Flowering Teas

Flowering tea

Subtitle

With fruity notes and flowery aromas, the teas are beginning to get dramatic. When you sit down for a pan-Asian fare paired with a cup of hot tea at Thai High in Mehrauli, expect a visual treat — flowers will blossom in your teacup and infuse the water with a pale amber hue and a delicate floral note.

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What is Flowering Tea?

Flowering tea is just what it sounds like—tea leaves made into buds that bloom when they steep in hot water. The buds come in variety of shapes including rounded, mushroom and oblong. They are prepared by using cotton thread to stitch together gourmet tea leaves in a bundle and sewing a dried flower in the center. The tea leaves used include all varieties of tea including oolong, white, black and green. A wide range of flowers are also available and they include lily, hibiscus, chrysanthemum, marigold, rose and peony.

how to steep:

To use flowering tea, place the tea blossom in a glass pitcher. Boil water and pour it gently into the pitcher, filling it to the top. Allow the tea to steep for two to three minutes and watch it twist and unfurl to a bloomed flower. Some tea artisans even make scenes with the blooming teas, often leaving them a surprise for their customers to discover. When the bloom is unfurled, the tea is ready to drink. You may re-use the bloomed flower two or three times, but with some tea varieties the resulting drinks will become bitterer with each usage. Smaller, single cup blooms are also available and provide a beautiful décor to individual tea settings.

Purchasing Flowering Tea

Currently, experiencing flowering tea while out on the town is a rare occasion, unless one happens upon a place that offers the experience. Buying the tea for special home usage is the only option that is now widely available. Specialty tea companies usually offer the tea, the price ranging from 10$ to 85$.