The Blooming Flowers of Tea Plants and Their Honey

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) leaves provide beneficial effects for human health, and the functions of the main components of their leaves have been widely studied. Recently several physiological functions of tea flowers have been reported, and the flowers have received attention as a natural healthy material for food and cosmetics. It is not well known that the fragrant tea flowers have sweet nectar. The tea nectar may be attractive to honeybees. However, the honey from tea flowers has not been studied, even though in autumn, many tea fields are filled with blooming flowers in almost all the tea production areas around the world. In addition, honey from tea flowers has not been seen on the market. It was unclear whether tea honey is available. The study used honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) and took a small amount of honey from the blooming flowers of tea plants, which contained theanine (L-glutamic acid γ-ethylamide), a specific amino acid of tea plants. The theanine concentration of the nectar of the tea flowers exceeded that of the honey. Theanine is an extremely rare amino acid in nature, and it has psychoactive properties. This result is evidence that this honey is derived from tea flowers. Furthermore, the concentration of caffeine in the tea nectar might affect the honeybee’s brain to improve memory, suggesting that honeybees prefer to collect the nectar and produce honey. This study aims to prove that tea flower honey can be harvested and further proposes a unique tea sightseeing where visitors can taste the honey of tea flowers in the gorgeous scenery and fragrance of flower tea gardens.