Osmanthus Longjing

Osmanthus Longjing (桂花龙井, guìhuā lóngjǐng) is a scenting choice, not a separate tea variety or cultivar. The base is genuine Longjing green tea — the same tea covered on its own page, including the distinction between a broad “Longjing” claim and the narrower, protected “West Lake Longjing” claim — which is then scented with fresh osmanthus flowers after it has already been processed and dried.

Our reference sources document the general scenting principle shared across jasmine, osmanthus and other flower-scented teas: a finished tea base is layered with fresh flowers so it absorbs their fragrance, the spent flowers are then sifted out (or in some products deliberately left in for visual effect), and the tea is dried again. For osmanthus specifically, the library’s most concrete process reference is a Jiangsu provincial standard written for osmanthus-scented black tea, which specifies roughly 8-10 kg of tea base for every 1 kg of fresh osmanthus flowers. No equivalent standard for osmanthus-scented Longjing specifically appears in the library, so treat that ratio as a general industry reference point for osmanthus scenting rather than a confirmed rule for this exact product.

Because scenting is applied after the base tea is finished, the quality of the underlying Longjing — its grade, freshness and which of the three GB/T 18650 production areas it came from — still matters as much as it does for unscented Longjing. A common beginner mistake is judging Osmanthus Longjing purely on how strong or sweet its floral aroma is; a weak or coarse green tea base scented heavily can still taste thin once the aroma fades, while a good base scented well should show both a clean osmanthus fragrance and the nutty, vegetal character of decent Longjing underneath it.

Jasmine tea is the closest comparison — the same general scenting process applied to a different flower and usually a different (often baked-style) green tea base — and Longjing is the unscented version of this tea’s own base. Understand tea families covers where scented tea sits relative to the six core categories, and the Scented Tea guide covers the category more broadly.

Look · Dry leaf

Flat, smooth Longjing-style leaves, sometimes with visible osmanthus petals. Petals may or may not be present, and their presence does not by itself indicate quality or scenting level.

Smell & taste

Typical aroma: osmanthus, floral, sweet, nutty. Flavor tendencies: sweet, floral, nutty, light. Body: light-medium. These vary by batch, storage and brewing.

Brew · A starting point

Try 3 g in 200 ml water at 80–85°C for 90–120 seconds. Fully decant before tasting.

Read the wet leaves

Opened leaves may show flat Longjing-style leaves, sometimes with osmanthus petals. Evenness and integrity are useful observations, but wet leaves do not prove exact origin, scenting level or base tea grade.

Sources & review

Compiled by ChinaTea101's editors from Chinese national and industry tea standards and reference material, then fact-checked. Last reviewed 2026-09-25. How we check claims

• Standard DB32/T 3859-2020 桂花红茶加工技术规程 (Technical regulation for processing osmanthus black tea (Jiangsu provincial standard)) — National Public Service Platform for Standards Information (SAMR). Current standard; status checked on the national standards platform. View source ↗