Jujube

Jujube (hongzao, 红枣) - the Chinese red date - is a dried fruit of deep, caramel-like sweetness. Wrinkled and mahogany-red, it tastes of dates and dark honey, and it has been a fixture of Chinese kitchens and tonic teas for centuries.

Taste and aroma in tea

In tea, jujube gives real natural sweetness and a rounded, warming body. It suits black teas and pu-erh especially well, where its malty-sweet depth echoes the base rather than fighting it, and it takes the edge off anything brisk or dry.

In the Chinese tradition

Red dates are among the most cherished tonic foods in China, traditionally said to “nourish the blood” and warm the body. They turn up constantly in wellness drinking - most famously simmered together with goji berries, or added to chrysanthemum and longan for a sweet, warming brew.

How to brew

Sliced or torn open, jujube gives up its sweetness readily in hot water at 90–95 °C. A longer, slower steep - or a gentle simmer - draws out a richer, syrupy depth.