Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Blooming Tea! (Mother's Day Idea)


First, CONGRATS to Julie!!! Grace Under Pressure received a
*starred* review from Publishers Weekly! Check it out!!!


And now...
After eight months of weekly
blogging, I think it's safe to say
that I like the unexpected (tomato
soup cake
, anyone?) the unusual
(pumpkin bread baked in a
coffee can) and the odd (frying up
the Hub's pet fish for dinner
--
okay, I didn't do it, but I can dream,
can't I?)




So, it should come as no surprise that my latest discovery is again
of the variety of the unexpected and unusual (at least it was
for me). My neighbors and I pet sit for one another when we
travel. And lucky for me we do, because they always bring
back the coolest stuff (thanks, neighbors). Their last trip
was to China and this time they brought back flowering tea.
It is fabulous!

From a dried up ball of tea leaves, beautiful flowers unfold as
the tea steeps. It's the sort of thing that forces you to sit down,
relax, watch the flower open and be still for a minute or two or
ten.

Now Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9th. And if you're like me,
this holiday is a real head scratcher because both my mother
and my mother-in-law have pretty much everything that they
need or want. But I still want to give them something nice that
will make them feel special and let them know how much
I appreciate them -- especially as I'm a mother now myself and
have a WHOLE new appreciation for this motherhood thing --
but I don't want to clutter up their life. Enter the flowering tea!




Isn't that something?
And the tea is delicious,
too. It's a mild green tea
(healthy) and is flavored
with the flower it becomes
-- amaranth, chrysanthemum,
lily or jasmine -- to name a
few. The flowers are
sewn into the tea leaves
with cotton thread and as
the tea ball is immersed in
the hot water it slowly blooms.

In my research, I read that
these come from the Yunnan
province in China, but no one
is clear as to whether this is
a new art form in tea or
whether it is centuries old.

To see more on these teas, I found several excellent sources,
but this video is the best I've found. Enjoy! Oh, and if you want to
give your mom a copy of one of our books for Mother's Day,
well, that would be nice, too!




Have a lovely day!
And make sure you take a moment or two to just be...

Jenn



www.jennmckinlay.com

Jenn McKinlay
SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
Available Now

aka Lucy Lawrence
CUT TO THE CORPSE
Available Now



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13 comments:

  1. Oh, I've seen these on QVC and I thought "how unusual!" Very interesting!

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  2. I'd LOVE this flowering tea for Mother's Day. I'll have to drop hints. But I need a clear tea pot, too. Thanks for introducing me to this, I'm a tea lover!

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  3. Oh, and CONGRATS on the starred review!

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  4. Congratulations to Julie~! Way to go!!!

    This looks like a great idea, Jenn! Thanks for the tip on what to give my mom for Mother's Day. She's a tough one!

    Riley/Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  5. I read about the flowering tea in a tea magazine and finally found some where I live. My problem was, I have no glass tea pot to watch it bloom in. Just recently I found one from an unusual source - Avon. They have the glass tea pot and a cup cup that will work great for my flowering tea. This is a sweet idea for Mother's Day.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  6. Okay, even though I'm a coffee girl, I am toally sold on this wonderful idea. Thank you, Jenn! What a great gift. (Mason, your comment gives me the idea of combining the teas with a little glass tea pot, too.)

    And, Jenn, I also have to thank you for an entertaining time reading your latest Lucy Lawrence mystery - CUT TO THE CORPSE! It was so much fun -- and as witty as you are. No spoiler here, but I have to say that I also thought your villain was spectacular. The ending reveals all with a real twist and a great impact. (Finally, another shout-out to Julie for her starred PW review this week -- Jenn, I still remember the week you received yours from PW for SPRINKLE WITH MURDER! This is one *stellar* group.)

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  7. I've been a big tea drinker for a very long time, but I've never seen these before. Fascinating! Thanks for sharing, Jenn.

    ~ Krista

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  8. I am delighted to have found this site. I can't wait to get to know you all.

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  9. Jenn,

    The flowering tea is just fascinating. Thanks for sharing it. And, congratulations, Julie! I already knew you were all stars.

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  10. Thanks everybody for the lovely congratulations! You guys are just so great!

    Jenn, my daughter showed me this flowering tea at our local Teavana store (brand new in the mall) and I was fascinated. It really is gorgeous, isn't it? What a neat and very different gift. Very cool post!

    Julie

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  11. Thanks, everyone (especially Cleo with her assist on getting the video in there). It was so much fun studying up on the different teas, and I am really enjoying the ones my neighbors
    gave me.

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  12. I sent my mother a selection of blooming teas a few years ago, with a note that it was a more useful version of flowers.

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