Jasmine tea is the most popular flavored tea in the world. The first jasmine tea was produced in China and made from green tea. Today, however, jasmine flowers are used to scent teas from all over the world, in black, white, green and oolong varieties.
What makes jasmine tea so wonderful is its special blend of high quality loose tea leaves with jasmine petals. The jasmine petals impart a delicate yet very aromatic fragrance and a slightly sweet flavor to the tea.
Jasmine has been produced in China for at least 700 years. The original production of jasmine tea included plucking the jasmine blossoms just as they were beginning to open in the morning. Then the jasmine petals were kept cool until evening when they were added to the green tea leaves.
The jasmine petals were infused with the tea leaves at night because this is the time when the petals release their fragrance. The teas were infused with the jasmine petals multiple times to obtain just the right scent and flavor. Today, the process is more automated, but good quality jasmine tea still depends upon using the best loose tea and infusing it with just the right amount of jasmine blossom. ...