Blooming teas (also known as 'flowering teas') hand-knitted tea balls that unfurl like a beautiful flower when they're steeped. They taste amazing, and you will enjoy blooming tea health benefits depending on which flowers are used. If you've ordered some of our blooming teas from us (or anywhere else), then we highly recommend to use this guide to get the best flavour and experience out of them! In this article we'll discuss the tea tools you need to enjoy the view, and what brewing parameters to apply for an optimal preparation!
Use a Glass Teapot
Like all teas, brewing the perfect cup starts with choosing the right tools. For blooming tea, it's definitely a glass teapot. After all, you want to perfectly enjoy the view of these natural wonders. But we aren't there yet, because getting the right size of teapot really matters:
- First of all, the glass teaware should have a relatively wide base to allow the tea to fully open. Teapots with a base that is 3 to 5 inches (8-13cm) wide are the best. Bigger is ok, but the flowering tea might not open up nicely centered in the middle of the teapot.
- Secondly, because some types of blooming tea open up with a relatively tall flower, you do want to use a teapot that can let the flower stand up straight. The height of the teapot should therefore be not less than 8 cm (3 inch) in height.
Based on our guidelines above, you usually end up with a teapot that can contain 300-500 ml (10-15 oz) water. If you don't have a suitable one yet, you may consider this teapot, which is especially made for blooming teas.
Notes:
- If you're just steeping for yourself, you may also go for a glass mug, following the same size specifications as above.
- If you don't have a suitable teapot or mug, one other alternative is to use large wine glasses.
With the right glass teapot you are now ready to go! In the next part we will explain what temperature and steeping time to apply.
Steeping Temperature and Time
The First Steep
For the first steep our focus is to let the blooming flower 'bloom' properly. As blooming teas are tightly bundled, it is essential to use water just below boiling point (95ºC/200ºF) for them to properly bloom. It takes about 2-3 minutes for a flowering tea to start blooming and another 2-3 minutes to fully unfurl. As soon as it reaches full bloom, it is ready to be poured over gently for your first cup of tea. The first steep will have a strong flavor with an intense aroma of the flowers that are part of the tea.
Note: the first steep may be strong, because it takes some time for the tea to unfurl. If you prefer a lighter brew, reduce the steeping temperature to 85ºC/185ºF. As a result, it will take longer for the tea to unfurl (about 10 minutes), but the resulting brew will have a lighter taste. This is because tea will stop releasing flavor as soon as the water temperature drops below a certain level.
The Second/Third Steep
In contrary to what most first time blooming tea drinkers believe, this tea type can be steeped more than once! Generally, flowering tea can be brewed up to 3 times, with changing flavors during every steep. So let's discuss how you can approach the second preparation below.
Right after pouring out the first brew, you can refill the teapot directly to enjoy the view of the tea flower that has now opened up, while drinking the first cup. Another benefit of this is that the next pot is ready to be enjoyed as soon as you finish your first. Make sure however to avoid pouring water directly on top of an already-bloomed flower so as not to disrupt its elegance and beauty. Pouring too fast over the bloom, may damage the flower, or make the content look blurry. Pour water along the side of the glass teapot instead.
During this stage, you are actually more free to experiment with different temperatures and steeping times. The secret is to use the result of the first steep as a reference. If the first round was too strong, try a lower temperature or reduce the steeping time. If it was too light, then increase the steeping time.
Our general guide linke would be to steep the tea at85ºC/185ºF for 3-5 minutes for the second steep and 5-10 minutes for the third steep.
Note: The perfect cup of blooming tea all begins with good water to keep the unique nuances of your tea's flavor and aroma. Depending on where you live, you may avoid tap water. Instead, use bottled water or filtered water to achieve that perfectly brewed tea.
Enjoy the View for 2 More Days!
Once you've fully enjoyed the taste of blooming teas, don't just discard the tea! Instead, refill gently your mug or teapot with cold water. And put it somewhere where you can enjoy the view for 2 more days! Refresh the water daily.