Jasmine Tea Benefits, Types & Uses
Jasmine tea is one of the most popular Chinese teas, and it is served in restaurants, hotels, and homes worldwide.
Chinese Jasmine Tea
Historically, it is said that China introduced the Jasmine plant from South Asia during the Han Dynasty - somewhere between 206 BC and 220 AD - but didn't start cultivating Jasmine tea until almost three centuries later, only growing in popularity when tea was exported to the West grew exponentially as the years passed.
Some of the Jasmine tea regions of China include Yunnan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi. Still, Fujian has long held the honour of being the most traditional place for production. Tradition isn't always everything, though, and beautiful examples of Jasmine tea can be rendered by dedicated and skilled masters elsewhere. You just have to know where to look and what you're looking for, which is why we're lucky to be on the ground for so much of the year.
Yingpan Garden in Yunnan China where our Jasmine Silver Needle is from.
What is Jasmine tea?
Jasmine tea is a blend of true tea leaves and jasmine blossoms. Jasmine blossoms are harvested from the jasmine plant known as Jasminum officinale. The tea is a classical Chinese tea and many varieties of the flower are harvested in the Fujian province of China.
Jasmine teas are commonly found in green teas but can also be found in white and black teas.
JING Jasmine teas are fragranced naturally by only using whole, fresh jasmine flowers. The process is laborious but well worth the effort. Our teas are picked in early spring and, if they are to be scented, packed and kept airtight in a cool environment.
Jasmine tea is any tea that has been scented or fragranced with the smell of Jasmine flowers
Jasmine Tea Benefits
As with any tea, it is difficult to be absolute regarding health benefits, more precisely than the fact that it is excellent for hydrating and uplifting the drinker. We always maintain that the best tea for you is the one you enjoy the most and that this can be enhanced by taking a quiet moment of relaxed focus to prepare and drink your tea. Jasmine tea itself has long been associated with health. It is used traditionally in Chinese medicine for conditions related to the heart and to soothe inflammation of the muscles and joints. Tea is full of antioxidants, namely catechins, which are highly regarded for their benefit to the health, especially around metabolism.
If you enjoy Jasmine tea, this pleasure is by far the best health benefit, though.
Enjoy the tea you love most. Savour it in a quiet, mindful 3-minute tea break.
Does Jasmine Tea Have Caffeine
It is pretty challenging to determine the exact amount of caffeine in any tea type on the whole without testing every single batch that is produced, as there are so many variables that will ultimately have implications for the result, such as the time at which it was picked, what the weather has been like during growth and how it was processed. The amount of caffeine in a Jasmine tea will also vary depending on whether it is white, green, or black tea. However, the caffeine in tea as a beverage is far lower than that of a cup of coffee. What's more, an amino acid in tea - theanine - helps slow the absorption of caffeine in the blood and uplifts you gently rather than giving you the spike associated with coffee.
If you're concerned about tea and caffeine, be sure to read our blog on the subject. https://jingtea.com/journal/the-truth-about-tea-caffeine
How To Make Jasmine Tea
Preparing Jasmine tea is very straightforward. Every JING tea – including our Jasmine Silver Needle and Jasmine Pearls – comes with tailored instructions for infusing the perfect cup, which you can find on every product page or on the back of the pack. If you have the proper tea-ware, there are only three elements to consider: tea, temperature and time.
Tea:
Quality is key for a full-flavoured cup of tea. The best teas tend to be whole leaf loose-leaf teas—look for ones in which both the jasmine and the white or green tea leaves have been freshly picked and stored well. In terms of amounts, for our Jasmine Silver Needle, we have found the optimum measure is 4g (or 3 tsp) per 250ml cup. For Jasmine Pearls, it's 5g (or 2 tsp).
The best teas tend to be whole leaf loose-leaf teas—look for ones where the white or green tea leaves are whole leaf or bud, vibrant in colour and un-broken.
Temperature:
You rarely require boiling water. For both of our jasmine teas, the optimum temperature is 80ºC. There are a couple of easy ways to achieve that temperature. You could use a temperature-controlled kettle or pour cold water straight onto the leaves in your teapot before topping up with boiling water. For 80ºC, the cold water should be around 20% of the total water volume.
Because water makes up most of the infusion, it's important to use the best-quality water you can. We recommend filtered or softened water. Hard water (and limescale) can change the taste of tea due to its higher mineral concentration.
Time:
The third and final element is time. To make things as simple as possible, our fresh jasmine tea recipes are standardised for a three-minute infusion. This means there's just one thing left to mention: the teaware. If you are making loose leaf tea – as we recommend you do wherever possible – the volume of the teapot you use should match the total volume of the cups. For example, if you're making 250ml cups for two people, the teapot should be around 500ml – ideally, with extra space for the leaves to absorb some water. Doing this will ensure a balanced infusion – the leaves won't be left in water, so you can reinfuse them.
Types Of Jasmine Tea
Jasmine Silver Needle:
A long-standing favourite, Jasmine Silver Needle combines the best Silver Needle tea buds with the fragrance of fresh jasmine flavours. It is grown in Yunnan, China, in early spring and naturally scented in the summer with jasmine. The sweet vanilla notes of the white tea are perfectly balanced with the fresh, fragrant flavours of the jasmine.
Naturally scenting Jasmine Silver Needle for five consecutive summer nights.
Flowering Jasmine & Lily:
Sappy, spring-fresh green tea from Fujian is picked and stored in a cold store until the summer months. The tea leaves are then masterfully hand-tied with an arch of sweet and enchanting jasmine blossoms by skilled artisans. Upon infusion, the bulbs unfurl into an enchanting display of vibrantly coloured flowers.
Hand-crafted Flowering Jasmine & Lily.
Jasmine Pearls:
Each pearl is hand-made by nimbly rolling fresh spring green tea into pearls naturally fragranced by the scent of whole summer jasmine flowers. Loved for their visual quality, they slowly unfurl into their infusion, rendering a soft, sweet, uplifting cup of tea.
Hand-rolling Jasmine Pearls.
Jasmine Tea Gift Set:
This set is the perfect gift for someone who is new to exploring the world of single garden loose tea. It includes two of our bestsellers – a recyclable caddy of Jasmine Silver Needle white tea (30g) and our One Cup Tea-iere™.
Match It With:
- Glass Cup & Saucer, 300ml
- One Cup Tea-iere™, 250ml
- Tea Timer
- Brewista Artisan 900ml Gooseneck Kettle