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Aug
I wonder if I will miss London once I leave. I will certainly miss bumping into friends, and sometimes friends I haven’t seen for years as happened the other day when I saw Paul on my way to Joel, my wonderful hairdresser who I like to describe as a hair sculptor. Paul and I met on a press trip to Sao Paolo where I had played truant, missing almost all that was on the program. To be fair I had been before. It was a nice surprise to see him again and we stopped to chat before Paul suggested I go with him to the rare tea lady where he was heading. Joel had called to say he was running late as he often does, so, I went. And I am glad I did. Not only did I bump into more friends there but I also discovered a new passion, dried almond blossom. Henrietta, who I knew virtually, showed us the incredibly beautiful dried blossom saying she was getting them from a new Spanish supplier and then offered to infuse some for us to taste. Flower teas are not new. We have z’hurat (a mixture of dried flowers) in Lebanon and Syria where we also infuse individual flowers, the Chinese have chrysanthemum and other flower teas and the Japanese have sakura but I had never seen dried almond blossom. My plan now is to grow my own almond trees in Sicily (hoping I can on my mountain!) to have my own supply, and to supply Henrietta, making a little money from the land. They are expensive but totally worth it and you will be able to order the dried blossom as of September (I think) from the Rare Tea Company.
Tagged : cherry blossom tea, chrysanthemum tea, dried almond blossom, flower infusions, henrietta lovett, joel Goncalves, paul winch-furness, rare tea company, rare teas, sakura, tea, z'hurat 
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There is 7 comments on this post
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August 3, 2014 at 3:44 am
Is this a subtle way of announcing your imminent departure? 🙁
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August 3, 2014 at 3:50 am
🙂
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August 3, 2014 at 5:11 pm
i live in barcelona & i have never heard of almond blossom tea. the spanish do not seem to eat tender green almonds either like the lebanese do. maybe they do not want to strip the tree bare & not have enough almonds for turron as my smart-aleck british son says.
i would love to try almond flower. i have run out of those chinese flower posy-type teas that bloom so beautifully in your wineglass the way they serve it at the mandarin in tokyo.
send me the london tea place so i can try it next time i am in london.
p.s. your food photographs are so ethereal &beautiful
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August 3, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Her place is in marylebone and she will let me know when they come in stock. I will take you there djadja next time you are over. and so glad you like my food photography 🙂
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August 17, 2014 at 6:27 am
I would love to taste that. Let us know when you have your own almond trees!
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August 19, 2014 at 11:56 am
I must admit that only today I had time to check out your website. I bought your book Levant just before my moving from Mexico where I spent 5 wonderful years. Your book is among the three thousand I own on its way here to Austria. Moving is difficult and I can relate to all the mix feelings you talk about. I am Portuguese and I have a house in the countryside with three almond trees, I love it when they are in flower but confess I had never thought about dried almond blossoms. Thank you for the tip. All the best in your next endeavors and I hope you can grow your own Almond trees.
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August 19, 2014 at 12:25 pm
thank you maria, and good luck with your reorganising your books and moving back into your home 🙂