Elderflower Jasmin

Our Jasmine tea has a distinctive elderflower flavor, thanks to the use of overripe jasmine flowers grown on the same mountain as the tea. This unique combination inspired us to name it “Elderflower Jasmine.”

Jasmine plants are believed to have been introduced to China from eastern South Asia, via India, during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), and were used to scent tea as early as the fifth century. However, jasmine tea only became widely popular during the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912 AD), when tea began to be exported in large quantities to the West.

In southern China, serving jasmine tea to guests is a traditional gesture of hospitality. In Fuzhou, jasmine tea is the local favorite, and the jasmine flower is the city’s official flower.

Jasmine holds significant symbolic meaning in Chinese culture. For instance, in the Ajanta cave paintings—a UNESCO World Heritage site—the crown of the Buddha is adorned with golden jasmine flowers, believed to carry the fragrance of heaven. Historically, people in Fuzhou considered tea as a remedy for many poisons. In the local dialect, “buying medicine” and “buying tea” are synonymous, as are “brewing medicine” and “brewing tea,” and “taking medicine” and “drinking tea.”

Tea leaves for jasmine tea are harvested in early spring and stored until late summer when jasmine flowers are in full bloom. The flowers are picked early in the day when their petals are still tightly closed, then kept cool until nightfall, when they open and release their fragrance. This is when the scenting process begins. For our tea, the traditional method of alternating layers of tea and jasmine flowers was used, allowing the tea to absorb the jasmine’s aroma and flavor over a period of more than four hours. The process was repeated eight times. Since the tea absorbs moisture from the fresh flowers, it is dried again to prevent spoilage.