Blooming Tea — Flowering Tea Choices

Looking for Blooming Teas? Buy blooming tea here.

Photo By: Catherine Bulinski

If you are looking for tea that perhaps epitomizes all that tea is about, you could look no further than the blooming tea or flowering teas. They are, perhaps, the most beautiful of all beverages as they are not only pleasant to look at but they have a delightful taste as well.

What Are Blooming Teas?

Blooming teas, or flowering teas as they are also called, are special blends of teas. Commonly, green tea is combined with naturally herbal flowers or buds. Black tea and oolong tea is also sometimes used. The way they are made is quite unique. Most are handmade, in that a bundle of flowers and tea leaves are tied together with thread into a tight ball. The bundles are made in such a way that when brewed the leaves and flowers unfurl into amazing designs where the tea leaves form the leaves of the flower and the bud or flower unfolds at the centre. In some instances the flowers unfurl into an arch, a dragon’s eye, or even a small boat. To give you an idea of some of the designs, here are some photographs of blooming teas in all their glory!

The Best Way To Showcase Flower Tea

Usually, blooming teas are steeped in glass teapots so the artistic designs can be easily seen. Some people prefer to brew tea in a glass teacup instead. Often it is served at the end of a meal where the teapot is set in the middle of the table so everyone can appreciate it. You will also find it served with a light afternoon or morning snack, again placed on the table so everyone can enjoy watching the flower unfold.

Our Blooming Teas

We have a selection of blooming teas available now. These teas are made using green tea or white tea as the base.

Our selection includes teas made with jasmine flowers, Osmanthus, Lily, Globe Amaranth, Marigold and possibly chrysanthemum and marigolds! If you are interested in buying blooming teas please take a look at the flowering teas now available in our store.

How To Brew Blooming Teas

There are a couple of different ways you can prepare your flowering tea, however most recommend that you first pour the boiling water into a glass teapot and then drop the blooming tea into the water. Naturally, you will want to prepare the tea in a heat resistant glass teapot. Another suggestion is to place the tea pot over a tea warmer and light small tea candles. The light from the candles will shine up into the blooming tea, making it even more unique and exquisite.

If you wish to prepare a blooming tea for each guest–which really is a great way to end a meal with friends–you can also prepare the tea in separate glasses or cups. Because you will want to see the blooming tea unfold completely it is recommended that you use large sized glass cups or even large wine or martini glasses (providing they are heat resistant).

Normally you would use one ball for about 500 ml. of water or for a less strong tea, up to 1 litre of water. With this tea you let it steep for at least three minutes as that gives the flower long enough to unfold. Though you may be tempted to do so, don’t try to stir the water in order to hasten the process as it will not have the desired effect.

As with other loose leaf teas, you can reuse the blooming tea and make several different steepings from it, however you should not keep the bloom to reuse the following day for making tea. You can, however, place the blooming tea in a vase or glass and admire it for several days until the flowers begin to wilt.

Some people mention that they prefer to place the blooming tea into the already freshly boiled water as small pieces do not break off as easily; you can always experiment to see what you prefer and what gives you the best tasting tea.

In Conclusion

I recently read an article from Hsiao-Ching Chou, written for the Seattle PI website, that I thought perfectly expressed the reason why blooming tea is such a wonderful addition to the table. As he said, ” This is definitely not a grab-and-go drink. Enjoying a flowering tea requires time and contemplation — and a glass teapot.”

Here is a quote from his article. Think about it, and then watch the video, courtesy of House of Blossoms, included at the end of the article. You’ll soon see why blooming teas or flowering teas are becoming so popular!

“I steeped two of the teas, one in each pot, and watched them reconstitute and relax in the hot water. It was a visual reminder that I need to soak in the comfort of a quiet moment, sipping green aromas and allowing the calm to blossom.”