Mo Li Hua Tea

Mo Li Hua Tea

Mo Li Hua tea (茉莉花茶, Mò Lì Huā Chá) is made from jasmine and green tea, so it is also called Mo Li Hua green tea. Mo Li Hua tea contains the flavor of green tea and the fragrance of Mo Li Hua. Mo Li Hua is the Chinese name of jasmine.

A small part of Mo Li Hua tea is made with black tea, oolong tea, or white tea, so it is called Mo Li Hua black tea, Mo Li Hua oolong tea, or Mo Li Hua white tea. In China, Mo Li Hua tea is the main product of flower tea, with a wide production area, high yield, and rich varieties.

Table of Contents

History of Mo Li Hua Tea

Mo Li Hua tea has a history of more than 1,000 years. It is native to the Fuzhou City of Fujian Province. The innovation of traditional Chinese medicine promoted the birth of Mo Li Hua tea.

Mo Li Hua originated in the ancient Roman Empire and later spread to ancient Persia and India through the maritime Silk Road. It became the holy flower of Buddhism in India and then spread to China with Indian Buddhism.

In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Mo Li Hua was regarded as a symbol of indifference to fame and wealth, representing the integrity of the scholar-officials. It is believed that when the Mo Li Hua comes out, the other flowers are not fragrant. Since then, Mo Li Hua has had the title “Tian Xiang” (Natural Fragrance).

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), many people have a craze for adding fragrance to tea, because they think fragrance is a special health care substance. There were dozens of fragrant tea at that time. After the changes of time, many flowers as fragrances were eliminated, and only five or six flowers were retained. Mo Li Hua is one of them.

Afterward, Mo Li Hua tea started to be commercialized in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and commercialized greatly in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912).

During the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi had a special preference for Mo Li Hua. Cixi thought that her skin is like Mo Li Hua, so she stipulated that no one can hold Mo Li Hua. When foreign envoys came to China, Cixi often gave Mo Li Hua tea as a gift to them. So during the decades when Cixi took power, Mo Li Hua was once considered a “national flower”.

In 1866, Mo Li Hua tea began to be exported to Europe in large quantities from Fujian Province.

Nowadays, the main production areas of Mo Li Hua tea are Fuzhou City of Fujian Province, Heng County of Guangxi Province, and Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province.

Types of Mo Li Hua Tea

  • Guangxi Mo Li Hua tea: it is native to the Heng County of Guangxi Province. Heng County is the largest production area of Mo Li Hua in China.
  • Longtuan Mo Li Hua tea: it is native to the Fuzhou City of Fujian Province. It is a local famous traditional product.
  • Jinhua Mo Li Hua tea: it is native to the Jinhua City of Zhejiang Province. Its varieties include Mo Li Hua Maofeng tea, Mo Li Hua roasted green tea, Mo Li Hua fried tea, etc., among which the quality of Mo Li Hua Maofeng tea is the best.
  • Suzhou Mo Li Hua tea: it is native to the Suzhou Cit of Jiangsu Province. It has a long history and began to be produced in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It is a traditional famous flower tea in China.
  • Sichuan Mo Li Hua tea: it is native to the Sichuan Province. It is made with Sichuan green tea from Emeishan (Mount Emei). It has a unique scenting technology, and its representative varieties are Bitan snow and Linhu snow.

Benefits of Mo Li Hua Tea

Mo Li Hua tea has the benefits of Mo Li Hua and green tea.

  • Detox
  • Diuretic
  • Refresh
  • Tonify Qi
  • Clear Heat
  • Anti-aging
  • Anti-cancer
  • Reduce pain
  • Antibacterial
  • Help digestion
  • Improve eyesight
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Lower blood lipids

The volatile oil contained in Mo Li Hua has the functions of tonifying Qi, reducing pain, bloating, and diarrhea. It is also a good food therapy for pain relief.

Mo Li Hua has an inhibitory effect on many kinds of bacteria. It can also treat inflammatory diseases such as red eyes, sores, and skin ulcers.

Mo Li Hua tea has the functions of detoxification, refreshing, clearing internal heat, helping digestion, and diuresis.

In ancient times, there was no running water in northern China. People do not have good conditions to drink high-quality mountain spring water, so their water is mostly bitter, astringent, and salty. They add Mo Li Hua to the boiling water to improve the water quality.

In addition, northerners like to eat meat. They drink jasmine tea to get rid of the greasy feeling. Over time, drinking jasmine tea has become a habit of northerners.

Side Effects of Mo Li Hua Tea

Some people who are not in good health should not drink Mo Li Hua tea frequently.

  • People with insomnia should not drink Mo Li Hua tea frequently, especially before going to bed, because the caffeine in Mo Li Hua tea (in fact, in green tea) can make people more energetic, making the brain more excited and unable to fall asleep.
  • People with anemia should not often drink Mo Li Hua tea, because Mo Li Hua tea can reduce the body’s absorption of iron.
  • Mo Li Hua tea is not suitable for patients with severe diseases because it may make people feel chilly and weak, which is not conducive to treating the diseases.