ARIEL Amaranth Pearl

Amaranth Pearl looks like nothing at all until you add water. Drop one of these hand-tied pearls of green tea into a glass pot, pour, and it slowly opens: leaves unfurling upward, releasing a bright magenta amaranth flower from the centre. It's a tea you watch as much as you drink, and it makes an ordinary pot into a small occasion.

Tasting Notes

The cup is light and clear, pale gold with a green cast. The green tea base is soft and gently vegetal, a touch grassy, with a delicate floral note from the amaranth blossom and a clean, mellow finish. It's understated by design; the drama is in the bloom, and the flavour stays easy and refreshing behind it.

How It Blooms

Each pearl is made by hand: green tea leaves are gathered around a dried flower and bound into a tight ball that keeps its shape until it's steeped. In hot water the binding softens, the leaves open like petals and the flower rises. Use a glass teapot or a clear cup so you can watch, and give it a couple of minutes to unfold.

Brewing

Heat fresh water to 90 °C and pour over one pearl in a glass pot. Each pearl makes about 4 cups; simply top up with more hot water and let it steep again as you go.

Additional Information

• Ingredients: Green tea, amaranth flower
• Format: 3 blooming tea pearls
• Best served: In a glass teapot or clear cup