Whenever I mention the tea flower, I am almost always met with momentary surprise—does a tea plant actually produce flowers? Given that the tea plant is part of the Camellia genus known for its ornamental plants, it ought not to be a surprise. In Japan and China, camellias were cultivated for gardens but the tea flower (Camellia sinensis or Camellia assamica) has never come into focus. No photos of manicured tea bushes include this rather striking cream and gold flower.
Ask planters and they will tell you that tea flowers are not desirable in a commercial tea estate. Left alone, the tea plant will grow and flower—part of its natural reproductive process. But in the industry, heavy flowering indicates that the tea bushes have not been plucked or put through regular pruning, or that it’s a stress response to drought or some nutrient deficiency.
On a well-maintained estate, we don’t see many tea flowers because tea bushes are plucked and pruned at regular intervals, which keeps the plant in a state of constant vegetative growth. Almost like eternal youth. In season, the plants put out new shoots every 7-14 days—the number varies by climate, cultivar and even how the estate chooses to manage their plucking rounds. When we pluck young leaves, we leave little room for the bushes to enter the reproductive phase.
As an industry, we are trying to maximise leaf growth rather than allow it to bloom or produce seed. In fact, modern plantations don’t choose seeds to propagate tea cultivation, preferring instead clonal propagation done through vegetative cutting. This brings a certain homogeneity in growth, yield, quality, which, given how fickle weather conditions can be, offers some welcome predictability. The tea plant that’s allowed to flower will go on to produce seeds, but is largely limited to research institutes or estates seeking to take up some R&D.
I brought back a small packet of a bai mudan (white tea) blended with dried tea flowers from the Donyi Polo tea estate in Arunachal Pradesh last month. The flowers bloom in late autumn or winter, and are plucked and withered if used, to blend with white or oolong tea.
I am not a fan of floral teas but feel a tea flower tea deserves some attention. The dry leaf has a slight scent, not too heady which I could appreciate. It brewed a brownish yellow liquor, and I miss the creamy cup of a pure bai mudan. I could not pick out distinct flavours from the tea flowers. A friend I shared it with made a tea flower kombucha that he said was “delicious”.
Perhaps fermentation brings out its flavours better. For now, the tea flower remains the most unsought part of the tea plant. But given that floral teas, ranging from jasmine to geranium, are a favourite with many drinkers, they need to find a place here—one that celebrates and honours the whole plant.
Do look for these teas in winter or early spring. In India, Chado Tea offers tea flower tisanes.
1001 Teas is a fortnightly series about the many stories hidden in the world of tea. Aravinda Anantharaman (@AravindaAnanth1) is a tea drinker, writer and editor.