How is jasmine tea scented?

The fragrance of jasmine tea is not added. It is imparted.

Contrary to what is often assumed, jasmine tea is not scented with artificial flavourings. Its fragrance emerges through a slow, precise process, in which the tea leaf naturally absorbs the breath of the flower.

Ce savoir-faire traditionnel, appelé « yìn zhì » (窨制), est reconnu comme patrimoine culturel immatériel en Chine.

It is less a technique than a delicate encounter between a leaf and a flower, between two temporalities.

A process in several cycles

Producing a quality jasmine tea is never a single-step process. It is a sequence of repeated gestures, in which every detail influences the final result.

1. 1. Preparing the base
   A carefully dried green tea is selected, capable of receiving the fragrance without overpowering it.
2. 2. Preparing the flowers
   The jasmine flowers are picked in summer, while still closed, then left to rest until they open naturally.
3. 3. Bringing them together
   The tea and flowers are arranged in delicate layers. The flower opens, releases its breath, and the leaf slowly absorbs it.
4. 4. Controlling the heat
   The blend naturally generates heat. It must be carefully aerated to preserve the purity of the fragrance.
5. 5. Separating
   After several hours, the wilted flowers are delicately removed.
6. 6. Drying
   The tea is gently heated to set the fragrance without altering it.
7. 7. Beginning again
   This cycle may be repeated several times.

The number of « scentings » changes everything

On the finest jasmine teas, you will sometimes see 3, 5, up to 7 or 9 scentings mentioned. Each cycle allows the leaf to absorb more fragrance.

But more is not always better.

A great jasmine tea should not only smell of the flower. It must allow the leaf itself to exist, in its delicate balance.

With or without visible flowers

Two approaches coexist:

• - Without flowers: the fragrance is integrated, subtle, deep.
• - With flowers: more visual, more immediate.

In both cases, the question remains the same: Is the fragrance laid upon the tea, or is it truly part of the tea?

At HOLLIN

We do not treat jasmine as a flavor to be added. We let it permeate the leaf, slowly, respectfully.

It is this delicate encounter that we offer in our Rosée de Jasmin and our Duo des Fleurs - two different expressions of the same ancestral savoir-faire.

A successful jasmine tea does not simply smell of « jasmine ». It becomes something else: a gentle, clear, living presence.