[ Tea Ceremony: Flowering Tea ]
In my last post I promised to come back with a tea that will be exotic. Keeping the promise, we present you Chinese Flowering Tea today. Flowering tea is an experience. It is just not about the colour or the flavour of the tea but also about the bloom and the surprise. It comes as a small bamboo ball, once it comes in contact with hot boiling water, it let lose and blooms into a flower. The blooming process is very simple yet enchanting to watch.
Flowering tea also known as blooming tea is a bundle of dried tea leaves wrapped into a ball. The balls are made of binding tea leaves and flowers together into a bulb and then set to dry. When steeped, the bundle spreads the leaves and blooms into a flower. The leaves adore the flower that stays as a centre piece. As various kinds of flowers are used, thus when it blooms, it may vary in colour and shape. These flowering teas are usually found in Yunnan province of China. Flowers commonly used in flowering teas include globe amaranth, chrysanthemum, jasmine, lily, hibiscus, and osmanthus.
To make flowering tea you will need a glass tea pot/cup, 1 bundle of flowering tea which is essentially just a ball and 3 cups of water. Put the tea ball inside the pot, pour the water and steep for 15 minutes roughly or as long as it blooms. We got three cups of golden whiskey coloured tea. It tastes like a usual green tea, smooth and light. Nothing extravagant or absurd. You can drink it anytime of the day. It can be taken with crackers as well. But take time to drink it, take small sips, whirl it inside your mouth, and feel the flavour.
I suggest using this tea only for great occasions as this is expensive and not very easy to find. This will make any tea party more enjoyable. You can use little honey or sugar to sweetened the tea, however we had it without any sweetener. We always prefer to drink green tea without honey or sugar.
So much for now. It is past midnight, and I am already thinking of our next tea session. And again promise to come back with something to remember. Tea ceremony has already turned into the heart of my blog. Hope you like our tea ceremony and also enjoying making it.
Tea Courtesy: Mishael Aziz, Photo: Author, Information: Wikipedia