What is Blooming Tea

What is blooming tea or flowering tea, or blossoming tea these are just some of the more widely used names by which this type of tea is referred to. All of these names are used to describe what is referred to in china as 'GongYi Hua Cha'; literally 'Art Flower Tea', ok well if you have never seen or heard of blooming tea then well quite honestly you must of been living in a cave because flowering tea appears to be the latest trend taking Europe and North America by storm (even my son has heard about it and I didn't tell him) but if you are one of those cave dwellers then you are still in the dark. Basically blooming tea is a little hard baked ball of tea leaves (about the size of a large marble) inside which dried flowers have been sewn with either cotton or silk threads when immersed in liquid the dried flowers swell and expand breaking free from their little tea leaf prison to reveal in most cases a beautiful miniature floral display imagine if you will a small under water firework or anemones on the sea bed .

For the purposes of this post I will refer to the drink as Blooming tea for no other reason than that was the name by which it was first introduced to me. By and large most blooming teas come from the Yunnan province of China, near the borders of Laos and Vietnam ,the flowers that are most commonly used in blooming teas include globe amaranth, lily, jasmine, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, and osmanthus

Let me make it clear from the start despite being English by birth I am not some tea snob pretending to like something I do not just because its the latest and greatest craze I openly admit to preferring Tetley over Earl Grey, I unashamedly admit to liking my tea made in a mug with a teabag with both sweetener (a diet concession) and milk, yes! all you Tim Horton employees milk, not half and half, not cream, milk, tea particularly Tim Horton’s is disgusting when served with anything else. I don't like tea with lemon or honey nor served cold over ice .... America how could you ruin a good cuppa in this way. OK rant over what I am trying to say is I am not a pretentious person I will not say I like something just to follow the crowd so believe me when I tell you, you should try blooming tea even if it is only just once but you should follow the rules as laid out within these few posts to aid you in your first encounter with blooming tea or you may entirely miss like I almost did, one of life’s little pleasures and that would be so sad as often it feels that there are so few.

In all honesty the first time that blooming tea was served to me I didn't like it, I thought it tasted like a perfumed grassy tasting hot water, perhaps, not that I've ever tried it, but how I imagine dish water might taste, but not wanting to show my lack of culture and breeding in a public place I kept my mouth shut , smiled and said to the woman who had ordered it that it was different definitely a very unusual drink as it was at lunch at a very busy exclusive restaurant that I had my first encounter with blooming tea . Even though the taste was not to my liking the blooming tea was definitely a visual surprise It was very pretty indeed something very unexpected if you don't know what’s about to happen, that’s why I guess its become such a popular after dinner treat served after many dinner parties as kind of after dinner entertainment, a small scale floor show definitely a conversation starter.

I am not going to tell you as many people do over bad tasting things (like in my opinion beer) that it is an acquired taste well that is just not true , there are many flavors and quality's of blooming tea you just have to find the one that suits your palette best. Know how long to keep it, how to brew it ,what to look for when buying it, what it should be served in, and how it should be served and with what, even when and where and with whom it should be drunk.
And because at least in my opinion blooming tea at $1.60 to $2.00 per ball when compared to regular teabags or coffee blooming tea is expensive and while your researching the flavor that is just right for you unless you get lucky and find it straight away ,or have a more or less discerning set of taste buds than I possess depending from which point of view you want to take on the subject ,well not to mince matters your bound to end up with a few pots of dish water what uses you can put them to so your money isn't completely wasted.

Why even bother to discover a blooming tea you like I hear you ask blooming tea is not a grab-and-go drink for while on the road to work. Enjoying a flowering tea requires time and a little contemplation possibly even a little inner reflection you sit down and make time for blooming tea its a little oasis of calm in an other wise too hectic a life a mini vacation its not only a pleasant out of the ordinary soothing taste its also a treat for the eyes -a visual reminder to soak up the comfort of a quiet moment, allow the peace and quiet to bloom around you while it brews this poem by at least to me an unknown author just about sums it up.

A Cup of Tea

When the world is all at odds
And the mind is all at sea
Then cease the useless tedium
And brew a cup of tea.

There is magic in its fragrance,
There is solace in its taste;
And the laden moments vanish
Somehow into space.

And the world becomes a lovely thing!
There's beauty as you'll see;
All because you briefly stopped
To brew a cup of tea.

Blooming tea is not a drink for every day merely due to its length of brewing time its a a once in while treat a little luxury that anybody can afford, once you've found flavors you enjoy you will see why blooming tea is so easy to fall in love with blooming tea is not only fabulously fragrant but it is a visually commanding beautiful mini floral scented water garden, displays that encourage you to relax and unwind with every sip.