Blooming tea is delicious art and healthy beverage all tied together
Slowly unfolding tea leaves in a clear glass, clear teacup, or clear glass teapot over several minutes.
Expanding, surprising, revealing hidden flower treasures.
Flowers like chrysanthemum, jasmine, carnation, marigold, calendula, and osmanthus.
They are carefully tied bundles of tea leaves with flowers opening up from the center into an artistic display after immersion in hot water.
The names match their delicate beauty
Also called flowering teas, bloom display teas, and blossoming flower teas, these teas are given romantic names like Heart of Love for a red bloom tea, and Falling Water or Let It Snow for a white bloom tea.
When arranged into elaborate configurations they can be called Jasmine Lily, Butterfly, Lady Fairy, and Dragon Playing With Pearls.
Always made by hand
In southwestern China, the green tea leaves, or occasionally black or white tea leaves, are gathered and selected while still moist. They are usually tied with cotton thread, adding flower petals in artistic shapes inside the center of the selected leaves.
Each creation can take from one to ten minutes to sew together.
The teas are shaped by hand and formed into a tight ball to dry.
More display teas
Other tied display teas without flowering displays in the center are called tea peonies, rosettes, or strawberries, among others. They all unfold into an attractive arrangement in the cup or your teapot.
Jasmine teas are frequently rolled (but not tied) into a small ball called a pearl which opens up into strange and delightful shapes in your cup while filling the room with the romantic scent of jasmine flowers.
Enjoy these flowering teas for fun or special occasions
Using these teas can add art and pleasure to health on any occasion.
Each tea bloom can be steeped two to three times. But the tea bloom is damaged by sitting in hot water more than three minutes at a time, so be sure to decant the steeped tea into your teacups as soon as it has steeped. Then add fresh hot water only when you are ready to brew another pot of tea.
For the best viewing, always use clear glass teapots or large glass cups, add hot water just before the boiling point, drop in the tea, and enjoy!
Discover more about gourmet teas with a free subscription to the Green Tea Health Newsletter:
http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/blooming-tea.html
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This page was last updated by Sharon Jones.
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