Sugar-free tea beverages (无糖茶饮料, wú táng chá yǐn liào) are flying off the shelves in supermarkets (超市, chāo shì) and convenience stores (便利店, biàn lì diàn) in China as young people embrace healthier lifestyles. According to the consumer behavior database (零售和消费者数据平台, líng shòu hé xiāo fèi zhě shù jù píng tái) NielsenIQ, tea drinks (茶饮料, chá yǐn liào) surged past carbonated drinks (碳酸饮料, tàn suān yǐn liào) in popularity for the first time in 2023. Among them, jasmine tea stands out as a popular favorite, cherished for its refreshing aroma (清新的香气, qīng xīn de xiāng qì) and various health benefits.

The enduring popularity of jasmine can be partly attributed to its deep cultural significance (深厚的文化意义, shēn hòu de wén huà yì yì). In Mandarin, jasmine sounds like "no profit (没利 mò lì)" suggesting that people should not focus too much on fame and fortune (名利, míng lì). Additionally, its fragrance is believed to purify the mind (净化心灵, jìng huà xīn líng) and elevate emotions. Even to this day, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) folk song Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) (民歌《茉莉花》, mín gē mò lì huā) which praises the purity and elegance of the white flower, is one of the most well-known Mandarin folk songs in China and worldwide. Notably featured in Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot (《图兰朵》, tú lán duǒ) and the 1937 Academy Award-winning film The Good Earth, the song has since been played at major international events like the Olympics, solidifying the song as a symbol of Chinese culture (中国文化象征, zhōng guó wén huà xiàng zhēng).

However, despite its deep roots, jasmine is not native to China. Originating from tropical and subtropical regions of Eurasia (欧亚大陆, ōu yà dà lù), Africa (非洲, fēi zhōu), and Australasia (澳大拉西亚, ào dà lā xī yà) within Oceania (大洋洲, dà yáng zhōu), the flower's journey to China remains a subject of debate. The most popular theory suggests it traveled from ancient Rome to India (从古罗马到印度, cóng gǔ luó mǎ dào yìn dù) via the Maritime Silk Road (海上丝绸之路, hǎi shàng sī chóu zhī lù). This ancient network of sea routes connecting China and the West was active between the second century BC and the mid-to-late 19th century. It was during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220)) that jasmine, the holy flower of Buddhism, arrived in China when the religion was brought from India.

The earliest record of jasmine in China appears in Journey to Southern Yue (《南越行纪》, nán yuè xíng jì) by Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) philosopher Lu Jia (陆贾, lù jiǎ). It stated that while local flowers were not fragrant, jasmine, transplanted from another country, was notably aromatic. This appearance in text indicates that jasmine has been in China for at least 2,000 years.

By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Fuzhou city, now the capital of East China's Fujian province (福建省, fú jiàn shěng), was identified as an ideal location for cultivating jasmine. Fuzhou's warm and humid climate (气候温暖湿润, qì hòu wēn nuǎn shī rùn) and fertile and permeable soil (土壤肥沃透水, tǔ rǎng féi wò tòu shuǐ) nourished by the Minjiang River create ideal conditions for growing jasmine (种植茉莉, zhòng zhí mò lì). A Song politician Chen Fu (陈傅, chén fù) documented Fuzhou's specialties: "There are lychees as fruits and jasmine as flowers, which are not found anywhere else in the world." During this time, women started to put jasmine in their hair after bathing to infuse it with the flower's fragrance. The custom of pinning jasmine and other fresh flowers on clothes remained popular in China until the 19th and 20th centuries when modern perfumes (香水, xiāng shuǐ) became more widely favored. Even today, however, street vendors (街头小贩, jiē tóu xiǎo fàn) in some cities still sell these flower buds to visitors.

The mountainous region of Fujian is also ideal for growing tea leaves (种植茶叶, zhòng zhí chá yè) and boasts a rich tea culture (茶文化, chá wén huà). Locals maximize these natural resources by planting tea trees on the hills and jasmine along the river. Naturally, Fuzhou residents combined jasmine and tea leaves to create floral teas with green or white tea as the base (以绿茶或白茶为基础制作花茶, yǐ lǜ chá huò bái chá wéi jī chǔ zhì zuò huā chá). The resulting flavor is subtly sweet and highly fragrant. Today, most of the jasmine produced in Fuzhou is still used to make jasmine tea.

After tea was introduced to the UK in the 1660s during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), jasmine tea began to be exported in large quantities to the West, primarily from Fuzhou, as many officials responsible for maritime and foreign affairs were from Fujian. Empress Dowager Cixi's (慈禧太后, cí xǐ tài hòu) love for jasmine flowers further elevated its status, especially in Beijing. She decreed that no one else could wear jasmine flowers in their hair and made Fuzhou jasmine tea exclusive to the royal family. Its popularity persists in modern China, and it is favored by renowned writers like Lao She (老舍, lǎo shě) and Bing Xin (冰心, bīng xīn).

In recent years, however, floral-flavored teas, jasmine included, have slipped to the bottom of the list among some tea connoisseurs. They see more value in varieties like Pu'er (普洱茶, pǔ ěr chá) and Oolong (乌龙茶, wū lóng chá) and believe jasmine tea is reserved for children and amateurs. But jasmine's refreshing taste and health benefits have helped retain its popularity among the masses. According to traditional Chinese medicine, jasmine tea is cool in nature, light in flavor, and believed to clear heat, detoxify, promote diuresis, and calm the nerves, which makes it suitable for spring and summer to dispel coldness and humidity in the body (消除体内的寒湿, xiāo chú tǐ nèi de hán shī).

"Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds; Fragrant and white, everyone praises (芬芳美丽满枝桠，又香又白人人夸, fēn fāng měi lì mǎn zhī yā, yòu xiāng yòu bái rén rén kuā)" goes the lyrics of Mo Li Hua. Much like this centuries-old folksong, the delicate aroma of the jasmine flower has transcended generations, captivating contemporary audiences with its timeless cultural significance and refreshing taste.

Source: The World of Chinese