Gardenia Scented Oriental Beauty (Zhi Zi Hua Mei Ren Cha)

This rare tea combines the elegant complexity of Oriental Beauty (Mei Ren Cha) with the lush, sweet fragrance of gardenia blossoms. The base tea is produced in the high-altitude tea gardens (avg. 1100 meters) in Fujian Province, where the bushes are cultivated using ecological methods and are naturally bitten by leafhoppers (small green cicadas). This insect interaction triggers the release of terpenols in the leaves, resulting in a rich honeyed aroma—a signature feature of authentic Oriental Beauty.

The harvested tea (one bud with two leaves) undergoes partial fermentation (60–80%) using traditional Taiwanese techniques, including multiple stages of withering, shaking, oxidation, pan-firing, and rolling. After drying, the tea is scented with fresh gardenia flowers (栀子花) from Fuding using an intensive multi-step scenting process: layering, infusing, and drying the tea leaves with the blossoms over several rounds.

The result is a visually striking leaf with red, yellow, white, green, and brown hues; a golden amber liquor; and a flavor that weaves together honey, ripe fruit, and floral sweetness. The taste is velvety, full-bodied, and lingers with a clean, refreshing aftertaste.