, green tea with jasmine flowers. Teas blended with other additives were developed in ancient China. As far back as the
Jin dynasty (266–420), ground up tea leaves were boiled with
scallions,
ginger, and
orange peels as reported in the
Guangya dictionary (c. 3rd century CE). During the
Tang dynasty, tea was often blended with flowers. During the
Song era (960 to 1279), the most expensive tea, called wax tea, was often covered with aromatic ointments, like Borneo
camphor. In the
Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the Manchus popularized scented teas, such as
jasmine tea and teas scented with
cloranthus, cassia,
honeysuckle, and
rose. Although many teas are still scented or flavored directly with flowers, herbs, spices, or even smoke, teas with more specialized flavors are usually produced through the addition of
flavorings or
perfumes. This is particularly true for tea blends with pronounced fruit or flower aromas, which cannot be achieved with the original ingredients. Some firms such as
Mariage Frères and
Kusmi Tea have become quite famous for their perfumed teas. The most commonly used scents are
jasmine, traditionally used to scent delicate white and green teas, and
bergamot, which is used to scent
Earl Grey tea. The teas described below are flavored directly with other materials.
Flowers A variety of flowers are used to flavor teas. Although flowers can be used to scent teas directly, most flower-scented teas on the market use perfumes and aromas to augment or replace the use of flowers. The most popular flower teas include the following: •
Jasmine: Tea can be spread with
jasmine flowers while oxidizing to give it a floral flavor; occasionally some are left in the tea as a decoration. Jasmine is most commonly used to flavor green teas to produce
jasmine tea, although sometimes it is used to flavor light oolong teas such as
baozhong tea. •
Osmanthus: In China, osmanthus tea (called , ) is produced by combining dried sweet osmanthus (
Osmanthus fragrans) flowers (, ) with black or green tea leaves in much the same manner as jasmine tea is flavored. The flower gives the tea a mild peachy flavor. It is the second most popular scented tea in China, after jasmine. •
Rose: Similar to jasmine, tea can be spread with
rose flowers while oxidizing. Rose petals can also be left in the tea as a decoration. In China, roses are usually used to scent black tea; the resulting tea is called rose . •
Chrysanthemum: The flowers are often brewed alone to create a
chrysanthemum tisane, but they are also commonly mixed with
pu-erh tea to make chrysanthemum pu-erh. •
Lotus:
Vietnamese lotus tea is made by stuffing green tea leaves into the blossom of
Nelumbo nucifera and allowing the scent to be absorbed overnight. Another common technique for making this tea is by jarring or baking the tea leaves with the fragrant
stamens of the flower multiple times. •
Orchid: The most commonly used
orchid species in tea is
vanilla. •
Magnolia: Again,
magnolia scented teas are produced using a similar method as jasmine teas. The flowers impart a rich, sweet, floral, and fruity aroma and flavor. Today the most common magnolia scented tea found for sale is a magnolia jade oolong using
Tieguanyin or a similar variety of oolong.
Herbs •
Mint:
Maghrebi mint tea, or Moroccan mint tea, consists of a mixture of green teas and any variety of the
mint plants (known as
nana), and is popular in the Middle East and desert areas of North Africa. Many types of mint are also sometimes used in modern commercial tea blends, like
peppermint and
spearmint. Mint can also be brewed on its own to create a mint
herbal tea. •
Pandan:
Pandan, also known as screwpine, is a popular additive to green or black tea in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. •
Sticky rice plant (Nuo Mi Ye): The leaves of the sticky rice plant (
Strobilanthes tonkinensis) are often used to scent teas. The tea most commonly scented with nuo mi ye today is ripe,
shóu, pu-er. The sticky rice puer is usually pressed into and sold as
xiǎo tuóchá, a 3-5 gram dome shaped single serving tea cake. •
Citrus peel: The best known citrus-flavored tea is
Earl Grey, which is made by infusing black teas with
bergamot peel. More typically, however, an essential oil or perfume blend of the
citrus fruit is used.
Lady Grey differs from Earl Grey in that it contains additional
lemon peel and
orange peel. •
Ginseng: Teas blended with
ginseng are popular in China, where ginseng is an important root in
Traditional Chinese Medicine •
Berries: Teas blended with dried
blackcurrants were common in the
Victorian era and are still sold today. Various other tea blends containing different
berries (either dried fruit or flavoring agents), like
lychee, are sold commercially today. •
Fruit: Other fruits or fruit flavorings (such as
mango or
peach) are also commonly blended with teas •
Roasted grain:
Genmaicha is a popular Japanese green tea with roasted
rice added. Korean
hyeonmi-nokcha is another type of
brown rice green tea.
Wheat and
barley are also used to blend with tea. •
Smoke: One type in this class is
lapsang souchong, which is produced by drying black tea over smoking
pine needles. This process gives it a striking smoky odor and flavor. The best varieties are not overwhelmed by the smoke, but retain subtlety and a mix of other flavors.
Lapsang souchong is found in many Russian Caravan blends. •
Multiple South Asian spices: Tea blends such as the Indian
Masala chai and Middle Eastern
Kahwah are flavored with multiple spices such as
ginger,
cardamom,
cinnamon,
cassia,
black pepper,
clove,
anise,
fennel, Indian
bay leaf and sometimes
vanilla,
nutmeg and
mace. •
Rum:
Jagertee is a tea with
rum added. ==See also==