Blooming Tea: A Contemplative Beverage
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In the West, we do not have a history of appreciating drinking tea quite the way it is in Asia, particularly in China and Japan. When trying blooming tea, however, you must not rush the experience. This is not the type of tea to drink down as you are running out the door.
Blooming tea does exactly what the name implies. It blooms. It does this because it is a ball of tea with dried flowers hand sewn inside it. When you pour on hot water, the flowers expand with the liquid, and break out of the ball. The flowers then bloom into gorgeous displays reminiscent of sea anemones.
Not only is blooming tea beautiful to look at, the taste is something truly exquisite. The flavor is something that you have to take your time and savor. Drinking tea like this, it starts to make sense why it is often part of meditation and other such pursuits. There is also a wonderfully unique fragrance that is very light.
No one is entirely sure how many years the Chinese have been making and drinking blooming tea. It is at least decades but may well be for centuries. Every springtime, the finest of the young tea buds and leaves are picked for blooming tea balls. The variety of tea used may be either white or green.
The types of flowers used vary for the making of blooming tea. Such variations as osmanthus, hibiscus, jasmine, lilies and chrysanthemum are among those used. Like the tea, the flowers are also picked when young as they will yield the most delicate fragrance and taste.
The making of blooming tea is not just a manufacturing process but a true art. While it starts with the selection of the finest flowers and leaves, this is just the beginning. It is when those two ingredients are combined by the artist who sews them together that you end up with the thing of beauty in your teacup.
To brew your blooming tea, you will want to use a glass cup or pot so you can see the flower unfold. Pour boiling water over the ball and let steep for around five minutes. The ball can be used again to your taste. Later, you can put it in a glass with cold water to display it for several days.
Thought it was once the drink of Chinese aristocracy, blooming tea is now gaining a following all over the globe. One only has to go to the Internet to find a great number of companies selling this tea. Make sure that wherever you choose to purchase it, the tea is good quality blooming tea.
Blooming tea is more expensive than your average cup of tea. But the results speak for themselves. If you just want a caffeine jolt in the morning, this is not the tea for you. But if you want an experience that will invoke all your senses and instantly remove the stress from your day, blooming tea is definitely something to try.
Find other unique tea gifts at www.teaneeds.com Stop by where you can find a wide variety of blooming and other organic teas.
Find more articles written by Mark Miller


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