Jasmine Tea Guide: How It Is Scented, Brewed and Chosen

The scent is absorbed by the leaf and then the flowers are taken out. Brew it with water well below boiling, around 80 to 85°C (176 to 185°F), and judge it by how natural the fragrance is and how good the tea underneath is.

What counts as jasmine tea

The usual flower is Jasminum sambac, and the base is most often green tea. White, oolong and black bases are also used, and jasmine pearls are hand-rolled green tea. A product made only from dried flowers is sometimes sold as "jasmine tea", but it contains no tea leaf and therefore no caffeine from tea. A jasmine green tea is therefore a green tea, caffeine included. Fuzhou in Fujian has the strongest reputation, with Guangxi, Hunan and Vietnam also producing it.

How the scenting is done

Wikipedia's account of the traditional method gives this order of work:

1. Blossoms are picked early in the day, traditionally around noon, then kept cool until nightfall.
2. About nine in the evening, when the flowers begin to open, makers combine them with the tea, for example in alternating layers.
3. The tea sits with the flowers for roughly 20 to 24 hours while it absorbs the aroma. A single blossom holds its fragrance for only about 10 to 12 hours, which is why fresh flowers are needed for each round.
4. Flowers are separated from the tea and the tea is dried.
5. For better grades the cycle is repeated with fresh flowers.

These details come from Wikipedia, whose article is partly uncited, so treat the exact hours as typical rather than fixed. China lists the Fuzhou scenting process as national intangible cultural heritage.

What the scenting rounds change

Laboratory work backs the idea that more rounds give a stronger aroma. A 2023 study of jasmine tea in Foods found that the freshness, concentration, purity and persistence of the aroma rose with each additional scenting, that more than 880 volatile compounds were detected overall, and that a final round without drying noticeably improved freshness. A 2026 study of tea before and after scenting found that aroma and taste scores rose, the liquor shifted from green to pale yellow, amino acids and sugars increased, and astringent polyphenols and catechins decreased.

How many rounds a tea has is a seller's claim, and the number varies by source:

• Wikipedia says top grades such as Yin Hao may be scented six or seven times.
• One merchant (Tao of Tea) says high-grade jasmine pearls get at least five scentings.
• Another (TeaSource) sells a Guangxi pearl tea scented twice, and says so.

None of the sources read here describes a regulated standard for the count, so treat it as a selling point, not a grade. As an editorial view, a twice-scented tea made from a good base can taste better than a heavily scented one made from a poor base. The base matters: a 2026 study of four green tea bases found that bitterness and astringency in the finished jasmine tea depended on the chemistry of the base tea.

Signs of a well-made tea

• Smell the dry leaf. Wikipedia's article says a strong jasmine smell straight from the bag is a warning sign of artificial flavouring, and that the dry leaf should look intact with little dust. This is uncited, so use it as a heuristic and not a test.
• Dried flowers in the pack are not proof of quality. Wikipedia says a small amount of flower remnants can indicate traditional scenting, yet its own account of the process has the flowers separated from the tea before drying, so the sources pull both ways. As an editorial judgement, a pack full of petals looks more like decoration than evidence.
• Read the label. "Scented with jasmine blossoms" describes a process; "flavouring" or "jasmine flavour" suggests something else, and a seller who gives no information is worth asking.
• Taste against the plain tea. If you can, drink the same producer's unscented green tea alongside it.

How to brew jasmine tea

Makers disagree on temperature, which is a useful reminder that the numbers are preferences.

The Tea Association of the USA range for Chinese green tea, 77 to 82°C (170 to 180°F) for 1 to 3 minutes, overlaps the cooler end of these. An editorial starting point is 3 g per 200 ml at 80°C for 2 to 3 minutes. Smell the wet leaf: a good tea smells of both flower and tea, not of perfume. Re-steep two or three times, since the aroma tends to fade before the tea does.

If the cup turns bitter, shorten the steep or lower the temperature first, since hot, long brewing extracts more of the astringent compounds that scenting reduces but does not remove (the editorial reading of the 2026 study above). If bitterness persists at a gentle brew, the base tea is the likely cause.

Caffeine and who should be careful

Jasmine green tea has caffeine from its base. In a 2025 laboratory study, green tea made at 2 g per 200 ml gave about 11 mg of caffeine after 2 minutes at 80°C (176°F) and about 28 mg after 10 minutes, with large variation between products. The NHS advises limiting caffeine in pregnancy to 200 mg a day and estimates a cup of tea at about 75 mg. If you are pregnant, take medication or are sensitive to caffeine, count jasmine tea in your daily total and ask a midwife, doctor or pharmacist about your own limit. For comparisons see the tea caffeine guide.

Storage

Scented tea is aromatic and absorbs smells. Wikipedia advises an airtight container of glass, ceramic or metal, kept cool and shaded and away from strong odours, with opened tea drunk within a few months. Keep it apart from other teas. The storage canisters guide covers the options.

Who it suits

Jasmine tea suits drinkers who like a floral, aromatic cup. Skip it if you find perfumed flavours cloying, or if you want the clean vegetal character of a good plain green tea; the Chinese green tea guide is the better route.

Questions

Is jasmine tea the same as green tea?

Not always. Most jasmine tea uses a green base, but white, oolong and black bases exist, and flower-only products contain no tea at all.

Is jasmine tea herbal?

Only if it is made from flowers alone. Scented tea is real tea with a floral aroma added by contact, so it is not herbal and not caffeine free.

Is jasmine tea safe in pregnancy?

The caffeine limit applies, because the tea base carries caffeine. Ask a midwife or doctor about your own limit, particularly if you also drink coffee or cola.

Related

• Chinese green tea guide
• Tea caffeine guide
• Green tea temperature guide
• Osmanthus oolong tea
• Tea storage in airtight canisters

Sources

• Wikipedia, Jasmine tea (scenting process, grades, regions, storage): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmine_tea
• Volatilomics analysis of jasmine tea during multiple rounds of scenting processes. Foods 2023. doi:10.3390/foods12040812
• Aroma characteristics and volatile compound transfer in jasmine tea during scenting. Foods 2026. doi:10.3390/foods15081403
• Correlation analysis and spiking validation of flavor compounds modulating bitterness and astringency in jasmine tea. Foods 2026. doi:10.3390/foods15173047
• Determination of L-theanine and caffeine contents in tea infusions with different fermentation degrees and brewing conditions. Foods 2025. doi:10.3390/foods14132313
• Fuzhou jasmine tea scenting technique as national intangible cultural heritage (China Services Info): https://www.chinaservicesinfo.com/s/202504/03/WS67ee2ea5498eec7e1f7338cd/national-ich-fuzhou-jasmine-tea-scenting-technique.html
• NHS, foods to avoid in pregnancy (caffeine): https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/
• Tao of Tea, Jasmine Pearls: https://taooftea.com/product/jasmine-pearls/
• TeaSource, Jasmine Dragon Pearls: https://teasource.com/products/red-flower-jasmine-green-tea
• Tea Association of the USA ranges as reproduced by Bunn: https://resource.bunn.com/library/eZine/tea_basics_brochure/files/basic-html/page3.html