Jasmine flowers are mixed with tea leaves. [Photo/Jinhua Media Group]
Pickers at Zhejiang Wuzhou Tea Industry's jasmine base in Huangdian town, Lanxi, a county-level city in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, rush to gather buds for making jasmine tea.
Before mixing with tea leaves, workers remove any buds that will not open by nightfall. After one night, the flowers' fragrance has seeped into the tea. Later, the mixture is separated — either by machine or traditional bamboo screens. The tea is then dried at moderate heat to preserve the aroma.
The facility, which produces about 100 metric tons of fresh flowers yearly, with plantations now covering around 46 to 53 hectares, has obtained organic certifications from the European Union and the United States, opening overseas markets.
"We focus on organic jasmine tea," said manager Gao Weifang. Products are sold in Hangzhou and Shanghai and exported to Europe and the US. Offline growth is matched by online sales under the "Nongchaxiang" brand, reaching customers nationwide.
This jasmine season supports local jobs, preserves craft traditions, and strengthens Lanxi's global tea ambitions.
