Te Aroma

The special one

Te means 'special'. The style comes from Jiangxi, in southern China, and its best-known producer is Site (四特), from the city of Zhangshu. It is one of the eight aroma types derived from the four basic styles.

Rice and daqu

Te aroma is unusual because it uses rice as its main raw material, as southern spirits often do, but ferments it with daqu, the 'big qu' starter typical of northern baijiu. Its aroma is built on ethyl acetate and ethyl hexanoate, joined by esters such as ethyl propionate.

How it tastes

The result is harmonious and rounded, with fruity and floral notes and touches of the strong, light and sauce styles.

How to recognise it

The label says 特香型 (tèxiāng xíng). Expect a soft, fruity and floral nose, with a gentle rice character and a smooth, rounded palate.

Rice in a northern method

Te aroma is unusual because it brings together two worlds: rice, the grain of southern China, and daqu, the big qu of the north. Site's distillers ferment whole rice with daqu, a combination that gives the style its harmony.

A regional pride

In Jiangxi, Site is a source of local pride, and te aroma is the province's own contribution to the baijiu map. Outside Jiangxi it is rarely seen, which makes it a discovery for curious drinkers.

How to taste it

Serve it neat at room temperature. Try it after a light aroma and a rice aroma baijiu: you will find something of both, with more body.