Scented tea

Scented tea is tea scented with real blossoms or fruits. Scenting tea is a production process of naturally altering the aroma and taste of the tea. Scenting is done by a tea producer, before tea leaves are fully finished. They are blended with fragrant fresh flowers or even fruits, usually multiple times for high quality scented tea, until they take over scent and flavor. Scented tea will take at least 2-3 weeks to fully absorb the scent.

Most scented tea won’t be sold with the flowers themselves; the tea has already absorbed the aroma during the slow processing.

In China, teas have long been scented with flowers such as whole rosebuds, jasmine and chrysanthemum. Scenting teas are believed to have come from the Chinese tea culture during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The Mongolian influence of bold aroma and spiced foods forced a change to the delicate subtle flavors of tea served at court to this point. In the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), tea scholar Gu Yuan Qing, in his tea book “Cha Pu,” mentioned jasmine, rose, orange flower, gardenia, osmanthus, and plum blossom, etc to scent with tea.

The classic example of scented tea is Jasmine Green tea but there are others such as Orchid Green tea, Rose Black tea or Mandarin PuErh. Jasmine tea is one of the world’s most popular teas, and it’s produced when jasmine blossoms are added to green or black tea leaves. Scented teas make an excellent cold infusion in the summer to drink by the glassful or as palate cleansers between meals.
Scented tea