Love in Full Bloom

In the back of my china cabinet sits a delicate glass teapot.  Hubby bought it for me for our first Christmas together, back when we were dating.  It was a special teapot, to make tea that "blooms" when you brew it.

I had mentioned the blooming tea to Hubby long before he was Hubby, before he was even Boyfriend, back when he was in the dreaded "friend zone".  I had pointed out the website once and mentioned what a nice gift it would make for any ladies in his life.  He tucked that away in his mind, and a year later when we were dating, he got it for me for Christmas.  Talk about romantic.

I was always a little afraid to use it, it is so delicate.  But today, I decided we would try it out.

We got the teapot out, and filled it with water.

It came with a stand, so that you can put a heat source, aka a candle, under the pot to get the water to heat.  The water must be boiling before you drop the tea bloom in it.  So, we added a tealight and we waited.

And we waited and waited and waited.

An hour later (no joke) the water was still not boiling.  It was clear that the candle was not powerful enough to boil the water.  So, we resorted to Plan B.

We boiled water in a tea kettle on the stove, and poured it into the glass teapot.  Then we were able to put the tea blooms in.

The blooms start all small and compressed, and the hot water makes them expand and "bloom" while brewing an aromatic tea.

After letting it steep for a few minutes, we poured some out and tried it (both Hubby and me tasted it).  While it just tasted like herbal tea, the sight and smell of the whole experience was just beautiful.

I even saved one of the blooms, and am going to try to dry it.

While this was not an ancient tea ceremony, it did remind me how much Hubby loves me, and did even back when we were "just friends".  He patiently waited for me to be ready to allow our love to bloom.  And I am forever thankful for his patience.