The jasmine plant was brought to China from Persia before the third century AD and it flowers began appearing in tea around the fifth century. Jasmine belongs to the family Oleaceae, order Oleales and genus Jasminum. Jasmine is climbing, trailing and erect shrubby flowering plants and they are both deciduous and evergreen species.
The night-blooming flowers are picked in the morning and kept in a cool place till nightfall. Just as they are about to open, they are piled next to heat-dried green tea leaves, which absorb the jasmine fragrance.
The tea and flowers are left together for several hours. Then the two are separated, the flowers being removed from the scented tea.
Jasmine tea needs ‘mixing’ once and one ‘removing,’ ‘mixing’ twice and one ‘removing’ or mixing’ three times and one ‘removing’.
The process is repeated two or three times for ordinary jasmine tea, up to seven times for top grades like Yin Hao.
Jasmine tea
