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There's A Brand New Tea In Town
By Dana Harrison-Tidwell Photography By Joseph Burgess and Numi Teas
 Everything’s coming up roses for the Numi Organic Tea Company – roses, jasmine flowers, chrysanthemums, orange lilies, carnations, and lavender flowers to be exact, hand-sewn into bundles of the highestquality white, green and black tea leaves.
Hand-sewn? This is a beautiful concept for creating what are essentially small dried works of art – art which rehydrates and blooms before your eyes when you steep the gorgeous little bundles in hot water. Each “rosette” begins with a certain type of tea sewn by hand around and to other ingredients (exotic flower buds, for instance) in a certain sequence and pattern so that when it is dried, that particular flavor of flowering tea is distinct in look as well as taste from the others. Because the tea leaves are fresh and flexible when the bundles are made, they remain uncrushed as they dry. There is no need for a tea strainer or bag. Everything stays intact.
Obviously it is impossible to enjoy the aesthetics of such a delicate and unique work of art in a conventional, opaque teapot. Numi has thought of everything – they offer four different styles of clear glass teapots specifically designed to allow you the pleasure of watching the teas and flowers unfurl and bloom before your eyes. They are so very pretty, you might not want to disturb the eye-pleasing scene by drinking it! Never fear, however, because each flowering tea bundle can be steeped up to three times for beautiful color and flavor to carry you through your teatime with peaceful tranquility, and without guilt.
 The name “numi” is Arabic for “citrus,” which was one of Numi’s first teas – Dry Desert Lime – which the founders of the company used to drink when they were growing up in Iraq. The brother/sister business founded by Reem and Ahmed Rahim in 1999 quickly made its mark in the competitive tea industry, and soon excelled above and beyond by sticking to their high standards. Numi uses only teas, flowers and herbs that come directly from gardens in the plants’ native areas – Asia, Africa, and South America are all on Numi’s import map, and they patronize only fairly-traded farmers. All ingredients are certified organic, kosher and halal. Everything down to the packaging is scrupulously “green” in nature – gift boxes are made of fast-growing and replenishing bamboo, tea boxes are made with 100% post-consumer waste, and their teabags are completely biodegradable.
While Numi produces all kinds of teas – bagged, loose, and flowering – the flowering teas are definitely worth your time and the investment in a clear glass pot to enjoy the entire tea experience. With names like Lavender Dream, Flower Jewel, Jasmine Pearl, and Midnight Peony, your hardest decision will be which incredible pot to brew next!
For more information contact Numi Teas at www.numitea.com (store locator available on website) or call (866) 972-6879.
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