Have your flowers and drink it, too!

I'm a big fan of hot drinks: coffee, espresso drinks, hot chocolate and tea. As a teenager, I found that I could not bear the taste of Asian teas, as they are much subtler--yet strangely, more bitter--than English teas. Plus, I like the "girliness" of English teas; I like mixing copious amounts of cream and sugar into a tea named after an Earl or Lady, whilst sitting in an intensely floral room that contains overstuffed loveseats and heart-shaped throwpillows.

In more recent years, I've become very fond of your basic Jasmine and Oolong teas, especially when I'm eating salty, greasy food in Chinese restaurants. Talk about cleansing the palate...the more tea I drink, the more food I can consume...which, arguably, is a good thing.

For those of you who enjoy the aromatic and gentle taste of jasmine tea, AND have an appreciation for floral aesthetics, I am proud to recommend a new dimension in tea leaves: the Blooming Tea. That's right--it's tea, and it blooms! Jasmine-infused tea leaves are wrapped into small buds around different types of flowers--roses, marigolds, mums--and are ready to be dropped into cups/pots of water. Within a few seconds the leaves begin to open, and a few minutes later you are drinking tea from a cup that boasts a floating flower inside.

Before:


After:



So far, I've been able to try out two different brands of blooming teas: Ito En and My Cup of Tea. The first, a gift from one of my students at Diller-Quaile, is from an upscale tea shop on the Upper East Side on Madison Ave.; the second, a generous hand-out from my aunt, is from a very cute online Japanese tea company. Interestingly, the Ito En flower was not nearly as beautifully fully-bloomed as the one from My Cup, but its flavor and aroma were far superior to that of the prettier flower-tea.

For more information (or holiday gifts?) visit:
www.itoen.com
www.my-cup-of-tea.com