Young Chrysanthemum Buds | 胎菊

Young chrysanthemum buds or 胎菊 (taiju) are the younger version of the  Hangzhou chrysanthemum (杭菊, hangju) and used to be a tribute item for the emperor during imperial China. These dainty flowers have long been prized for their delicious taste as well as their traditional Chinese medicine properties. Taiju refers to the unopened buds of the Hangzhou white chrysanthemum flower. By harvesting the flower before it is completely opened, the tea elixir brewed from the resulting buds is cleaner tasting, more concentrated, and packed with a more full-bodied floral sweetness--an herbal taste that's tinged with a hint of nuttiness reminiscent of honey. The color of the elixir also takes on a brighter yellow hue than with fully-bloomed chrysanthemums. Lastly, its sturdier flowers ensure that the buds do not disintegrate in the tea elixir even after being steeped to its full capacity, which--unlike the slightly murky elixir that is extracted from the fully-bloomed chrysanthemum, ensures a clear