The origins of our Melody Chinese flowering green tea

This award-winning blooming green tea is made of the highest grade of green tea from the Spring harvest, jasmine flowers and roselle, a species of hibiscus. Produced in Fujian, this unique tea is meticulously handcrafted by artisans who make it by skilfully stitching together edible flowers with the green tea leaves.

When you drop a bulb into the water, it unfurls gradually, with our Melody tea bulb appearing to 'bloom' in the glass, as if by magic. The infusion is delicately aromatic, with a gentle floral flavour.

A great special-occasion tea, Melody is the ideal gift for a loved one or for bringing a wow factor to your high tea or dinner party. However you serve it, this refreshing, artistic infusion is bound to bring a smile to anyone's face.

How are flowering teas made?

Also known as blooming teas, are made in a few regions of China – mainly Fujian, Yunnan and Anhui. While China has a centuries-old history of hand-tying teas for dramatic effect, the elaborate floral creations popular today first came onto the market in – perhaps unsurprisingly – the flashy days of the 1980s.

To make each bulb, premium or leaves are wrapped around one or two central flowers – commonly chrysanthemum, , lily, hibiscus, marigold, or osmanthus. Artisans then carefully sew and bind the petals and leaves together with food-safe thread, tucking everything into a neat ball shape, before the teas are dried and finished, ready to be packed up and delivered as a delicately aromatic, flavourful tea.

What are the health benefits of flowering teas?

Our Collection is based on a luxury loose-leaf that has a range of potential health benefits. These are largely due to 's high level of called , which studies have shown may be linked to good cardiovascular function, weight management and even cancer prevention. Because of their minimal processing, s are also higher in other antioxidants such as carotenoids and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) than other teas.

Alternatives to Melody tea

If you love the heady scent of but want to keep things simple, try a caddy of our other specialty teas from : , for a beautifully fragrant example of a classic ; or , made from nothing but delicately rolled, early-harvest leaves – and another premium tea that unfurls while being steeped. Alternatively, for a soothing, option, try our , grown on the fertile Nile river delta, or our beautifully romantic , made from carefully selected Iranian flowers.

is key to the joy of these aromatic infusions. Browse our section for a range of stunning individual and , made from borosilicate glass. To find out more about the magic of Chinese, see our .