Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a flowering plant species native to Asia from the Himalayas through the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, southern Japan and Southeast Asia] as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.
The flowers of the osmanthus, called 桂花 (guìhuā), are used in a variety of Chinese dishes for its color and intense, delicious fragrance.
They are infused with green or black tea leaves to create osmanthus tea (桂花茶; guìhuāchá). The flowers are also used to produce osmanthus-scented jam, osmanthus cakes, dumplings, soups, and osmanthus liquor. Osmanthus jam is used as an ingredient in a type of gruel called chátāng, which is made from sorghum or millet flour and sugar mixed with boiling water.