Flower of Ancient Tea Tree古樹茶花

This is the fresh tea flower hand-plucked from old tea trees in ancient tea gardens. The tea garden is entirely sustainable, using natural farming practices with no pesticides or fertilizers. It is located at an altitude of 2000–2200m in the western part of Lincang.

Tea Flowers Are Difficult to Obtain

If you visit a typical tea garden in Japan or Taiwan and look carefully, you may notice that despite the large plantation, tea flowers are sparse. In fact, the number of tea flowers is inversely proportional to the amount of fertilizer applied — fertilized tea trees produce fewer flowers, while trees grown without fertilizer in sustainable conditions produce many. A well-fertilized tea tree is, in a sense, like a person living a comfortable life with every need met, and thus has little drive to produce offspring.

The Quality of Tea Flowers Varies Greatly, Just Like Tea Leaves

Like tea leaves, tea flowers vary remarkably in quality. The concentration of aftertaste and flavor depends greatly on altitude, tree age, and whether fertilizer is used. Flowers from old trees grown at high altitude without fertilizer develop slowly, resulting in a rich flavor and aroma with a thick, long-lasting finish and lingering depth on the palate.

We have collected tea flowers from the same tea garden where we produce Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Tea.

Our tea flowers were collected from trees approximately 200–300 years old. These are large trees, roughly the size of a two-story house, so farmers must climb them and pluck each flower by hand.

Sweet Scent Like Peach

The uplifting scent of tea flower is reminiscent of the barley drinks popular in Malaysia. When brewed, notes of fresh peach and pear emerge in the flavor.

Blending Is Fun

Tea flower is enjoyable on its own, but it is also interesting to blend with other teas. Since tea flowers come from the same plant, they pair well with all types of tea — green tea, white tea, black tea, pu-erh, and oolong.

Low Caffeine — Less Than 1/20 of Tea Leaf

Tea flowers are recommended for those who wish to minimize caffeine intake. According to research by Mr. Sakamoto of Kagoshima Agricultural Experiment Station, tea leaves contain approximately 2–5% caffeine, while tea flowers contain only 0.1%.

This makes tea flower a suitable choice for those who need very low caffeine, such as pregnant women and nursing mothers, as the caffeine content is roughly one-twentieth that of tea leaves.

Brewing with Cold Water

We also recommend brewing tea flower in cold water, which is particularly refreshing during warm weather.

For cold water brewing, use water that has been boiled and then cooled down.

As a simple guide, use 5 grams (approximately one tablespoon) of tea flower per 2 litres of water. Leave it in the refrigerator for half a day to overnight to draw out its full flavor and taste.