Jasmine Silver Tips

茉莉银针

Harvest
July 2024

Origin
Hengxian, Guangxi

Tea leaves are long known to have the remarkable capacity to absorb and preserve the scent of flowers that would otherwise disappear.  However, the process of scenting tea leaves is laborious and long-developed; it began in the Southern Song Dynasty more than 1000 years ago. It requires a careful understanding of the ratio of flower to tea, and several rounds of infusions to achieve a lasting transfer of the flower's otherwise fleeting scent.

For this Jasmine Silver Tips, the fresh green tea buds are made into tea in April, and set aside to await the blossoming of the jasmine flowers in July. The fresh jasmine flowers were harvested in late July, and the scenting process lasted for 2 weeks. Traditionally, scenting is done in small batches: tiny jasmine blossoms are scattered with the tea leaves on bamboo mats and left overnight, where the tea leaves gradually absorb the delicate night-aromas of the blossoms. The next morning, craftsmen separate the jasmine flowers from the tea leaves, and the tea is baked over charcoal for a few hours. This Jasmine Silver Tips received 6 traditional rounds of scenting.

The colour of the leaves in this year’s harvest is especially luminous: they look like they are cast in white-gold. There was less jasmine this year due to drought, which has led to a more intense tea, and we can detect this as soon as we smell it in the gaiwan. 

When wet, the robust spindles tint an earthy sage colour and float like a snow-covered pile of sticks gathered by a current and suspended on water. The liquor is mouth coating, with a glycerol sensation that paints the inside of our mouths with the robust scent of the jasmine. It finishes with a soft, milky sweetness, uncut by even a hint of astringency. This year’s harvest is a wonderful example of the intensity that can be transmitted by way of gentleness. 

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Brewing guide