A Cup of Sweet Olive Tea

Ciao!

When I landed in Fiumicino airport after my 10-hour-flight, it didn't really hit me that I am actually in Italy. It was when I stood in front of the tall alter wall of the Sistine Chapel gazing at "The Last Judgement" by Michelangelo that I realized: Wow, I am in Italy.

Here are a few things about me: I love sugar, fashion, animals (cats!), and nature. Ever since I discovered a small cat shelter in the corner of the monuments at Largo di Torre Argentina, I knew I would return to Rome someday! While passionate for cats, I am also deeply in love with the nature of Italy: Fluffy white clouds, madly blooming flowers, and chunks of greenery blended in the landscape. The locals take good care of the plants and in return receive valuable gifts from nature, including fresh fruit, vegetable, honey, and especially, olive oil.

Though Mediterranean countries relied heavily on the fruits of the Oleaceae family, they payed little attention to the flowers and leaves. In China and Japan, my favorite flower Osmanthus fragrans, also known as sweet olive, is widely applied in food, cosmetics, and medicine for its fragrance and therapeutic properties. Belonging to the same family as olives, O.fragrans are used as the active ingredients of many perfumes due to its strong aroma. In China, people also use this strong fragrance in medicine to disguise bitter tastes and apply essential oils made from O.fragrans as insect repellents.

Osmanthus fragrans (sweet olive, tea olive)

Another well known name for O.fragrans, as referred by Tom Muller in Extra Virginity, is tea olive. Muller often notes how real extra virgin olive oil brings out hidden tastes in foods. Similarly, O.fragrans also enhances the flavors of green and black teas, bringing out a unique, fruity smell. It was said that drinking Osmanthus Tea can beautify the skin, boost immunity, and bring cardiovascular benefits. In a research carried by Hsin-Hsueh Lee and his colleagues, O.fragrans was examined for its neuroprotection and free radical scavenging effects. The study focused on the ethanol extract of O.fragrans (OFE) and experimented on primary cultured neurons derived from rat embryonic cortical brain cells. The final results suggests that OFE does protect the cortical neurons against 6-OHDA and glutamate-induced neurotoxicity, thus making it useful in preventing neurodegenerative diseases. Also, its high total flavonoid content explains its potential antioxidative and anti-radical scavenging abilities (Antioxidants and free radical scavengers are all contributors to the prevention of heart disease, stroke, cancer, atherosclerosis, and arthritis). Furthermore, according to studies by The Australian Centre for Complementary Medicine Education and Research, it is found that olive leaves have five times the antioxidant capacity of vitamin C! Isn't it surprising that these small, cream-colored flowers have such huge medical benefits comparable to those of olive oil?

Dry Osmanthus fragrans used in teas

In the language of flowers, olive symbolizes peace and Osmanthus symbolizes honesty or modesty. Here is a Clematis symbolizing the joy of travelers we all feel upon our arrival in Italy!

Clematis - the joy of travelers

References:

Neuroprotection and free radical scavenging effects of Osmanthus fragrans.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17846921