Jin Xuan Tea in Perfumery | Première Peau

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.

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.