Yunnan is both a major tea province and a major flower province, so it is unsurprising that the two meet. The province produces pu'er, black and green teas from ancient and modern plantations, and it grows cut flowers and edible flowers on a scale that supplies much of China - the flower auction at Dounan near Kunming handles millions of stems a day. The overlap is the flower tea: green or black tea scented or blended with jasmine, rose, osmanthus, chrysanthemum or lily, sold loose in Kunming's tea shops and drunk all over the city.
What to look for
Classic jasmine tea is made by layering tea with fresh jasmine flowers so that the leaves absorb the scent; the best versions use several scenting rounds and contain almost no visible flower. Rose tea from Yunnan uses the province's own edible roses, and the buds and petals are often left in the blend, giving a pinkish liquor and a distinct floral sweetness. Osmanthus is used in autumn, and chrysanthemum flowers are sold separately to be brewed on their own with rock sugar. Alongside the teas, shops sell rose cakes, flower pastries, candied petals and floral honeys, all of which are local specialities.
Buying tea in Kunming
The tea shops of the old quarter and the markets sell by weight from large jars, and you can usually taste before buying. Prices vary by a factor of twenty for what looks like the same tea, and the difference is real - harvest date, the altitude and age of the bushes, the number of scenting rounds and the care taken in processing. Ask to see the leaf, ask the harvest year, and buy small quantities of several teas rather than a large quantity of one. Pu'er is pressed into cakes and bricks as well as sold loose, and it is the one Yunnan tea that genuinely improves with age.
Practical notes
Flower teas are best drunk within a year, and the scent fades faster than the leaf does, so buy in modest amounts and store them sealed away from light and strong smells. Loose tea travels well and is light, which makes it a good gift; pressed pu'er cakes are also easy to carry and are the more interesting purchase for anyone who knows the tea. Most shops take mobile payment, and a good shop will let you sit and drink while you decide. If you are in Kunming in the early morning, the Dounan flower market is worth seeing for the sheer volume of what moves through it.
