Cold Tossed Tea Tree Flowers

Last updated 2026-11-09 — Cold Tossed Tea Tree Flowers Fengqing is a major tea-producing county and one of the birthplaces of the world’s tea plants, with over 200,000 acres of both new and old tea gardens. During the rainy season every year, a blackish-yellow parasitic plant grows on the tea trees, which locals in Fengqing call “tree flowers.” Tea tree flowers are generally only used in cold tossed dishes and not stir-fried or boiled. To prepare them, first soak the tree flowers in clean water for one to two hours and rinse thoroughly. Then boil them in hot water for a few minutes before rinsing them again in clean water. The prepared tree flowers can then be mixed into a cold dish and served. The flowers are crisp and delicious, with a slightly sweet and bitter taste. It is said that tree flowers are calcium-rich plants, and regular consumption can help strengthen bones and improve overall health. In Fengqing, during the winter and spring seasons, both residents and restaurants can prepare tasty, crisp, and fragrant cold tossed tea tree flowers.