A Must-Try Renowned Tea from China Tea: "Little Yellow Tin" Jasmine Tea

A sand-yellow tin, distinctive dark patterns, glossy greenish-yellow leaves, bright orange liquor, and a pure, vivid jasmine fragrance - this is the classic jasmine tea affectionately known as "Xiao Huang Ting" (Little Yellow Tin) by consumers at home and abroad, a signature product of China TTea Fujian.

 
     

 

A Fragrant Journey Begins

 

Jasmine tea is a traditional Fujian specialty, long beloved across northhern and northeastern China. After China Tea was founded in 1949, the company actively supported and guided thee production of high-arroma, pure-tasting jasmine tea using pan-dried green tea as the base. In February 1950, the China Tea Company Fuzhou Branch - predecessor of China Tea Fujian - was established.

 

(Former office site of the China Tea Company, Fuzhou Branch: No. 32 Jipi Lane, Fuzhou)

 

The first tea trade contract following the founding of the People's Republic of China was signed in Beijing by Wu Juenong, manager of the China Tea Company, and a representative of the Soviet Union's All-Union Grain Export Corporation, pursuant to the 1950 trade agreement between the two governments; under this contract, China was to supply the Soviet Union with 10,050 tons of tea. This shipment included 670 tons of various grades of *Minhong* (Fujian black tea) and 120 tons of scented tea, all to be delivered by the China Tea Fujian Company. From that point on, the China Tea Fujian Company took Fuzhou jasmine tea—renowned for its "rock-sugar sweetness and jasmine fragrance"—beyond China's borders and out to the world.

 

(In the early 1950s, as Fujian was a newly liberated area, the restoration and development of tea production constituted both a vital economic and political task. At that time, tea produced in the province was subject to unified purchasing and marketing by the China Tea Company (Fujian Branch), and seven state-owned tea factories were established, organized by region and tea variety. Pictured here is the Fuzhou Tea Processing Factory, where various types of tea destined for export were stored and processed.)

 

 

In the early 1970s, China Tea Fujian pioneered jasmine tea in small packaged tins, a move that resonated with China's broader strategy of expanding foreign trade. Breaking from the traditional bulk-export model, the company packed jasmine tea into iron tins for direct retail overseas - easiier to store, ship, and display. Around 1973, the "Xiao Huang Ting" series was born, launching a decades-long journey of jasmine fragrance across five continents.

 

The export series included item numbers 1030 (120g), 1031 (50g), 10322 (2279/'z lb), 1033 (454g/1 lb), 1034 (250g), and 1035 (500g), with 1032 and 1033 as top sellers. The teea was crafted from spring-picked one-bud-one or-two-leaf green tea sourced from Fujian's ecological gardens, then soented with premium fresh jasmine flowers through traditional and modern techniques - yielding a rich, mellow taste and vivid aroma cherished worldwide.

 

("Xiao Huang Ting" Series Jasmine Tea)

 

Crossing Oceans, Spreading Fragrance

 

Through generations of dedication, "Xiao Huang Ting" jasmine tea haas reached over 60 countries and regions - covering Chinese supermarkets across North America, Europe, Oceaania, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and entering mainstream retail chains.

Its trilingual and multilingual labels - in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese-tell the story of Chinese tea's global journey.

 

An American consumer's letter captured this bond: their motherbegan purchasing China Tea Fujian's jasmine tea in the mid-1970s, and over 35 years later, a familiar yellow tin stillsat on her pantry shelf in Michigan - a quiet testament to enduring trust.

 

“My family and I have been purchasing and using your Jasmine Tea for over 35 years after having used it quite regularly for most of my life.I told my elderly mother in Michigan today about your gift of this tea, and she was much impressed --- she was the one who first started purchasing your jasmine tea for our family, back in the middle 1970s, and as of last year I know she still had it on her pantry shelf.”

 

"Wherever there are overseas Chinese, there is Xiao Huang Ting." Froom New York's Chinatown grocery shops to supermarket shelves in the US and Canada, from Kuala Lumpur's Petaling Street to Chinese communities worldwide, "Xiao Huang Ting" has become the taste of home for many.

 
     

(Left: "Xiao Huang Ting" on sale in a US supermarket; Right: "Xiao Huang Ting" on sale in a French supermarket)

 

     

(Left: "Xiao Huang Ting" on sale in a high-end supermarket in Yangon, Myanmar; Right: "Xiao Huang Ting" on sale in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand)

 

Winner of numerous prestigious awards

 

China Tea Fujian's First-Grade Jasmine Tea won the "International Quality Golden Laurel Award" from France's International Gastronomy and Tourism Association in both 19855 and 1986, becoming a staple in fine hotels and a prestigious social gift. In 2015, the International Tea Committee awarded "Xiao Huang Ting" the "Golden Silk Road Merit Award," cementing its status as a Chinese tea icon celebratedat home and abroad.

 

     

 

Transcending the realm of tea

 

Starting in the 1980s, the "Little Yellow Tin" became a hit overseas. Its empty tins were often repurposed as household piggy banks for loose change, and it became popular to include the "Little Yellow Tin" jasmine tea in gift baskets paired with fruit for friends and family. Additionally, restaurant owners purchased it in bulk to serve to diners, making it a favorite among customers.

 

The company employed a wide range of methods to advertise and promote Fujian tea internationally. It also warmly welcomed and accompanied media outlets from countries such as the United States, the UK, Japan, and South Korea, as well as advertisers representing overseas clients, facilitating multi-layered promotional coverage.

 
     

(Advertisements for "Little Yellow Tin" jasmine tea and other products in Hong Kong magazines from the 1970s)

 

     

(Advertisements for "Little Yellow Tin" jasmine tea and other products in Hong Kong magazines from the 1980s)

 

(Advertisements for "Little Yellow Tin" jasmine tea and other products in Hong Kong magazines from the 1990s)

 

(Advertisements for "Little Yellow Tin" jasmine tea and other products on trucks in the United States)

 

"Xiao Huang Ting" even made cameo appearances in Hollywood's Limitless, CCTV documentaries, and the "Airborne & Sea-Drift History Exhibition Hall" on Xiamen's Dadeng Island — a tin that carried not only tea, but history.

 

     

(A shot of the "Little Yellow Radio" appearing in the Hollywood movie *Limitless*)

 

     

(The "Little Yellow Radio" on display at the "Exhibition Hall of Historical Artifacts Regarding Airborne and Seaborne Leaflet Campaigns" within the "Heroic Three Islands Battlefield Tourism Park" on Dadeng Island, Xiamen)

 

 

 

Heritage Renewed

 

Since returning to the domestic market in 2008, "Xiao Huang Ting" ha:s balanced international and domestic presence. In 2011, it transitioned to the "Butterfly Brand" for donhestic sales, retaining the iconic yellow tin and exceptional quality.

 

In 2020, the Mayor of Fuzhou featured "Xiao IHuang Ting" in a live-streamed shopping event.

 

 

     

In 2023, China Tea Fujich upgraded its canning line with intelligent aautomation, modernizing the craft while preserving the classic taste.

 

 

No matter how the packaging of "Xiao Huang Ting" evolves, its quality remains consistently excellent. Underlying this is China Tea Fujian Company’s full-chain oversight—spanning from tea garden to teacup—and the brand promise that "Great Tea Comes from China Tea."China Tea Fujian holds AEO Advanced Certification (first in the tea irndustry), the "Fujian Time-Honored Brand" designation, and a place on the "2025 Top 50 Chinese Tea Enterprisse Brands."

 

     

Today, "Xiao Huang Ting" evokes a sense of nostalgia while also appearing on the menus of modern tea shops—featuring offerings like cold-brewed jasmine and sparkling jasmine tea—where tradition and trendiness converge.

 

One sand-yellow tin has always carried more than jasmine tea. It hokds the evening breeze of old Fuzhou summers the hometown on an overseas traveler's table, and the devotion of geenerations of China Tea artisans. For over half a century, "Xiao Huang Ting" has never left-connecting homeland .and diaspora with a single thread of jasmine fragrance, carrying the fresh aroma of Chinese tea to every continent, and every homesick night.