This Olive’s for Teas

This Olive's for Teas

The Sweet Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) makes an attractive hedge or small tree in the garden with inconspicuous flowers to the eye, but not to the nose! It is not related to the Olives (Olea spp.) we all know and love, but produces a small fruit that is sometimes preserved in brine like olives. 

It is not the fruit, however, of this plant that makes it a favorite. It is the flower of the Sweet Olive that carries much cultural associations in Asian cultures for its use in the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, the enjoyment of Osmanthus wines, teas and confections, as well as a valued traditional medicine with thousands of years of use. With its sweet fragrance and anxiolytic and analgesic effects, it is a natural choice for mixing with green or black teas to scent teas or improving the flavor of other foods and beverages, as they do in Japan. 

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Photo by Mindaugas Skrupskelis

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