How to Say “Jasmine tea” in Chinese
Food and dining · HSK 2
"Jasmine tea" in Chinese is 茉莉花茶 (mò lì huā chá). 茉莉花茶 is green tea scented with jasmine blossoms, and it's the default tea you'll get at Northern Chinese restaurants; especially in Beijing, where 花茶 (huā chá, 'flower tea') almost always means jasmine. Southerners tend to prefer green or oolong and sometimes tease Northerners for drinking 'perfumed water.
Primary translation
茉莉花茶
mò lì huā chá
Variants by register
Casual
茉莉茶
mò lì chá
When to use it
茉莉花茶 is green tea scented with jasmine blossoms, and it's the default tea you'll get at Northern Chinese restaurants; especially in Beijing, where 花茶 (huā chá, 'flower tea') almost always means jasmine. Southerners tend to prefer green or oolong and sometimes tease Northerners for drinking 'perfumed water.' In casual speech people drop 花 and just say 茉莉茶. Fun trivia: the pop drink 茉莉蜜茶 (jasmine honey tea) is one of the top-selling bottled teas in China's 7-Elevens.
Example sentences
来一壶茉莉花茶。
Lái yì hú mò lì huā chá.
A pot of jasmine tea please.
北京人特别喜欢喝茉莉花茶。
Běi jīng rén tè bié xǐ huān hē mò lì huā chá.
People from Beijing especially like jasmine tea.
这个茉莉茶闻起来真香。
Zhè ge mò lì chá wén qǐ lái zhēn xiāng.
This jasmine tea smells really fragrant.