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Jasmine tea earns its price through the scenting process, not through low-grade leaf. Tea leaves are highly hygroscopic and absorb moisture and odors from their surroundings, so scenting works by layering fresh jasmine with green tea across repeated rounds. The finest jasmine flowers cannot be picked until after mid-July, and August is the key drinking period, which sets the harvest and scenting schedule.

Fujian Jasmine Pearl Tea is entirely handmade and follows a six-times scenting standard, with the number of rounds driving quality and price per jin. Scented tea in China goes back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when court tea changed under Mongolian tastes for strong aromas. Today jasmine tea and Lapsang Souchong are the most widespread scented teas.

Where exactly does the expense of scented tea come from? This article begins with the origins and production principles of scented tea, and systematically explains why jasmine tea has become one of the most popular scented teas in the world. Focusing on key steps such as the timing of jasmine harvesting, temperature control, and the number of scenting rounds, it explains the logic behind how the quality and price of scented tea are formed. The article also introduces the entirely handcrafted process and six-times scenting standard of Fujian Jasmine Pearl Tea, and retains Front Street brand recommendations and product information. After reading, you can understand the grade positioning of Jasmine Dragon Pearls among scented teas, and how different numbers of scenting rounds affect the price of one jin of scented tea.

From the perspective of tea-making craftsmanship, so-called “tea aroma” actually refers to a set of processing procedures that naturally transform the aroma and flavor of tea leaves. The fundamental reason this process works is that tea leaves themselves are highly hygroscopic and continuously absorb moisture and odors from their surroundings.

Many people assume that only low-quality tea leaves are used for scenting. But that is not the case. The market also contains many finely made, high-grade scented teas whose value is highly recognized by the market and which absolutely cannot be summed up as inferior or cheap tea.

The history of scented tea can be traced back to Chinese tea culture during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). The Mongolian rulers’ preference for strong aromas and pungent foods forced the originally delicate flavors of court tea to change. Over the following centuries, Chinese people consistently valued scented tea, and this preference has continued into modern Chinese tea culture.

If you were asked what the most widespread scented tea in the world is, the answer would most likely be jasmine tea and Lapsang Souchong (sometimes also called smoked tea, which we will discuss specifically in another article).

Jasmine Tea

Every year, August is an important period for drinking jasmine tea. The finest-quality jasmine flowers usually cannot be picked until after mid-July. These flowers are processed together with spring green tea to ultimately make high-quality jasmine green tea.

In summer, jasmine flowers are generally picked very early in the day (around 10 a.m.), and then need to be kept at low temperature in order to prevent the flowers from opening prematurely before evening. The optimal temperature range for prompting the flowers to open is 32°C to 36°C. If the temperature is too low, the flowers will close; if it is too high, the aroma will dissipate and the flowers will begin to deteriorate. When about 60% of the buds have opened, spread them on large sieves and shake the sieves by hand to remove the green young buds and flower stems. During this process, the flowers continue to open. When 80% of the flowers have bloomed, green tea can be added to absorb the floral fragrance.

Although green tea is usually used to make jasmine tea, white tea, oolong tea, and black tea can also be used for scenting. Jasmine tea produced in Fujian is the most precious; however, jasmine tea is also produced in Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi in China, as well as in Vietnam.

Next, take the green tea out from the final roasting and spread the freshly picked jasmine flowers over the tea bed or tea pile. At night, the jasmine flowers continue to open to about 95% to full bloom and keep releasing fragrance. The tea and flowers are placed in the same space so that the tea leaves fully absorb the flavor (taste and aroma) of the jasmine flowers.

The jasmine leaves need four hours to a whole night to absorb enough jasmine fragrance. During this process, the tea leaves absorb more moisture. Therefore, if the tea leaves are spread flat on the ground, an additional drying step is needed; however, some producers choose to pile the tea leaves up to reduce the surface area exposed to air.

To obtain a stronger aroma and flavor, newly picked flowers can be replaced multiple times, or the flowers and tea can be mixed again. (The more scenting rounds, the higher the price of the tea. For the very finest jasmine tea, this scenting process can be repeated nine times.)

Jasmine Pearl Tea comes from a third-generation family tea garden in Fujian Province, China, and is made entirely by hand. This tea is quite labor-intensive: in spring, the newly sprouted tea buds are first picked by hand, and then every leaf must be hand-rolled into pearl shapes (a skilled roller can produce only 1 kilogram per day), and it must undergo six rounds of scenting. Considering the flowers used and the tea leaves, we believe this number is just right, allowing you to fully enjoy the tea flavor without giving the impression of drinking perfume.

It should be noted that jasmine is far from the only flower that can be used to scent tea. The most common is, of course, jasmine; in addition, rose, magnolia, lotus, and gardenia are also used.

Front Street brand recommendation: Front Street Jasmine Dragon Pearls, made from Fujian spring green tea leaves, hand-rolled into pearls, and subjected to six rounds of scenting. The floral fragrance enters the liquor, and the taste is fresh and lively.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.