GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / creamy · green · fresh
Jin Xuan Tea Leaves
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
creamy · green · fresh
Origin
Volatility
Heart Note
Botanical
Camellia sinensis
Appearance
Amber to dark brown liquid
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Taiwan
Pyramid
Heart
Creamy, milky-sweet, floral oolong. Jin Xuan (milk oolong) smells like a delicate tea with an impossible natural creaminess — buttery, soft, with a white-flower undertone.
Creamy, milky-sweet, softly floral. A natural butteriness that no other tea achieves — like steaming a cup and catching both floral delicacy and dairy-like warmth. Less vegetal than green tea, less tannic than black tea. The 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanone creaminess is the signature — impossibly smooth for a plant material.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Creamy-milky floral, soft, buttery warmth
After a few hours
After a few hours
Softer, more floral, less creamy, tea-like
After a few days
After a few days
Faint sweet floral-tea residue, gentle
The Full Story
Jin Xuan (Golden Daylily, TTES No. 12) is a Taiwanese oolong tea cultivar developed in 1981 by the Tea Research and Extension Station. It is famous for its naturally creamy, milky character — a quality that comes from the specific terroir (typically grown at 1,000-1,600 meters in Alishan, Nantou) and processing method, not from added milk or flavoring.
The creamy character comes from 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanone and related ketones that develop during light oxidation of the tea leaves. These compounds create a lactonic, butter-like impression. The floral quality comes from linalool and its oxides, geraniol, and nerolidol.
Jin Xuan is one of Taiwan's most successful tea cultivars — it accounts for a significant portion of the country's high-mountain oolong production. However, much of the 'milk oolong' sold internationally is artificially flavored with milk or cream — genuine Jin Xuan's creaminess is subtle and natural.
In perfumery, Jin Xuan provides a specific, creamy-floral tea note distinct from generic green or black tea accords.
Much of the 'milk oolong' sold internationally is not genuine Jin Xuan but ordinary oolong artificially flavored with milk powder or cream during processing. Authentic Jin Xuan's creaminess is purely natural — a product of the cultivar's genetics and the specific oxidation level during production.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No specific Jin Xuan tea extraction exists for perfumery. Green tea absolute (Camellia sinensis) from Chinese or Japanese sources is the closest commercial product. The specific creamy character would need to be enhanced with lactones and ketone modifiers. Taiwanese tea producers do not supply to the fragrance industry.
Jin Xuan is a niche tea note providing milky-creamy-floral character. No specific Jin Xuan extract for perfumery — reconstructed from green tea absolute, lactones (gamma-decalactone for creaminess), and floral-linalool modifiers. Functions as a delicate, creamy heart note in Taiwanese-inspired, tea-ceremony, and soft-comfort compositions. The natural creaminess distinguishes it from other tea notes.
