- Introduction
Flowers are a type of flower with a long history dating back to the Tang Dynasty. They are considered a useful medicine to treat a number of diseases. Not only that, they are also a fragrant and delicious drink. The article below by Lam Chan Au Tea & Coffee Co., Ltd. will help you add more knowledge about the origin and how to prepare flower tea in a delicious and authentic way. - Origin of jasmine tea
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in China, flower tea was considered a medicine. So initially, tea leaves were often combined with herbs. This not only helps the tea have more effects but also has a better flavor. Combining herbs with tea at this time is considered the first form of flavoring for tea.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), tea drinking culture also had big changes. Because the founder of the Song Dynasty, Trieu Khuong Dan, was also a person who loved drinking tea. At this stage, the ‘taste’ of drinking tea also changes. Tea is no longer combined with herbs but is enjoyed on its own.
By the end of the Song Dynasty, scented tea began to return. And the first two types of flower-flavored tea are jasmine tea and morocco flower-flavored tea. Jasmine tea was born in Guangdong, a province in the south of China. Due to the warm climate during certain times of the year, Guangdong, along with Fujian and Yunnan, were the first places to grow jasmine in China.
Jasmine plants began to be introduced to China during the Jin Dynasty (266-420) from South and Central Asian countries through the famous Silk Road. Like tea, jasmine is considered a medicine. Because it has neither heat nor cold properties, jasmine is considered a medicine that balances yin and yang very well.
The reason jasmine was used to marinate tea in the late Song Dynasty was because the transportation process was too time-consuming. Tea at this time is usually produced in southern provinces. Then it will be transferred to the North. When tea was available for consumption in the Northern provinces, the natural aroma of the tea was no longer there. The scent of jasmine lasts a long time, so jasmine is chosen to marinate tea.
Jasmine also appeared in Vietnam quite early. And this flower also holds a quite important position in our country’s culture. King Minh Mang the 17th had jasmine images engraved on the Nine Dinh. Nine bronze tops are placed in front of The Mieu courtyard in Hue Imperial Citadel. There are only 9 types of flowers engraved on the Nine Dinh. And jasmine is one of these.
The practice of fragrant flowers for tea in Vietnam is also believed to have originated from Hue. Flowers used to marinate tea include lotus, osmanthus and jasmine. And today, Hue is still a famous place for these teas as well as other herbal teas.
You should choose a reputable, professional tea shop that uses teas with clear origin, quality and expiration date of the teas the shop sells. Normally, reputable tea shops will sell very quickly and the tea processing date is very close to the date of sale. You should consider using jasmine tea at Lam Chan Au coffee processing facility.
- Prepare delicious jasmine tea.
You can completely marinate jasmine tea for your own use. The first thing you need to do is prepare the ingredients. And the most important ingredient is none other than jasmine flowers. Usually jasmine flowers grow most in the summer. Approximately from May onwards. In the South, jasmine will flower more often.
And the second main ingredient is green tea. Traditionally, the type of tea used to make jasmine tea is green tea. Green tea is the most consumed tea among all teas in Vietnam. So it is not surprising that flavored teas such as jasmine tea are also consumed strongly. - You can use any type of green tea. At Danh Tra, we use green tea from Thai Nguyen – a province bordering the North of Hanoi. Partly because Thai Nguyen is considered to have the best quality green tea in Vietnam. And the other part is because we are also the ones who directly grow and produce tea in Thai Nguyen.
- To make jasmine tea, you need 1kg of fresh flowers and 1kg of dried green tea for the first marinade. The jasmine flower used for marinating should be a flower that has just opened. That means flowers that are about to bloom are the most suitable for making tea. Freshly picked flowers should be used to make tea immediately. Because jasmine flowers are most fragrant within 10 to 12 hours. And we also need at least 10 hours to marinate the flowers with tea.
- To marinate tea, we need to spread 200g of green tea into a thin layer. Tea can be spread on a bamboo hot pot or any plastic tray. After the tea layer is 200g of flower layer. After the flower layer, there is the tea layer. And just like that, we have 5 layers of tea and 5 layers of flowers. Leave it like that for 5 hours.
- After 5 hours, we use our hands to mix the tea and flowers well. Not divided into classes like before. And continue marinating like that for 6 to 7 hours. Then pick the flowers out of the tea.
Tea after marinating will be moist due to absorbing steam as well as essential oils from the flowers. So we need to stir the tea again. You can put the tea in a small pan and stir it over the lowest heat possible for a few minutes. The writer once heard someone using a hair dryer to dry tea. Don’t know how effective it is, but you can try. After the tea leaves dry, put them back in the bag and let the tea ‘rest’ for a few days.
After a few days, we repeat the above steps again. You can also use less flowers. And there’s no need to spread a very thin layer of tea and flowers anymore. Just 2-3 layers of tea and flowers is enough. Repeat this process 3 times and you will have an extremely delicious jasmine tea, especially with a strong jasmine scent. To be more elaborate, you can marinate the tea up to 5 times.
LAM CHAN AU TEA & COFFEE COMPANY LIMITED
Company address: 943 Tay Hue 1, My Hoa, Long Xuyen City, An Giang
Branch 1: No. 40, Hai Ba Trung, Long Xuyen City, An Giang
Branch 2: No. 741 Ha Hoang Ho – Dong Xuyen, Long Xuyen City, An Giang
Tel : 0383005996
