Methods and Tips for Making Orchid-Scented Tea

OrchidsBesides their high ornamental value, they can also be used medicinally; the roots, leaves, flowers and fruits all have certain medicinal value and can treat a variety of diseases.

Based on my own personal experience, let me talk about the method for making orchid-scented tea with a clear, mellow fragrance. Put freshly opened orchid flowers into a cup containing green tea, pour boiling water over them, and after steeping for a few minutes, the tea in the cup still has its original green liquor color; when smelled, a delicate fragrance rushes to the nose and refreshes the heart. After trying a sip or two, I found it had a sweet aftertaste, and in the aftertaste there was a scent of scented tea, with a high fragrance and mellow flavor; drinking it made me feel quite energized, and the more I drank, the more I wanted to drink. I further used unopened orchid buds to brew green tea. The result showed that orchid flowers that had been fully open for several days produced less clear and mellow orchid-scented tea than unopened orchid flowers, and the aftertaste did not last as long. I picked freshly opened and unopened orchid flowers, dried them in the sun, and then made scented tea with dried orchid flowers. When green tea and dried orchid flowers were brewed in a cup, the liquor color differed from that of green tea brewed with fresh orchid flowers; the liquor of tea scented with dried orchid flowers was somewhat red and bright, but the taste still had a mellow, fragrant aftertaste, not much different from tea scented with fresh orchid flowers. Brewing black tea with fresh and dried orchid flowers gave an even redder and brighter liquor, and the taste was about the same as when brewing with green tea, with a clear and mellow fragrance.

I used my own largeCymbidium goeringiiand smallCymbidium goeringii、Cymbidium sinense, large snow orchid and several other orchid flowers to scent tea, and the unopened orchid flowers had the strongest fragrance, while fully opened orchid flowers had a slightly weaker fragrance. Orchids used for scenting tea can be harvested in batches during the flowering period or before they fully open; they should not be exposed to strong sunlight, and it is best to dry them half in the shade and half in the sun. After drying, store them sealed so the fragrance does not dissipate. Put two flowers in a cup of tea for a clear and mellow fragrance; if you put in too many, the fragrance becomes too strong. It is best to carefully process the harvested orchid flowers to remove the slight astringency contained in the orchids, so that the orchid-scented tea has a purer taste, a clearer and mellower fragrance, and a lasting aftertaste.

"Orchid-scented tea," besides being mellow in taste and high in fragrance, also has effects such as refreshing the mind, cooling the body and reducing internal heat. Processing orchids into high-grade orchid tea and theorchid'smedicinal prospects are attractive.