The origins of Flora Tea.

A Fujian craft

Tea cultivation in Fujian dates back at least to the 6th century. The province's mountain mists, acidic soils and long growing season produce some of the most aromatic green and white teas in the world. By the Tang dynasty (618–907) Fujian tea was travelling the imperial roads to the capital as tribute.

Scenting tea with flowers — what eventually became jasmine tea — began in Fujian in the Song dynasty (960–1279), when fresh jasmine buds were laid in alternating layers with cooled green tea so the leaves absorbed the aroma overnight. The process was repeated for the highest grades. The principle — pairing tea with delicate aromatic flowers — is the same one behind today's Flora Tea.

From scented to display

Display tea — what we now call flowering tea — emerged in Fujian in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Tea masters realised that if they could keep the green tea leaves intact and pliable rather than rolling them tight, they could wrap a bundle of dried flowers inside and the whole thing would unfurl in the cup.

Early display teas were modest — a single dried jasmine or chrysanthemum at the heart of a small leaf bundle. Over the next decade, the craft evolved. Multiple flowers were combined to create theatrical sequences (a yellow chrysanthemum opening first, a red carnation rising on a stem of white buds above it). Glass teaware became part of the experience.

An eight-minute craft

A skilled artisan ties around eight blooms an hour. Each requires roughly 250 individual tea leaves arranged radially around a heart of three to five dried flowers. The tying must happen while the leaves are still warm from the kill-green firing and therefore pliable; once cooled they become brittle. Workshops run year-round but the highest-quality blooms are made between late April and early June, when fresh spring tea is available.

A place, a season

Photography is being commissioned — soft gold placeholders shown.