Bloomin' tea!

September 12, 2007 1:50 PM

[PepsiBlue] Tired of your tea -- you know -- just lying there? Maybe you'd be interested in blooming tea...
posted by Ogre Lawless (23 comments total)

Ahem. "Peptea Blue."
posted by ColdChef at 1:56 PM on September 12, 2007

So, you know pepsi-blue is bad right?
posted by oddman at 1:56 PM on September 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

flaggity flaggity flag flag flag
posted by dersins at 1:57 PM on September 12, 2007

So, you know pepsi-blue is bad right?

The hell you say. I have myself just walked in to the tuna boat.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:03 PM on September 12, 2007

This is a very old way of presenting tea. I've had it before, but was not impressed with the (lack of) taste.
posted by geoff. at 2:10 PM on September 12, 2007

I think it's cool.
posted by empath at 2:10 PM on September 12, 2007

It's like drinking from a pond.
posted by brain_drain at 2:15 PM on September 12, 2007 [3 favorites]

I was in Beijing's Tea City last month and every stall had several varieties of these available.

After sampling some delectable tieguanyin and keemun [1], it really is like drinking the water from a vase.

[1] I swear I am not a tea snob
posted by xthlc at 2:28 PM on September 12, 2007

PG Tips.
posted by Artw at 2:42 PM on September 12, 2007

A video of tea blooming

A Wiki article on flowering tea

A little bit about some of the flowers used to make blooming tea.

Oh, and some general tea history. Who doesn't love tea history?
posted by katillathehun at 2:47 PM on September 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

That's a clever novelty-- but what about tea that really grows? Go SCOBY, Go!

"A mature kombucha is several centimeters thick and produces a portion of beverage every day. As the kombucha slowly grows, from time to time slices are taken off it, which can be used to start new cultures in separate containers."
posted by Fimbaz at 2:47 PM on September 12, 2007

I prefer that the things I ingest not be alive. It's one of my many eccentricities.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:53 PM on September 12, 2007

Speaking of plants, blue_beetle, "alive" is a pretty vague word. Ever buy green bananas and wait for them to turn yellow?
posted by Citizen Premier at 3:09 PM on September 12, 2007

Not bloomin' likely.
posted by quin at 3:25 PM on September 12, 2007

These are for sale in all our hippie chow shops, and I seem to not be alone in thinking they are kind of stupid. Overpriced weak tea that dominates ant normal sized-drinking vessel. Flowers = cool. Tea = cool. How else could we possibly have both at once????
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:30 PM on September 12, 2007

Needs more sea monkeys.
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:39 PM on September 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Is it inherently weak, or is it just that it requires a long, long steeping time, and nobody waits? When I visited China in 1994, people put stuff that looked like these blossoms, minus the "tied together to look nice" aspect, in hot water all the time for tea on long train trips, but the stuff steeped for maybe an hour or so before they drank it, so the water was all properly dark.
posted by Bugbread at 3:54 PM on September 12, 2007

The only reason to buy this stuff is as a decoration. In my limited experience the tea generally isn't as good as similar types that aren't constructed to bloom, and of course it's much more expensive.

That said, it makes a hell of a decoration and I buy it every now and then.
posted by gurple at 4:42 PM on September 12, 2007

"A mature kombucha is several centimeters thick and produces a portion of beverage every day. As the kombucha slowly grows, from time to time slices are taken off it, which can be used to start new cultures in separate containers."

...Good gods, that's an FPP waiting to happen if it hasn't been done already.
posted by wanderingmind at 4:53 PM on September 12, 2007

kombucha is totally the jam
posted by headless at 5:26 PM on September 12, 2007

You want flowers in your tea, go buy this .
posted by casarkos at 5:47 PM on September 12, 2007

Ah, I've seen that advertised as dragon ball tea around here.

I must say, the flavour is rather light, and very refreshing in summer. Additionally, a single bloom makes about 12 cups of tea, so it's a lovely long afternoon drink. You do have to let it steep for around 10 minutes, though. On the upside, it doesn't go bitter if you let it steep too long.

Hmm. I have one or two in my kitchen. Maybe I should go have a cup or several ...
posted by ysabet at 6:06 PM on September 12, 2007

Blooming tea can also be found at Adagio Teas. I think theirs look better than those in the original post (which I wouldn't want to drink from). Customer comments on the site also indicate the flavor is good. Can't say I've tried it, however.
posted by wilsona at 7:18 PM on September 12, 2007