With something as pretty as flowers you wouldn’t expect much more from them than to brighten up your home or a walk in the park but some darling blossoms are more than their looks!
You might be an avid coffee drinker or perhaps just content with your cup of English breakfast, but don’t turn a blind eye to the endless possibilities that these flowers offer in your morning cup of tea.
Lavender: Quite possibly one of the most versatile flowers around, not only is its oil used in aroma therapy but its buds have also been known to adorn the plates of everything from salads to ice cream. As wonderful a purpose as they serve in those respects, it’s in tea that this diverse flower really blooms. With its renowned aromatic fragrance, once doused with hot water this musky flower’s scent fills the air as it warms your bones.
Chrysanthemums: Did you know that the adorable bobble flowers that decorate your bouquet can illuminate your morning tea ritual? Not only do they have a light and refreshing taste but some Chinese medicine practitioners also believe that they’re the perfect remedy for cold sores and can help improve cardiovascular health.
Violets: These sweet and delicate flowers with their deep purple petals are probably the most unlikely tea maker of them all. But with their vibrant hue (and their possible anti-inflammatory properties) violets are sure to brew the perfect cup of tea when you’re worn out from a long day at work.
Hibiscus: This beautiful and exotic tropical flower is native to warm-temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions throughout the world. While this flower is steeped in tradition across the globe, (it’s the national flower of Malaysia and South Korea), it turns out that it also brews up an excellent herbal tea. The perfect balance of sweet and sour, this deep red tea is reminiscent cranberry juice right down to its tart center.
Rose: There are very few things as pretty and as delicate as dried rosebuds and used as a tea it flourishes even further. Often in shades of light pink to bright fuchsia, these beautiful buds lighten up your teapot as the brew to produce a sweet and aromatic herbal tea.
Chamomile: As one of the most popular herbal teas around, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that chamomile has floral origins. But did you know that Chamomile is actually the common name for several varieties of daisies? Used as a natural sleep remedy by many, this sweet and placid tea is the perfect pre-bed beverages to send you on your way to a good night’s rest.
Blooming Tea:Perhaps the most impressive of them all is the recently popular variety of floral tea known as ‘Blooming Tea’. These bundles of dried tea leaves are wrapped around one or more dried flowers in a visually unimpressive manner but just you wait and see. Once placed in a clear teapot and covered with boiling water, sit back and watch the magic happen. As the hot water seeps deep into the tea bundle it slowly unravels until a beautiful flower has ‘bloomed’ in your pot. While it might be absolutely fascinating to watch, the best part is that it tastes great!