea gardens are located is surrounded by natural mountains. Additionally, 24 natural rivers flow through the area, providing a water source necessary for tea. For high-quality jasmine tea, green tea plucked around March 20 is used. Tea plucking continues into April and May, but the flavor becomes weaker and astringency develops as the season progresses. Additionally, tea leaves plucked later grow faster, resulting in brittle cells and more dust during processing. Tea leaves plucked after the first flush have fewer fine hairs, making the jasmine pearls appear darker.

Fuyun No. 6 and Fuding Dabaihao are the cultivars mainly used in the production of jasmine tea. These cultivars sprout early compared to other types of tea. The buds are very fresh and covered with white hairs, resulting in excellent quality in terms of both taste and appearance when processed into jasmine tea. Plucking begins in March. Generally, 1 bud and 2 leaves are plucked by hand. After plucking, the tea leaves are moved to a cooler indoor location.

Green Tea from Sichuan Province

Green tea from Sichuan Province is generally used as a raw material for high-quality jasmine tea. Mengding Ganlu green tea harvested around Mengding Mountain near Ya'an, a few hours' drive from Chengdu, is used. This green tea is used to produce Snow Jasmine (Bitan Piaoxue), where the tea leaves are so small that they are not rolled into pearls but are scented as they are. Additionally, a small amount of dried jasmine flowers is mixed in when finishing the jasmine tea, which is characteristic of this tea.

Raw Pu-erh Tea from Yunnan Province

In search of rich and reasonably priced tea leaves, HOJO uses raw pu-erh tea from Lincang. Lincang is located in the northern part of Yunnan Province, and tea plucking starts around March 20. The tea leaves suitable for jasmine tea are those plucked in March, so we visit the region and directly purchase the tea on-site. We travel to Yunnan Province every year and stay for nearly two months to procure various types of pu-erh tea. Among raw pu-erh teas, we use materials cultivated naturally by ethnic minorities to produce jasmine pearls with a strong body and flavor that even connoisseurs will be satisfied with.

5. Handcrafted Processing by Artisans

Jasmine tea is made through extremely complex manual processes. Green tea is processed in early spring and then stored until the jasmine season (summer). During the scenting process, excessive care is given to the flowers to ensure the best fragrance is absorbed by the tea leaves.

Do you know why high-quality jasmine tea from Fujian Province is all pearl-shaped? In fact, the tea leaves are processed into pearl shapes to facilitate smooth mixing and dispersion with jasmine flowers, making them the same shape and size as jasmine buds. Round balls of tea leaves and jasmine buds mix well together. Below, we explain the processing method using jasmine pearls from Fujian Province as an example.

Withering

After plucking, the tea leaves are carefully spread into a thin layer. Damaged tea leaves turn brown or black, affecting the quality of the final product. The withering process continues until the tea leaves have 70% moisture. Withering removes the green-grassy note from the tea leaves, reduces bitterness and astringency, and increases the proportion of amino acids, making the tea taste sweeter.

Pan Frying: Inactivation of Enzymes

The tea leaves are quickly heated in a drum heated to 260–300°C to inactivate enzymes (polyphenol oxidase). At the same time, high-temperature processing helps remove the green-grassy note. Heating also softens the tea leaves, making them suitable for rolling in the next step.

Rolling

The dried tea leaves are cooled and proceed to the hand-rolling process. The reason for shaping them into distinctive pearls is to increase the surface area to better absorb the jasmine fragrance. Since everything is done by hand, even a skilled artisan can only produce 2 kg of finished product per day.

Drying

The pearl-shaped tea is dried again in a dryer. Initially at a high temperature of 110–120°C, then adjusted to a lower temperature of 95–105°C. The dried product contains 7% moisture.

The dried tea leaves are stored in a warehouse until the jasmine season arrives. During storage, they are kept in vacuum containers in a cool, shaded place to maintain moisture levels below 9%. Before proceeding to the scenting process, the tea leaves undergo pre-treatment.

Grading

The tea pearls are sieved and graded by size. At the same time, fragments and irregular tea leaves are removed.

Re-firing

The tea leaves are dried again. The temperature of the dryer is kept low to avoid giving the tea leaves a burnt smell (100–110°C). This drying process evaporates the moisture absorbed by the tea leaves during storage and volatilizes any odors attached to the storage container. The moisture content after drying is below 5%.

Cooling

The temperature of the dried tea leaves is around 60–80°C. The tea leaves are spread into a thin layer and cooled to a temperature 1–3°C higher than room temperature. Insufficiently cooled tea leaves affect the subsequent scenting process. Jasmine flowers are very sensitive to environmental temperature changes, and low temperatures are needed for blooming.

6. Preparing Jasmine Flowers for Jasmine Tea Production: Strict Quality Control Like a Florist!

Freshly plucked jasmine flowers are managed based on the following criteria.

Cooling

While transporting the flowers to the factory, the flowers continue to respire, gradually increasing the temperature to 38°C. The temperature rise affects blooming in the subsequent process, so the flowers are spread in thin layers less than 10 cm thick. If the flowers were harvested after rain, they are spread in thinner layers and ventilated with a blower to evaporate moisture.

Fresh Flower Care

This process is carried out to strictly manage the temperature of the piled flowers. It plays a crucial role in ensuring the flowers bloom when needed. Jasmine flowers are highly sensitive to temperature changes. To bloom as scheduled, the temperature of the flowers must be maintained at 32–37°C. If the temperature of the piled flowers drops below 30°C, the thickness of the pile is increased to raise the temperature, and if it exceeds 38°C, the layer is thinned to lower the temperature.

Sieving

When about 60% of the flowers have bloomed, they are sieved. The purpose of sieving is to grade the flowers by size. Additionally, it removes green buds and stems. Only uniformly sized flowers are mixed with tea leaves.

7. Mixing Tea Leaves and Jasmine Flowers: Care as Good as First-Class

This is a very important process that greatly affects the quality of the final product. Below are 6 key elements.

1) Mixing Ratio of Tea Leaves and Flowers

The amount of flowers used depends on the grade of the final product. High-quality products require more flowers. To produce 100 kg of the highest grade jasmine tea, 100 kg of flowers are needed. The 100 kg of flowers is used in 4 stages.

1. 1st scenting: 38 kg
2. 2nd scenting: 30 kg
3. 3rd scenting: 26 kg
4. 4th scenting: 6 kg

For the 1st-grade product (2nd highest grade), there is no final scenting. For lower grades of jasmine tea, the tea leaves are scented with used flowers.

2) Blooming Percentage

Tea leaves and flowers are mixed when more than 80% of the flowers have bloomed. If mixed before blooming is sufficient, the flowers will be compressed by the weight of the tea leaves and will not bloom further. Additionally, larger bloomed flowers have a larger surface area, making scenting more efficient.

3) Moisture Content

During scenting, the moisture content of the tea leaves is maintained at 4–4.5%. After scenting, the moisture content of the tea leaves increases dramatically. However, it is necessary to manage the moisture content so that it does not exceed 18%. If the moisture content exceeds 18%, the flowers begin to deteriorate, producing an unpleasant odor.

4) Thickness of the Piled Flowers and Tea Leaves

The purpose of adjusting the thickness is to manage the temperature of the tea leaves and flowers. Generally, a thickness of 30–40 cm is used, but the thickness is adjusted as needed based on various external factors.

Mixing Tea Leaves and Flowers

This process needs to be done quickly. The longer it takes, the more the fragrance of the flowers will dissipate.

The mixing process is done entirely by hand. First, the tea leaves and flowers are divided into 3–5 groups. The 1st group is spread into a layer 10–15 cm thick. The 1st group's flowers are then piled on top. Similarly, each layer is alternated between tea leaves and flowers. Finally, a rake is used to mix them. The mixture of flowers and tea leaves is then left to sit for 5–6 hours.

Ventilation

Ventilation is carried out for 3 reasons: 1) to lower the temperature, 2) to provide air to the flowers, allowing them to continue blooming, and 3) to release carbon dioxide. The artisan uses a rake to spread the mixture of tea leaves and flowers into a 10–15 cm layer. This process is carried out every 15 minutes for an hour. After that, the thickness of the tea leaves and flower layer is adjusted according to temperature changes. The scenting process takes a total of 10–12 hours. If the temperature drops, the fragrance is not absorbed sufficiently, and if the temperature rises too high, the flowers turn yellow and develop an altered smell, making temperature control a critical element in determining the quality of jasmine tea.

Separation of Flowers and Tea Leaves

Once scenting is complete, the old flowers are removed. If the removal timing is delayed, the flowers deteriorate, transferring an unpleasant odor to the tea leaves.

As the flowers bloom, they become larger in volume than the tea leaves (pearls) and can be easily removed with a sieve.

Drying

The scented tea leaves are dried in a dryer. The drying conditions vary depending on the number of scenting rounds.

1. 1st scenting: 110–120°C, moisture 5.0–5.5%
2. 2nd scenting: 100–110°C, moisture 5.5–6.0%
3. 3rd scenting: 90–100°C, moisture 6.0–6.5%

After drying, the tea leaves need to be cooled to below 40°C. The cooled tea leaves then proceed to the next round of scenting.

Final Scenting

This process is crucial for adding a very fresh floral fragrance to jasmine tea. The purpose of the final scenting is to enhance the jasmine fragrance and add the fresh scent of live flowers. The highest quality jasmine flowers (large petals, white color, strong fragrance) are used for this process. The tea leaves are not dried after the final scenting to retain the natural floral fragrance. Before the final scenting, the moisture content of the tea leaves is analyzed, and the amount of flowers used is calculated based on the moisture content after mixing the fragrance. The final product's moisture content is managed to be below 8.5%.

8. Jasmine Tea with Good Fragrance Alone is Not High-Quality Jasmine Tea

The quality of jasmine tea is determined by both aroma and taste, but professionals place the most importance on the quality of the tea leaves used. Jasmine tea is one of the most produced teas in China and is consumed in large quantities both in China and around the world. Naturally, the demand cannot be met by tea leaves plucked in spring alone, so tea leaves harvested in late spring, summer, and autumn are also used as raw materials for jasmine tea. The best raw materials are those plucked in March, but due to their high cost, most jasmine tea on the market is made from tea leaves harvested from late spring to autumn. In the case of jasmine tea made from low-quality raw materials, the tea leaves are not mixed with fresh jasmine flowers for scenting, but rather, jasmine fragrance is sprayed to make jasmine tea.

When comparing first flush tea leaves plucked in spring to summer-plucked tea leaves, the first flush tea has a solid body and rich flavor with no astringency or bitterness, while the flavor weakens and astringency and bitterness increase as the harvesting season progresses. To achieve a clear, soft, and gentle flavor, it is essential to use tea leaves plucked around March 20. Jasmine tea is often evaluated primarily on its fragrance, but the quality of the tea leaves used significantly influences the quality of the jasmine fragrance.

Rare Jasmine Tea Uniquely Crafted from Ripe Pu-erh