Ba Bao Eight Treasures

Ba Bao Eight treasures is not the ‘flowering tea’ you may have heard of, but something much more special. Essentially it is an infusion of fruits or flowers, or both, the only requirements being that there are eight ingredients (‘treasures’) and that, in combination, they make a delicious, beautiful and healthy tisane.

Ba Bao Eight Treasures, brewed in a beautiful glass teapot or glass cup, may be our best loved item at Chaya Teahouse. It has delighted bloggers and put smiles on many of our tea friends’ faces. We make four versions, to reflect the seasons of the year, and of course they can be adapted to individual tastes and needs. As you will imagine, there are also regional variations to the recipe.

At Chaya we only use whole, uncut fruits and flowers. First the flowers release their flavour, one by one, and then the sweetness of the fruits follows. You can sit with the tisane all day, adding water, and the flavour profiles shift as the hours happily pass.

• blog post: Empress Dowager’s Royal Eight Treasures Tea