Osmanthus Green Tea - Twinings Tea Tasters
20 February 2013
Find out what Tea Taster members we will be sampling this month on the latest Tea Taster Class - why not Join Tea Tasters?
Tea Tasters – Osmanthus Green Tea
You'll see how the Osmanthus flower has dissolved in the water and that the leaves have exploded into life. It's fascinating to see…
This month we've journeyed to the other side of the globe
to bring you a really interesting cuppa: Osmanthus.
WHAT IS IT?
Osmanthus is an infused green tea from the South East
provinces of China. It's associated with love, weddings and
marriage - so it's no mistake that we've picked it on the most
romantic day of the year: Valentine's Day.
And another great reason why we're enjoying this special
tea is because the Chinese have just celebrated their New Year - so
we'll raise our cups to that too.
Osmanthus is very sweet and abundantly aromatic flower.
It's very beautiful too - bright gold and yellow. With its
appearance and powerful scent, it's a firm favourite for drinking
and giving as a gift at weddings.
THE ORIGINS OF OSMANTHUS
Using flowers in tea dates back to the Ming Dynasty in
China. During this time, Osmanthus flowers would have been used
with white, green, black and oolong tea. It's probably one of the
finest examples you'll ever see of flowers and tea leaves being
used together.
And lucky for us, this tea was introduced to Europe in the
mid 1800s…
MAKING YOUR TEA
Let's take a look at the loose tea before we have a little
taste. Looking at the dry tea, you can see that it's a very
attractive pan-fried green tea. And within it are the beautiful
Osmanthus flowers.
We're going to pop one teaspoon in our crockery. And then
pour on the water, which shouldn't be scalding hot - let it cool
for a few minutes so that it's somewhere between
85° to
90°C.
Then give it about four minutes to infuse. We know that's a little
longer than normal, but it's worth the extra bit of
time.
Once you've left it for the full time you'll see how the
Osmanthus flower has dissolved in the water and that the leaves
have exploded into life. It's fascinating to see… We're sure you're
going to enjoy looking at it as much as you are drinking
it.
TASTING OUR TEA
Let's pour our tea straight into the bowl and give it a
taste. You'll see that the liqour is quite striking to look at -
and there's a really powerful floral aroma too. It has a perfect
apricot character that gives the great tea a real sweetness. And
it's got a good length and a good aftertaste as well.
If you're a fan of jasmine tea, Osmanthus will make a
really nice change for you. And, of course, if you fancy a special
cup on Valentine's Day, you won't get much better than this. That's
it from Tea Tasters - and until next time, happy tea
times.
TEA TASTER Osmanthus green tea TEA CLASS VIDEO
TEA TASTER CLASSES
Our Tea Taster classes are great fun. They appeal to all sorts
of tea-loving people, from those who are simply fascinated by it,
to others who'd love to become tea-drinking experts.
Our classes explore the origins of tea, how it's grown, produced
and blended - and the colourful stories behind it. We also learn
how to brew the perfect cup.
If you'd like to become a real Tea Taster, you can follow our
Tea Academy classes. Every month we will send you a new tea to
taste while watching the class. As a member of the Tea Academy, you
will also get a 10% student discount at our Twinings Online
Teashop. Sign up to be a Tea Taster
>
RELATED ARTICLES