Flower-scented Chinese teas can be found almost anywhere in China. Taking the top honor among them is the world-famous jasmine tea. However, many big time tea lovers don’t know the story surrounding the invention of Chinese jasmine tea!

It’s a somewhat tragic story. One day, a tea merchant brewed a very old bag of tea. It was a gift from a poor little girl. What he didn’t know yet was that it was an unusual gift.

Many years beforehand, he was staying in a hotel when he met a poor, starving girl. She told him that her father had died, and she didn’t have the money to give him a proper burial. Out of pity, the merchant gave the girl some money. And that was all.

When he returned to the hotel a few years later, the manager gave him this bag of tea and told him it was from the girl.

Now, when he lifted his cup to taste the tea, the little girl appeared in the steam! She was holding a single jasmine flower in each of her hands. Needless to say, he was startled. In China, it’s said that such a scene only appears when you’ve done a huge favor to others and they want to repay you by sacrificing themselves.

The merchant tried to find out what the girl was trying to say. Was she telling him to put some jasmine flowers in his tea? That was probable. So he added some fresh jasmine blossoms. And the result was jasmine tea.

Soon, he had a new invention. The fragrant, fruity jasmine Chinese tea earned the merchant a big fortune.