Tea
Tea Flowers
Flowering tea or healing teas is a special form of tea made by putting together dried tea leaves, herbs and flowers into a small bundle like a ball. The flowering tea contains tea leaves, tea flowers and other flowers. The dried tea flowers give a very earthy fragrance. The flowering tea provides the same brew as the normal tea with a hint of floral aroma. However, the floral aroma is not as strong as the scent of the teas which contain other flowers, such as, jasmine. The interesting fact about flowering tea is that the flowers of the tea plant blossom only once a year in the fall. The tea flowers are harvested in the Yunnan province in China from old growth tea trees. The tea leaves and the flowers have medicinal properties and hence, flowering tea is also called healing teas. The flowering tea has very delicate and mild aroma like that of hibiscus and honeydew melon. To enjoy the beauty of flowering tea, one must place one tea bundle in the glass teapot (preferably) and pour boiling water into it. The leaves start unfurling slowly when they come into contact with hot water. You could steep the leaves for 2-3 minutes minimum or as desired. You could re-steep the flowering tea for a few times at least. When steeped in transparent teapot or teacups, you can see these bundles bloom into flowers. The process of making flowering tea includes picking of black, white and green tea in the early mornings. This ensures that the tea leaves are damp and easy to flatten and tied in a bundle. The process of bundling could take anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes depending upon the shape and design (for example: balls, mushrooms, cones, etc.) After this, the teas go through the drying, oxidation and firing process. The flowering tea could be steeped few times depending upon the quality and variety being used. The flowering tea is fragrant and aromatic in nature. These tea leaves do not get bitter with too much steeping.florist commented:
Really a very good information on gifts topic. Thanks for posting and sharing.
14.05.2012