osmanthus tea: 2 posts

To inspire those of you who will be taking my Osmanthus classes.

Once the weather turns cool in Tokyo, a sweet perfume fills its streets. It escapes from the parks and enclosed gardens and for a few weeks it becomes a familiar presence in a city better known for its skyscrapers, electronics and cuisine than for its flowers. The tiny blossoms that give Tokyo its aroma are easy to miss, but the perfume is so vivid that osmanthus is sometimes called “a ten mile fragrance” tree. In Japanese, it’s known as kinmokusei, and in English it may be referred to as a “fragrant” or “Chinese” olive, hinting at the plant’s origins, but by any name, the aroma of ripe apricots, jasmine petals and leather is irresistible.

Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena was likewise enchanted by osmanthus, and he chose to pair it with a tea note in his fragrance for Hermès, Osmanthe Yunnan. Although Ellena was inspired by a visit to the Forbidden City in Beijing, his creation captures my memories of Tokyo in autumn. Every element in the perfume is delicately rendered, from the fruity notes that recall the softness of peach skin to the transparent white blossoms soaked in tea. The marriage of tea and osmanthus is a classical one, because both ingredients play up each other’s facets of fruits, woods, sweetness and bitterness. Osmanthe Yunnan is a happy perfume, and whenever I put it on, I feel as if I’ve stepped into a pool of sunlight.

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Some of the most interesting combinations involve tea and flowers. Scent science explains why such pairings have become classics – tea leaves and blossoms such as gardenia, violet, rose or osmanthus have a number of fragrant compounds in common. When blended, the complementary aromas create affinities that enrich the taste of tea as well as its fragrance. In my latest FT column, Discovering The World’s Finest Floral Teas, I explain what makes flower notes pair so well with tea and share my favorites.

You can read the full article by clicking here. I also welcome you to take a look at the Bois de Jasmin tea archives, because we have quite a selection of posts on making tea, enjoying seasonal variations, taking it with roses, jasmine, roasted rice, or even experimenting with Estonian and Thai blue teas. If you’re after a tea-based perfume, here is my list, Best Tea Perfumes in 10 Different Styles.

As always, I’d love to know about your favorite teas, floral and otherwise.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin, Ti Kuan Yin tea with a few drops of rosewater. Ordinarily, I don’t tweak Ti Kuan Yin teas at all, because they’re perfect as they are, but this combination turned to be so bright and complex that I’m going to enjoy it from time to time.