If foodies have food porn, can tea geeks have tea porn?
I got a bunch of these display teas at Beijing’s Maliandao, the street that has so many tea shops even the air outside smells like tea. These tiny bundles of flowers and green or black leaves are hand-packed and hand-sewn into various shapes. They unfurl into impressive little displays when steeped in hot water for about 3 minutes. It’s like watching those little compact towels and sponges from theme park gift shops expand to “full size” when soaked, except less disappointing in the end.
(You can also find these online at sites like Adagio Teas or Silk Road Teas, but for heftier prices.)
The bloomed teas can be displayed in the center of a table and drunken at the same time. Tea shops will usually present these in big glass teapots, which I don’t own. I did have fun watching these bloom in my mini glass tea set, beer mug, and other random see-through containers from my cabinet. Tonight also marks the first time I have ever sipped hot tea from a wine glass.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Wah!
Wait, I don’t get it. You say they are sewn into shapes, does that mean they are not naturally flowering?
They don’t naturally flower, just stitched in a way that makes them appear to "blossom." I guess I should have added the quotation marks. These come from the same country that has perfected fake meat.
I never thought about tea porn, but that would sure be it! Beautiful photo.
I am looking for a nice and unique glass tea-pot to display my flower tea. So far no avail.
When I saw this tea in the specialised tea shop in town where I live, I was so tempted! But it was just ridiculously expensive, worked out almost £2 each.
So glad to see it “bloomed” here :)
When I shopped for tea ware recently I refused to get any material besides glass. I don’t own a large teapot, but something the size of a coffee mug would work for displaying these.
Sammi - £2 each seems like highway robbery. If you don’t factor in the $1000 round-trip airfare to China, you can get a lot for £2 here.
This is my latest obsession too! I have been buying them from the Lupicia tea shop! Total eye candies!
but maybe a small clean flower vase might work.
These teas are a work of art. I wonder if there are “blooming tea flower sewing competitions” where you see who can sew the most intricate flowers, and then drop them all in a pot of water at the same time to see what happens.
These are very pretty.
I had this tea at a restaurant in London. First, it’s all about process, watching your tea slowly open and grow into a beautiful flower. And then it’s all about taste – mine was a jasmine flower, and the tea was loaded with inspiration and aroma. And finally, it’s about total relaxation.
This is a wonderful way to enjoy tea.
kitchenetta – I agree. It makes you actually focus on your tea instead of just drinking!
I found one on ebay. Also amazon.com under gourmet foods. The pots are made by Teaposy.
These can be found at vitamin cottage. They also have the teapot to bloom them in. Last I checked they were around $14 for a box of them. I’m in the US, not sure where you are, but thought I’d mention it. You can order stuff from them online also at vitamincottage.com or naturalgrocers.com
Tea Porn? lol… sounds really funny. I’m a great fan of tea but I never thought of it that way. Makes me wanna think again..lol… But really, it’s a very good stuff.
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