The Art of Blooming Tea

If you're not familiar with the whole culture surrounding tea, then you're probably unfamiliar with the term, "blooming art tea". It's a pretty neat concept and is something that can amaze your party guests of all ages. You'll never grow tired of serving blooming teas.

Most likely, it was the Chinese that came up with the idea of a flowering or a blooming tea because the flowers used in these teas are commonly found in China and shipped around the world.

What is a Blooming Art Tea?

A flowering or blooming tea is exactly as it sounds. It is a bundle of dried flowers and tea leaves that expand and "bloom" in the hot water in your personal teapot. When the bundle blooms, it looks like a little bouquet. For this reason, it's good to have a glass teapot whereby the blooming can be "experienced" in real time right at the table you're sitting at. The amount of size difference of the finished bloom can be five or six times that of the dried flowering tea ball. It takes about 5 minutes to bloom.

The flowers used in flowering blooms include jasmine, chrysanthemum, amaranth, hibiscus, lily and osmanthus. They smell great and lend a little aromatherapy to the tea party. Flowering teas don't get bitter even though they may steep for extended periods of time. (Remember, the average green tea only steeps for 5 minutes.) The mild flavor of the flowers neutralizes any bitter taste of the steeped green or black infusions.

How are Flowering Blooms Made?

There's a special art to the making of flowering teas. They are hand sewn by women in tea gardens far away from civilization in the southwestern Yunnan province of China. This area is near Laos and Vietnam. The types of tea leaves generally used in flowering teas are white, green and black. While the leaves are still somewhat wet, it's easy to flatten them and sew them together into a bundle. Each one is handcrafted and some may take up to 10 minutes to craft. Some are sewed together in long garlands that can look absolutely beautiful in the teapot.

Making Artisan Teas Part of Your Memories

Blooming teas really deserve their own glass teapot. You can buy blooming tea sets that include a blooming tea pot, hand painted small cups and assorted blooms.

Blooming teas make excellent gifts! You can continually add water to the teapot, increasing the steeping time to get more flavor with each cup of tea. The aroma smells best when you drink the first cup.

One way to present a blooming tea at your party is to give everyone their own large glass with a wide base. This will allow the tea ball to fully bloom. Imagine a party where everyone has their own flowering tea with a completely different flower, aroma and taste. It's the foundation for one of the most memorable tea parties your friends will ever experience; guaranteed!

The History of Flowering Tea or Blooming Tea

Flowering tea, say some, developed as recently as the 1980s in a Chinese province. Given the ancient history of tea, it would be truly remarkable to think that flowering tea (or blooming tea as it is also known) was such a recent innovation.

There are many claims to the creation of this 'artistic tea' although hard facts and proof seem to be thin on the ground. This leaves a lot to the imagination and assumptions! There is no doubt though that artisans created flowering tea buds or balls, and that this craft originated in China - some say the Anhui Province, others say the Fujian Province. For most of us, it really does not matter where it was invented; suffice to say that it has become a strong export for China to the western world and as a result, we have a lovely choice of flowering tea products.

Artisans, skilled workers who produce items by hand, make the flowering tea buds. Loose green tea, together with loose white and black teas are combined with flowers tea and petals in unique styles to create flowering tea. Once the combination of teas is selected, the buds are hand sewn, covered with material, put in a kiln to dry out, packaged individually and then despatched. As the process is labour intensive, the price of these buds is consequently relatively high.

Watching the first flowering tea is an amazingly satisfying experience. As the bloom emerges from a tight ball, to become something completely different and quite indistinguishable from that grey lump of tea, there is a sense of wonder that something like this can be created.

With immersion of around three minutes, the tea bud will be transformed into a blossom. Some buds will be more spectacular than others, varying from a lump of long green leaves, to incredible blossoms with wafting tentacles such as "Touching Dragons". The names alone are enough to build much anticipation - "Jasmine Silvery Strawberry Ball", "Double Lion Pearl", "Seven Sons Congratulating".

After the initial visual impact, it seems somewhat of an anti-climax to drink the tea. But that is exactly what the flowering tea is designed for. Again, there are varying levels of quality of tea. Some blossoms are made from quality white tea, but most are made from loose green tea. It is generally true that you get what you pay for. A cheap product is likely to be made of inferior products and may not have the desired pleasant taste - or any taste at all. Not all teas are borne equal!

A satisfying blooming tea is definitely a trial and error process, and even more so when the quality of tea is taken into account. But it is not hard to find fabulous flowering teas these days. Most tea stockists provide pictures so you can be assured of seeing a beautiful unfolding of handmade tea buds.

Blooming Teas

Are you about to have a tea party? If so, you have the opportunity to captivate your guests with display teas. If you are a very serious tea drinker, you will know what display teas are. These specialty types of teas are also known as artesian or flowering teas. Meant to enhance the experience of the wonderful drink of tea, display teas provide entertainment at tea parties all around the world.

The art of display teas has been around for thousands of centuries. The very first time that a display tea was used was during the Song Dynasty. Tea leaves were tied up with flowers for the Emperor’s entertainment. He never drank the tea, however. It was merely a visual enjoyment.

Display teas have only been made for consumption purposes during the last few decades. Artists who have a great amount of talent pick out lovely flowers and long tealeaves. These tealeaves are then withered, rolled up, oxidized, and fired. Artists then take great care to sew the flowers and the tea together. The result produced is beautiful display teas.

Many display teas are hand-sewn rosettes of tea leaves that, when steeped, bloom into dazzling and elegant shapes right inside your teapot. What an excellent conversational piece for a tea party! Your guests will be absolutely delighted with such a treat. Different display teas have all different types of tastes – from sweet to rich and from subtle to bold.

Now that you know what display teas are, let’s take a closer look at some types of these teas look and taste like. One type of popular display tea is Queen Victoria Flower tea. This type of tea is from China, and is flavored with Chrysanthemum. There are several blooms that are enclosed in the flower, and during steeping they are released. Imagine the soft, flowery taste of this enchanting tea delighting all of the guests at your party.

Another type of display tea is Jasmine Silver Balls. This is also a type of tea from China. Very light green in color, it has a delicate Jasmine flavoring to it. These tea balls are hand rolled and hand- tied. When steeped, they open up into a flower-like blossom.

Black Sea Anemone is another fine display tea that is made in China. It hails from the province of Anhui. Black Sea Anemone is crafted into tiny wheels, with each wheel containing about two hundred hand-tied buds. When these buds are infused with water, the leaves blossom out into the shape of sea anemones.

Black Sea Anemone happens to be a black tea; however, it is nearly impossible to over-steep. It can be steeped for over five minutes without becoming bitter! Furthermore, it can be infused over and over again. It is sure to be an exciting drink for your guests to taste!

Display teas, in general, can be brewed longer and do not become bitter when they have an extended steeping. Longer brewing time will also allow you to enjoy the flowers and other shapes opening up in your pot.