Chinese Tea Flower Iced Tea - Something Very Different in Tea that You Probably Will Never Find on Ice in China

Chinese Tea Flower Iced Tea - Something Very Different in Tea that You Probably Will Never Find on Ice in China Lex Loeb Contributor Network . If you have an authentic Chinese tea store near where you live you can go in and ask for Tea Flowers. They are not necessarily cheap. The ones I last had cost 30-60 dollars per lb.. The tea flowers come as dried shaped balls of tea. When you put one in boiling water they expand and look like flowers. The ones I had were delicate tea leaves sewn together with fine threads with I think Jasmin flowers sewn into the center. Once the flower fully open it is infusing tea in the water. To make iced tea with one , find a clear jar or pitcher though which you will be able to see the flower once it opens. Put a tea flower ball in a short cup of water and microwave about a minute and let stand a few more minutes to steep. Then transfer the cup of tea and the tea flower to the jar or pitcher already filled with water. Cover the top and put in refrigerator for about a day and then serve.. The tea flower should stay in the pitcher or the jar. In china they serve tea flowers in hot water in clear glasses, one per glass. I think i prefer the tea more diluted so i use a 1-1.5 quart jar to make the tea in. The flavor is distinctively Chinese and usually a green and non-fermented tea. If you can find tea flowers for sale it may be worth buying a couple and trying the iced tea possibility. The beauty of the tea flower is something you have to experience first hand. The master tea flower maker delicately sews the leaves and flower petals together with a very fine thread. It maybe a silk thread? For times when you want hot tea finding a glass vessel that can handle boiling water may leave you no choice other than a two cup Pyrex beaker. I used to use Pyrex for making hot tea in the microwave oven. It works fine. It is best to add the tea or tea bag to the water before microwaving it because there are rare instances where water boiled by itself in the microwave oven can actually explode. There are more than one variety of Tea flowers. One needs first to find a real Chinese tea shop . The one I found in Portland, Oregon is in the Foubon Shopping Center on 82nd street between Division and Powell streets. A good Chinese tea shops carries many varieties of hand picked teas, some factory packaged teas and tea paraphernalia including pots, cups , trays , strainers and medicinal teas as well. There is price sticker shock because the Chinese, themselves, highly prize many rare teas and the market prices can exceed anything in the coffees. The Tea flower balls stand out as something exotic and curious but may not be labeled as tea flowers at least not in English. Ask questions and you will be able to get the ones you want. My last purchase price was between 20 cents and 50 cents per tea flower at a unit price of 28-60 dollars a pound. Tea leaf and dried flowers does not really weigh much so the price of the final product with water can still cost less per fluid once than a Pre- packaged soft drink. It is also helpful to ask directions on how to brew the tea at the tea shop but don't mention you intend to try making ice tea out of it. That is like trying to get iced tea in Great Britain where you get looked at like you are a space alien. .