---
title: "Yuánjiāng mòlìhuā chá"
url: https://thetea.app/article/yuanjiang-molihua-cha
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-01
source: THE TEA — encyclopedia of Chinese tea (https://thetea.app)
---
# Yuánjiāng mòlìhuā chá (元江茉莉花茶)

*Yuánjiāng mòlìhuā chá* (元江[茉莉花茶](https://thetea.app/article/molihua-cha)) is a jasmine tea of Yuanjiang Hani, Yi and Dai Autonomous County (元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治县), Yuxi prefecture-level city, Yunnan Province. The county lies in a hot, dry valley where warmth comes early, and so jasmine here comes into bloom earlier than anywhere else in China: fresh flowers reach the market from March, and the season lasts until November. Jasmine in Yuanjiang is young — according to industry descriptions, it was brought in 1998 from Hengxian in Guangxi. The county mainly makes a rich, triple-scented tea; industry overviews count it among the country's four main jasmine areas. The name has been protected by a mark of origin since 2003.

**1. Classification and Origin:**

* **Type:** Flower-scented tea (花茶, *huāchá*): a tea base scented many times over with fresh jasmine. According to an industry description, the base is green tea from Yunnan large-leaf raw material; I have not seen the base specified in the protection documents. In the corpus, jasmine teas are placed among green teas.
* **Category:** Yunnan jasmine tea; mark of origin of the inspection and quarantine system (2003).
* **Origin:** China, Yunnan Province (云南, *Yúnnán*), Yuxi prefecture-level city (玉溪, *Yùxī*), Yuanjiang Hani, Yi and Dai Autonomous County (元江, *Yuánjiāng*).
* **Protection zone:** Yuanjiang County; I have not checked the legal boundary of the zone.
* **Geographic coordinates:** About 23.6° N and 102.0° E.

**2. History and Cultural Significance:**

* **History:**
    * **1998 — introduction.** According to industry descriptions, jasmine was brought to Yuanjiang from Hengxian (Guangxi), the main jasmine area of China.
    * **2003 — mark of origin.** By announcement No. 5 of 2003, “元江茉莉花茶” received a mark of origin (原产地标记) of the inspection and quarantine system; in the announcement it is listed with the trademark 玉元牌.
    * **2019.** The name is in the Yunnan provincial list as of 28 December 2019 — in the section of marks of origin, under number 4.
    * **2025 — recommendation.** In an analytical note of the county statistics bureau (2025), one of the proposed measures is to seek a national geographical indication trademark for “元江茉莉花茶” — together with the local mangoes and aloe. This is a recommendation, not a filed application and not a second registration.
* **Name:**
    * “Yuanjiang” (元江) is the name of the county and of the river.
    * “Molihua cha” (茉莉花茶, *mòlìhuā chá*) means “tea with jasmine flowers”.
* **Cultural significance:** Industry overviews place Yuanjiang among the four main jasmine areas of China — alongside Hengxian (Guangxi), Fuzhou (Fujian) and Qianwei (犍为, Sichuan). What sets it apart within this group of four is the earliest and longest fresh-flower season.

**3. Botanical Description and Raw Material:**

* **Scenting plant:** Jasmine sambac (*Jasminum sambac*), brought from Hengxian. Which variety exactly is grown in the county is not stated in the sources consulted.
* **Tea base:** According to an industry description — green tea from Yunnan large-leaf raw material (*Camellia sinensis* var. *assamica*), rich and very resistant to repeated infusions. I have not found the bush variety or the requirements for the base in a document.
* **Flower picking:** From **March to November**; fresh flowers reach the market earlier than in other areas of the country.

**4. Terroir and Cultivation Features:**

* **Region:** The valley of the Yuanjiang River in the central part of southern Yunnan.
* **Climate:** A dry, hot valley (干热河谷, *gānrè hégǔ*): warmth comes early in spring, and the sum of active temperatures is high. This is what shifts jasmine flowering to March. According to reference data on the county, the mean annual temperature is about 23.9 °C, and precipitation about 805 mm a year.
* **Areas:** Verified data on areas and output are not found in the sources consulted.
* **Altitudes and soils:** No data found in the sources consulted.

**5. Production Technology:**

The key operation is **scenting (窨制 — *xūnzhì*)**: the tea base absorbs the aroma of opening flowers. In Yuanjiang the main product is triple-scented (三窨, *sān xūn*) tea in the rich style (浓[香型](https://thetea.app/article/xiangxing), *nóngxiāngxíng*): the local flower is very fragrant.

The general class scheme for jasmine tea:

* **Picking the buds:** Large buds that have turned white are picked during the day, still unopened.
* **“Nursing” the flowers (养花 — *yǎnghuā*):** The buds are kept so that they open evenly; jasmine opens and smells strongest in the evening and at night.
* **Mixing with the tea (拌花 — *bànhuā*):** The opening flowers are mixed with the base.
* **Scenting:** It lasts all night; then the flowers are separated (起花 — *qǐhuā*), and the tea is lightly dried.
* **Repeated cycles:** With fresh flowers; for Yuanjiang tea — usually three.

This is the general class scheme, not a description of a particular producer's technology; parameters are not given in the sources consulted.

**6. Organoleptic Characteristics:**

The description below is from an industry overview of the four jasmine areas, not from a protection document.

* **Dry leaf appearance:** Tightly rolled, fine and tender, with visible down and whole shoots, light in color, with a sheen (条索紧结细嫩、毫显有峰苗、色泽亮白光润).
* **Dry leaf aroma:** No separate description found in the sources consulted.
* **Liquor aroma:** High and rich, fresh and lasting (香高浓郁、鲜灵持久).
* **Taste:** Soft and full, without bitterness or astringency, smooth and warm; the tea withstands very many infusions (柔顺饱满无苦涩、醇和温润极耐泡).
* **Liquor color:** Clear, light yellow (清澈透亮淡黄色).
* **Spent leaves (wet leaves):** Fresh, tender, with a sheen (鲜嫩质感有光泽).

**7. Chemical Composition:**

Data specifically on Yuanjiang tea are not found in the sources consulted. The aroma comes from the volatile substances of the flower, which the base absorbs; the composition of the base itself depends on its class and raw material.

**8. Health Properties:**

There are no verified data on the effects of this particular tea.

**9. Brewing:**

Class practice for jasmine tea.

* **Water temperature:** 85–90 °C.
* **Tea amount:** 3 g per 150 ml.
* **Teaware:** A gaiwan with a lid — it holds the aroma — or a porcelain teapot.
* **Process:**
    1. Warm the teaware.
    2. Put in the tea.
    3. Pour in the water and cover with the lid at once.
    4. First infusion — 1–2 minutes in a gaiwan.
    5. Before drinking, lift the lid and breathe in the aroma.
    6. Two to four repeat infusions; a large-leaf base usually withstands more than a small-leaf one.

**10. Storage:**

Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a dry, cool, dark place, strictly away from foreign odors: a base that has absorbed jasmine will just as easily absorb a foreign smell. Jasmine tea is best drunk within a year.

**11. Price and Counterfeits:**

Price data are not found in the sources consulted.

* **How to avoid counterfeits:**
    * Look for origin from Yuanjiang County and the mark of origin.
    * Genuine jasmine aroma comes from scenting with live flowers; a sharp “perfume” smell that quickly disappears after the first infusion is a sign of flavoring.
    * Dried flowers in the pack do not prove quality: after scenting, the flowers are usually separated.
    * Spring jasmine tea that appears earlier than all others is not necessarily from Yuanjiang; check the producer.

**12. Interesting Facts:**

* Yuanjiang has the earliest jasmine in China: flowers are on the market from March.
* Jasmine here is younger than in the other main areas: it was brought only in 1998 — from Hengxian.
* The 2003 mark of origin was granted to the name together with a specific trademark.

**13. Comparison with Other Jasmine Teas:**

* **Hengxian Molihua Cha ([横县茉莉花茶](https://thetea.app/article/hengxian-molihua-cha)):** The main jasmine area of China and the source of Yuanjiang jasmine; the season there runs from April to October, while in Yuanjiang it begins earlier.
* **Molihua Cha (茉莉花茶):** The corpus overview of jasmine tea — technology and forms.
* **Moli Yinhao ([茉莉银毫](https://thetea.app/article/moli-yin-hao)):** Jasmine tea on an early green base of buds — an example of a high grade of the class.
* **Moli Longzhu ([茉莉龙珠](https://thetea.app/article/moli-longzhu)):** A form of jasmine tea — rolled “pearls”.

**In Conclusion:**

*Yuánjiāng mòlìhuā chá* is the earliest jasmine in China. Bushes brought from Hengxian in 1998 took root in a dry, hot valley and bloom earlier than anywhere else in China; from these flowers the county makes a rich, triple-scented tea. The protection documents are still more modest than the industry itself: there is a 2003 mark of origin, while a new mark for the tea has so far only been proposed.