Jasmine green tea is green tea scented with jasmine flowers. Jasmine tea has been around since the 5th century and has not lost its charm over the centuries.
It became popular in China during the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Despite its fame in China, it reached the West not before the late 19th century.
Fujian region of China is famous for its jasmine tea which is made traditionally using jasmine flowers. On the other hand, commercial production of tea involves the use of jasmine oil for the flavor.
Being a true tea, the look and taste of this tea depend on the quality of the tea leaves, the origin, and the method of processing and brewing the tea.
Is Jasmine green tea the same as green tea?
Jasmine green tea has green tea as the base, and jasmine blooms provide a characteristic scent to it. This makes the tea possess the goodness of green tea and the aroma of fresh jasmine flowers.
It delivers all the results you would expect green tea to as far as health is concerned. The fragrance of jasmine green tea is an add-on.
Types of Jasmine flowers used for Jasmine green tea
To make jasmine green tea, the jasmine tea species used are Common Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) and Arabian Jasmine (Jasminum sambac).
Both of the jasmine species grow in tropical or temperate regions.
The blooming season of Arabian jasmine flowers is all year long whereas that of common jasmine is only in summer.
The different species of jasmine bring a variation in the aroma and flavor of jasmine green tea.
While the scent of common jasmine is rich, sweet, and warm, Arabian jasmine is less sweet and comparatively milder with herbal, honey-like, citrusy notes.
Another factor that determines its taste is the grade of green tea used. The ratio of tea leaves to jasmine blooms also decides how the flavor of the tea will be.
The best-tasting teas are those that have a larger amount of tea buds in comparison to tea leaves. The flavor will be milder and mellower than teas that have a lesser amount of buds and more tea leaves.
Also, jasmine green tea can be differentiated based on its packaging. It is most often in the loose-leaf form or in tea bags.
Apart from the sweet and delicate aroma, jasmine tea is well-known for possessing health-promoting properties.
What is jasmine green tea good for?
Jasmine green tea keeps a lot of illnesses like heart disease and diabetes at bay and that is exactly what everyone wants.
It has good amounts of antioxidants that boost the body’s immunity and give you healthy glowing skin. Overall, the tea is good for health in almost every regard.
Health Benefits of Jasmine Green Tea
Most of the health benefits of jasmine green tea are basically due to the green tea leaves. This is because the commercial jasmine tea blends don’t have real jasmine blossoms in them.
They have added fragrance or essential oil.
Green tea possesses polyphenols including catechins, flavonoids, and tannins. Rich in antioxidants, green tea has several health benefits.
However, it is mainly because of the catechin EGCG that green tea wears the crown of being one of the healthiest beverages around.
Here’s how drinking jasmine green tea benefits you!
1. Helps you stay calm yet focused
Green tea has the right amount of caffeine in it along with the amino acid L-theanine which are together responsible for the feeling of alert calmness.
And, drinking jasmine green tea will give you a focused calmness.
According to studies, alpha brain waves get promoted with the help of L-theanine. This is why you will be in a wakeful yet relaxed state by drinking green tea just like how you would be during meditation.
So, with jasmine tea, you get to focus on work without having the coffee jitters. It works well for alleviating stress too.
Now, the jasmine petals not only add a fragrance to the tea but also offer a calming effect; thanks to the presence of a compound called linalool.
It gives a floral scent and helps you beat stress.
Therefore, those of you who want to unwind after a hectic day at work will find jasmine green tea to be the perfect go-to beverage.
2. Fights free radical damage
With its base being green tea, jasmine green tea is rich in polyphenols and catechins that have antioxidant properties. The most important catechin is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate).
It is responsible for most of the health benefits of green tea.
Apart from the bioactive compounds of green tea, jasmine blossoms have antioxidants in them too. This indicates that jasmine green tea is a complete powerhouse of antioxidants.
Antioxidants work towards fighting damage-causing free radicals in the body and prevent oxidative stress.
This provides protection from cancer, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions.
3. Boosts gut health
Green tea has polyphenols that work as prebiotics. Prebiotics are compounds that nourish the gut’s good bacteria and keep them healthy.
The antioxidants are also capable of minimizing the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease like bloating.
It goes without saying that when your gut is functioning right, your overall health will be good. So, you can work towards the upkeep of your gut’s health with a simple cup of jasmine green tea.
4. Helps in weight loss
Jasmine green tea can help you lose weight by revving up your metabolism. In fact, as per studies carried out, green tea has the potential to speed up the metabolism by 4 to 5% and enhance fat burning by 10 to 16%.
You can burn around 100 extra calories in a day with your revved-up metabolism.
This occurs due to the presence of naturally occurring caffeine in green tea along with the health-promoting compound EGCG.
Another factor that makes jasmine tea ideal for a weight loss diet is the fact that you need not add any kind of sweetener to it.
This means that it is practically free of calories and won’t hamper your weight loss journey.
5. Protects heart health
The polyphenol content of jasmine green tea helps prevent heart disease. The polyphenols are instrumental in preventing the bad cholesterol or LDL from oxidizing and blocking the inner walls of arteries.
Additionally, the polyphenols also help in reducing blood pressure. Maintaining normal blood pressure will help in preventing heart attack and stroke.
In short, a simple cup of tea can save you from a lot of trouble.
6. Lowers the risk of diabetes
EGCG in jasmine green tea can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The compound makes the body use insulin more efficiently and keeps blood sugar levels normal.
7. Protects skin health
The topical application of jasmine tea is quite effective in improving skin health. It works well for those who have oily skin, or acne-prone skin as it helps in getting rid of excess oil.
Simply brew the tea and allow it to cool down before applying it to your skin. The tea will fight the bacteria that cause pimples and help in balancing the pH level of the skin.
8. Is anti-inflammatory
Green tea is anti-inflammatory by nature and it can help those who are suffering from swelling of the joints and pain due to arthritis.
9. Prevents cancer
The tea’s polyphenols are anti-cancer and help in the development of certain kinds of cancers.
10. Possesses anti-microbial properties
As green tea has antiviral and antibacterial properties, it works well in helping one recover from flu and colds faster.
Overall, jasmine green tea seems to be a good bet. However, it does have certain side effects that are discussed later.
Is Jasmine tea healthier than green tea?
While jasmine green tea possesses all the health benefits that green tea has to offer, it also has an additional compound in it called linalool.
As already mentioned above, this compound present in the jasmine blossoms beats stress along with adding a distinct fragrance to the green tea.
Therefore, jasmine tea is one step ahead of standard green tea!
How much caffeine does jasmine green tea have?
A standard 8-ounce cup of jasmine green tea has approximately 25 mg of caffeine in it.
When should I drink jasmine green tea?
You can choose to drink jasmine tea between meals, prior to your workout, and 2 hours before you go to bed at night.
Is it OK to drink jasmine tea before going to bed?
While the popular opinion is that drinking jasmine tea before going to bed can help you sleep better, it has not yet been confirmed by research.
Also, jasmine green tea has naturally occurring caffeine in it. Therefore, it would be better to opt for the caffeine-free version of the beverage so that your sleep does not get affected in any manner.
How Does Jasmine Green Tea Taste?
As already mentioned above, the flavor of green tea with jasmine is not the same. It varies based on the quality, origin, method of processing, and of course the brewing of tea leaves.
This means, where the farming of green tea leaves is done, where the jasmine blooms grow, the process of scenting the tea leaves matters as much as your method of brewing your cuppa.
While there are variations in the taste, jasmine tea has a mild, delicate, and sweet floral taste complete with the freshness and aroma of jasmine blossoms.
The flavor notes are floral, sweet, fresh, dewy, and fragrant.
How is Jasmine green tea made?
The base of jasmine tea is most often green tea but at times even white tea or black tea is used as a base. The process of producing jasmine tea is based on the grade of the tea leaves and the geographical location.
Here are the steps of making jasmine green tea,
1. Plucking of tea leaves, drying, and storage
Usually, green tea leaves are harvested in the spring season.
The leaves undergo drying with the help of warm air to stop the oxidation of the leaves. This process helps prevent the curling or rolling of the leaves so that the surface area is enough to absorb the scent of the jasmine flowers.
After the preparation is over, the tea leaves are kept aside till summer when the jasmine buds start blooming.
2. Picking of jasmine blooms and scenting
The process of making jasmine tea requires a lot of manpower as there is a need to pick several jasmine flowers for the process of scenting.
Also, timing is important because top-grade tea producers pluck jasmine flowers at night when the aroma of the blossoms is the strongest.
In addition, the scenting process is important. The focus is on transferring the scent of the blooms to the green tea.
During the process, 3-9 times of re-scenting is done which can be increased further for special grades of tea.
The authentic producers place a layer of jasmine petals on leaves and allow the scent and flavor of jasmine to get infused in the tea leaves. This process may be repeated.
Fresh jasmine petals would replace the old ones every 24 hours to increase the scent of jasmine. This process can take up to several days to get the desired kind of blend.
3. Firing
The scent undergoes firing to dry the tea leaves and jasmine blooms properly so that the moisture is completely removed. In the final mix, some blooms would be left in order to enhance the look of the tea blend.
Scenting jasmine green tea is a labor-intensive task and that is why the tea industry has come up with easier ways of scenting.
It involves using jasmine oil or natural flavors of jasmine as already mentioned above.
These methods don’t depend on the weather, harvest season, and storage processes of the tea leaves thereby making the whole task of producing jasmine green tea easier.
How to brew a cup of Jasmine green tea?
It is rather easy to brew a cup of jasmine tea. Follow the instructions mentioned below:
- Heat filtered water to 170-180 degrees Fahrenheit
- Place the tea bag in a cup and pour the hot water
- Let it steep for 3 minutes
- Discard the tea bag and enjoy the tea.
That was for a hot brew. However, if you want iced tea, here is how to go about it,
- Add loose jasmine tea leaves in a water jug, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for it to cold brew for 6-12 hours.
- You can then strain the tea leaves or remove the tea bags and enjoy it chilled.
- Add some ice cubes to it if you wish to.
How much jasmine green tea should I drink?
To make the most of the health benefits of jasmine green tea, it is ideal to drink between 3 to 5 cups a day. You must ensure that you don’t go overboard with it.
Do you put milk in jasmine green tea?
Yes, you can choose to flavor your jasmine tea with milk. Green tea does taste good with milk and some sugar. Milk is not just for black tea alone.
At the end of the day, it is all about preferences. You can choose to have your tea with or without milk based on your taste buds.
However, you must note that adding milk can alter the health benefits of green tea.
The protein present in milk can hamper you from enjoying the benefits of the active compounds in jasmine green tea.
Side Effects of Drinking Jasmine Green Tea
As per USFDA, jasmine tea is safe for most people. However, pregnant women should talk to their doctor once as drinking the tea in large quantities can be dangerous.
It is important to consume it in moderate amounts. The tea has side effects because it is a caffeinated beverage.
While caffeine is naturally occurring, you should not drink it in very large quantities. Also, you may experience health problems even with small amounts if you are sensitive to caffeine.
You may experience the following:
- Headaches
- Jitters
- Shakiness
- Trouble sleeping
There is a popular opinion that it can be taken before bedtime to relax but ensure that it is free of caffeine or else it can keep you awake.
You must also avoid green tea on an empty stomach as it is acidic by nature and can result in stomach-related problems.
The Bottom Line
Jasmine green tea is a true tea that has green tea as a base and is scented by jasmine blossoms. You get the health benefits of green tea that are further supplemented by the goodness of jasmine.
The scent is undoubtedly alluring and the ritual of sipping on green tea can help you relax.
By making green tea flavored with jasmine flowers a part of your diet, you can stay healthy and happy.