Enjoy Beautiful Blooms With Flowering Tea

Blooming tea flowers have made a graceful splash in the world of tea. These beautiful flower teas offer a visual delight that makes the tea drinking experience even more enjoyable. This herbal tea is a treat for tea lovers and people who enjoy learning more about the culture of tea.

These unique teas offer benefits for your health and a visual performance that will delight your senses. Whether you're a tea addict or just looking for a stunning new tea to try, flowering tea has something to offer everyone. Find out more about blooming tea balls including their history, symbolism, and how they're made.

What Is Flowering Tea

Flowering teas are delicious herbal blends that are as visually stunning as they are tasty. Flowering teas are produced by skilled masters and rolled so that they unfurl delicately when infused in hot water. The fresh, delicate flowers are hand tied using traditional Chinese methods.

Flowering teas first originated in China where tea makers expertly rolled flower petals and tea leaves into small balls. When the balls are infused in water they transform and take on the appearance of a blooming flower.

History of Flowering Tea

Flowering tea, or blooming tea, is also commonly called artisan tea, display tea, and China special tea. The first blooming tea art was developed in China centuries ago. The tea was originally brewed only for its visual qualities and was not consumed. That's because the leaves used in the brew were not of high quality and often had a bitter flavor.

In Chinese culture, flowering tea symbolizes harmony and a fulfilling life. The flowering tea ball can symbolize eternal love, longevity, and health.

The enchanting nature of blooming tea naturally made its way from China to the rest of the world. The beauty of tea and flowers delicately unfurling induced relaxation and a luxurious experience. In the 1980's the art was reimagined with new folding techniques that resulted in new blooming styles.

Today, blooming teas are made with high quality leaves and flower buds so you can also enjoy the flavor of these beautiful flowering teas. Green tea leaves are the most commonly used variety although you can still find blooming teas with oolong, black, and white tea leaves. Silver needle white tea leaves are common in premium flowering teas thanks to their delicate and sweet flavor.

How Is Flowering Tea Made?

Tea buds are harvested by hand in the early morning before the buds open. They are most commonly picked in early spring during the first flush of the season. The youngest leaves of the tea plant are typically used for flowering teas.

Once the leaves are harvested, they are sewn by hand using delicate cotton thread. Flowers are woven into the leaves in different designs. These designs can take several minutes to sew depending on the complexity of the tea artisan's design. The most commonly used flowers include jasmine tea flowers, globe amaranth, rose, hibiscus, and chrysanthemum.

Before the tea buds are withered and dried, they are shaped into tea balls, cones, cakes, and mushrooms. Once the shaping is complete, they are withered, dried, and in some cases oxidized. The tea flowers are then packaged for sale as part of tea sets or as individual loose leaf teas.

Tips For Brewing Blooming Tea

The beauty of this herbal tea is that you don't need any special tools such as tea infusers to brew it at home. All you need is a glass teapot, flower tea balls, and some hot water. While incredibly simple to make, there are a few things to keep in mind when brewing flowering tea.

Always use fresh spring or filtered water for the best flavor. Tap water contains chemicals that can be harmful to health and flavor. Distilled water won't develop flavor well and produces bland, boring tea brews.

It is essential to use a glass teapot when brewing flowering tea. If you use a clay or metal teapot, you won't be able to see the tea flowers unfurl in all their glory. Make sure to find a high quality tea pot made of glass so you can enjoy your flower tea at max potential.

Keep temperature in mind when brewing. Most flowering teas are made with green tea leaves that become bitter when brewed at high temperatures. If your flower tea has green tea leaves, brew with hot water between 150 and 175 F. If your flower tea uses black or oolong tea leaves, brew with a water temperature between 200 and 212 F.

How to Brew Flowering Tea

What You Need:

• 1 flowering tea ball
• 1 stovetop pan or tea kettle
• A glass teapot
• 32 ounces of water

Instructions:

1. Bring hot water to the proper temperature in a pan on the stove top. Do not heat the water in the glass teapot. The right temperature depends on the type of tea leaves in your blooming tea. White and green tea should be brewed at lower temperatures. Use boiling water for black, pu-erh, and oolong teas.

2. Place the flowering tea ball inside the glass teapot. Pour the hot water on top.

3. Steep the flowering tea for five to ten minutes. The delicate buds and flowers with come to life as they slowly unfurl and grow before your eyes.

4. Pour the tea into tea cups and enjoy!

Indulge Your Senses With Flowering Tea

Enjoy a flowering tea in a blooming tea garden and enjoy witnessing the tea blossoms as they emerge among real plants. Once relegated to expensive tea houses,  you can now enjoy this stunning tea right in your own home.

Add a fruit flowering tea to your tea parties or settle in on a quiet Sunday morning and enjoy the simple beauty of flowering tea by yourself.  You're guests are sure to love it when they come over to your next event.

These gorgeous teas also make the perfect gift for a housewarming party or important life event. Opt for a blooming tea gift set to commemorate a marriage in the family and celebrate eternal love just like ancient Chinese tea artisans.