VIETNAM: flavouring jasmine tea with the "enfleurage" technique

I am just back from Vietnam and wish to share with you what makes our organic "Jasmin Impérial" tea, grown and produced in this country, distinctive and delightful. It is flavoured with a handmade traditional technique not very well known in Europe and called "enfleurage". I went on-site to unveil all the secrets of this delicate flavouring technique. Ready to join me in the jasmine land?

Vietnam, a "new" land of tea

Until recently, Vietnam has not really been well-known for its tea. The producing was mainly industrialised and used for medium quality teas. This image is however completely changing, since the country reconnects to its strong tea culture and traditions. It now wishes to promote its high quality teas. The inhabitants have always been very close to nature and the new tea initiatives are keen to embrace the roots of this identity.

A cooperative of small and committed tea producers

Ban Lien Cooperative is totally in line with this approach. By gathering 200 local tea producers committed to organic and fair trade, the cooperative wishes to make quality tea a sustainable resource for inhabitants of the Northern Vietnam. Being together also means being stronger ; small producers also aim to protect themselves from big seed companies and tea groups, in order to be able to produce according to the rythms of Nature, with decent wages. They also pursue the idea to create prospects for young generations, who for now are leaving their mountains to try their luck in bigger cities. Offering them the chance to stay is also a mean to protect local traditions and way of life.  A concern highly meaningful in nowadays globalised world!

Ban Lien village and local market - Photo: A. Dhénin @L'Autre Thé, all rights reserved

Mutual help and goodwill

When I first heard about the project, I immediately saw the connection with L'Autre Thé's values. I wanted to meet the men and women behind this adventure. That's what I did when I was in Vietnam, and I was not disappointed. People were deeply human and kind. For instance, the cooperative manager enjoys helping people from the surroundings with whatever he can do: writing their mail, giving some time to chat and share his homemade honey alcohol... You are always welcome. The word "cooperative" really stands for a way of life.

With the cooperative manager - Photo: A. Dhénin @L'Autre Thé, all rights reserved

A jasmine tea with zero artificial flavour

Let's go back to our jasmine tea. In France, green tea flavoured with added artifical jasmine flavour is the most commonly sold under this designation. This method is the simplest to produce jasmine tea, but it is far from the only way, and certainly not the most natural and qualitative. 

Enfleurage is a beautiful but demanding technique, which puts the tea directly in contact with real jasmine flowers. It takes time, patience and some delicacy.

Enfleurage: the right match between two plants

As soon as the jasmine flower buds starts to bloom, they have to be collected, preferably at the end of the afternoon and not fully open, so they are at their utmost degree of aromatic power. The enfleurage starts on the very same evening, so their freshness is preserved.

Jasmine flowers pickers - Photo and video: A. Dhénin @L'Autre Thé, all rights reserved

A first layer of tea leaves is spread by hand, then covered with a thin muslin. The whole thing is covered with fresh jasmine flowers. The process repeats, layering 5 layers of tea and 5 layers of flowers. That is when magic happens: the closeness of jasmine flowers is enough to transfer their perfume to tea. In order to obtain the perfect balance between tea and jasmine flavour, the same batch of tea undergoes this process three times in a row, each with different fresh flowers. To perfume 1kg of tea, you need about 1kg of jasmine flowers in average.

Handmade enfleurage of jasmine tea - Photo: A. Dhénin @L'Autre Thé, all rights reserved

How beautiful is this way to give nature the time it needs?

Does a good jasmine tea need to contain jasmine flowers?

Flowers are removed at the end of enfleurage. No trace of jasmin is visible though the tea has a beautiful taste of jasmin. In some common jasmine teas, white jasmine flowers are added, but you must know it is mainly to please the eye. It does not changes the taste of the tea itself (it can even make it bitterer). Visible flowers in a jasmine tea is not a proof of quality, it is mainly a matter of aesthetics.

Freshly picked jasmine flowers - Photo: A. Dhénin @L'Autre Thé, all rights reserved

An organic, fair and elegantly flavoured tea

Our Jasmin Impérial is the result of this fascinating method. It is moreover based on an organic and fair green tea provided by the Ban Lien Cooperative.

Tea harvest for your Jasmin Impérial tea - Photo: A. Dhénin @L'Autre Thé, all rights reserved