Last week was full of appointments and social events. By the end of it, I felt exhausted and drained. John arrived home on Saturday after a business trip, travelling between New York, Boston and San Francisco for a week so the energy in our house felt very, very low.
Halfway through Sunday afternoon, we quietly made our way into one of the guest rooms and I brewed JING's beautiful flowering teas in a JING "tea-iere" - like a cafetiere, but for tea, which is genius for people who like to drink loose leaf teas like me!
Have you ever tried a flowering tea before? They're also called "blooming" or "artisan" teas, and originate from Fujian province, China. Flowering teas are made with green tea buds and are hand tied with aromatic flowers. When you pour boiling water over them, they slowly unfurl and make a beautiful display in your cup (along with the tea-iere featured here, JING also makes these fantastic twin-walled cups that would give the same effect). Sometimes, I order these flowering teas as a treat when I'm having dim sum.
But on Sunday, I decided to pull them out at home because John and I both needed to wind down. As the tea brewed and we watched the flowers magically bloom, suspended in hot water, John and I chatted about our ongoing garden works and our travel plans for the rest of the summer. I realised that we often talk to each other while doing something else at home, like a chore or cooking. How nice is it to just sit down and chat without any distractions in sight? We're both so busy that sometimes we need to force ourselves to put down our phones and just take the time to relax.
We tried the Flowering Jasmine and Lily and Flowering Osmanthus teas from JING. Both have a wonderfully fragrant but subtle taste - perfect for unwinding after a busy day or week. I love the idea of having a mini "tea ritual" every weekend, especially when I'm feeling low in energy or anxious about the upcoming week. Just the sound of tea being poured is sometimes enough to calm me down.
How do you like to unwind on the weekend? Are you a fan of flowering teas? I'd love to know!
My flowering teas and tea-iere were generously provided by JING, a company whose products and ethos I love. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Angloyankophile! You can buy your own JING tea here. All opinions are my own.