Have you ever tried a blooming tea? Being an avid tea drinker, I surprisingly never knew of their existence until I started working at Art of Tea. Blooming or flowering teas are hand-crafted, usually from China. Flowers are sewn and bundled into tea leaves that are dried together to create a sphere or bulb. When steeped in hot water, the bulb slowly unfurls into a blooming masterpiece before your eyes. The flowers become a centerpiece amidst the petal-like tea leaves eluding to a larger flower underneath. Blooming teas commonly use flowers including: hibiscus, amaranth, lilies and jasmine. Even with the flowers threaded into the tea, flowering teas typically have very little flavor and aroma. But the experts at Art of Tea have found a way to gently infuse natural fruit flavors into these blooming tea bulbs without damaging their size and shape. This secret gives Art of Tea’s blooming teas an extra special kick of flavor and scent.

Art of Tea carries a handful of amazing blooming teas. By far the most beautiful is the award-winner, Halo , which comes to us from the Anhui Province in Eastern China. These delicate bulbs are hand-sewn meticulously to carefully wrap the white tea leaves together with jasmine and amaranth flowers. Halo blossoms an awe-catching ring or halo made of flowers, which gives this tea its name.

If you want to impress your friends, Halo will do it! Its appearance is captivating, but in addition to its beauty, Halo tastes comforting and calming. You will taste notes of peach and blueberry essence with a smooth and round smell of the jasmine flowers.

When steeping a blooming tea, make sure the water is about 206 degrees or at boiling temperature. Pour your water first. Then, drop one bulb and get ready to be blown away! Strain as needed, so you don’t end up chewing on petals. One bulb can make about two (8oz) servings. You can also re-steep the same bulb two to three times.

-MELISSA CHUA