Having drunk a lot of Green Tea recently, I suddenly felt like trying some Flower tea.

After much deliberation, I chose Jasmine-scented Qi Hong. One can only imagine the elevation of fragrance when jasmine, already fragrant in its own right, meets Qi Hong—one of the world's three most fragrant black teas.

Traditionally, Jasmine tea is based on green tea; however, the innovative combination of red tea with flower tea in Jasmine-scented Qi Hong produces a gentle aroma and an alluring color.

Like a book worth savoring, one must take their time to appreciate the journey from simple to complex, and from singular to varied, as the jasmine and red tea evolve together.

Jasmine, Guangxi

There are three major jasmine-producing regions in China: Fuzhou, Sichuan, and Guangxi.

Among them, Heng County in Guangxi can be considered the leading producer, being a base for economically-utilized jasmine flowers. There are single-petal, double-petal, and multi-petal varieties of jasmine, and the double-petal variety grown in Heng County not only yields high production and large buds but also has a rich fragrance, making it ideal for jasmine tea production.

Hence, Heng County in Guangxi is known as “China's Jasmine Capital,” producing over 80% of China's total jasmine flower output and recognized as a national geographic indication product in China.

Qi Hong, Qimen

Qimen County is located in the southwestern mountainous region of Anhui Province, China.

Qimen lies at the foot of Huangshan's western slopes, bordering Jiangxi Province, and serves as the southern gateway to Anhui. It was part of the ancient Huizhou region, which comprised one prefecture and six counties. The name Qimen originates from Mount Qi to its northeast and the Gate of Chang to its southwest. It is a mountainous county with nine-tenths mountains, half water, and half a field.

The unique pine trees, bizarre rocks, and sea of clouds of Huangshan create a fairyland-like scenery, and thus Huangshan Maofeng tea is often described as having an ethereal quality.

The land in Qimen is equally suitable for growing tea, with high yields and excellent quality. The fertile red-yellow soil, moderate climate, abundant rainfall, and moderate sunlight result in tender tea leaves with a rich content of water-soluble substances.

The black tea produced here is of superior quality and has a captivating aroma.

Jasmine and Qi Hong

Qi Hong's natural fragrance, known as “Qi fragrance,” is already very enchanting, reminiscent of flowers, fruit, and honey.

When paired with jasmine, layer upon layer of floral fragrance is added, resulting in a tea that is both delicate and sweet, like Jasmine-scented Qi Hong.

Its fragrance is bold, intense, and dominant.

The process of making simple jasmine tea involves selecting suitable tea leaves, picking unopened jasmine flowers, mixing them with the tea leaves, and controlling the time and temperature during the scenting process.

However, using black tea as the base for this process presents certain challenges.

As a fully fermented tea, after prolonged fermentation, the internal channels and pores of the tea leaves have collapsed, making it difficult for them to absorb and retain fragrance.

Additionally, post-fermentation, black tea typically carries a light honey aroma, which may not harmonize well with the fragrance of jasmine.

Therefore, crafting a superior cup of jasmine tea requires more complex techniques and higher standards for raw materials.