Jasmine tea is characterized by its compact, solid, and uniform appearance; its fragrant aroma; rich flavor; bright yellow liquor; and plump leaves. It is one of the top ten famous teas in China, made by blending freshly picked jasmine flowers with tea leaves, resulting in a floral tea that carries the scent of spring blossoms and the fresh essence of tea. It is a popular and sweet-tasting floral tea. Regular consumption of jasmine tea can not only beautify the skin and lighten complexion for women but also combat aging. Additionally, it helps clear the bowels, regulate qi, clear the mind, lower blood pressure and lipids, and has antibacterial properties. So, how should you properly enjoy jasmine tea?
How to Properly Enjoy Jasmine Tea?
1. Brewing
To enjoy high-quality jasmine tea, a transparent glass cup is typically used, and water at around 90°C is poured over the tea. The brewing time is about 3-5 minutes, and the tea can be brewed 2-3 times. Through the glass cup, you can admire the exquisite shape of the tea leaves.
The Gaiwan brewing method is commonly used by people in Sichuan to Drink floral tea. A set of tea ware includes a tea bowl, saucer, and lid. Each person brews their own tea in a gaiwan, sipping and chatting leisurely, enjoying endless pleasure.
2. Smelling the Aroma
After brewing and letting the tea rest for a moment, lift the teacup and slightly uncover one side of the lid, inhale the fragrance with your nose. The pleasant aroma will immediately reach your nostrils. For those interested, you can take a deep breath to fully appreciate the joy that the aroma brings, which is known as “nose tasting.”
3. Tasting
After smelling the aroma, when the tea is slightly cooled to a comfortable temperature, take a small sip and let the tea linger in your mouth for a moment. Inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose, allowing the tea to flow back and forth on your tongue 12 times to fully experience the taste and aroma before swallowing. This is called “mouth tasting.” Therefore, there's a saying among the people that “one sip is for drinking, three sips are for tasting.”
4. Appreciation
Special-shaped jasmine tea and high-grade jasmine tea, when brewed in a glass cup, can be appreciated not only for their aroma and taste but also for their graceful dance-like movements in the cup.
These four methods are the key points to enjoying jasmine tea. Remember these points, and you'll learn how to taste jasmine tea. Then, judging the quality of tea will no longer be difficult for you. Moreover, tea tasting can cleanse the dust of the mundane world and purify your mind, helping you find yourself again amidst the fragrance of flowers and tea.
Benefits of Drinking Jasmine Tea
1. Regulating Qi and Lifting Depression. The volatile oil compounds in jasmine have effects that help relieve pain, lift depression, and resolve stagnation, alleviating symptoms such as abdominal distension and pain, diarrhea, and tenesmus.
2. Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory. Jasmine has inhibitory effects against various bacteria and can be used internally and externally to treat red eyes, sores, and other inflammatory conditions.
3. Soothing the Liver and Brightening the Eyes. Jasmine tea nourishes the skin and improves complexion, and has detoxifying and beauty-enhancing effects. It has benefits such as invigoration, clearing heat, aiding digestion, and promoting urination.
Jasmine possesses spicy, sweet, cool, and heat-clearing properties, and can be used to treat conditions such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, red and swollen eyes, and abscesses. Jasmine tea retains the bitter, sweet, and cooling effects of tea, while the baking process during production makes it a warming tea. It combines medicinal and Health benefits, alleviating discomfort in the stomach and integrating the health benefits of both tea and flower aromas, “dispelling coldness and assisting in lifting depression.”