Kitchen Recipe Collection
Chrysanthemum Tea (Ju Hua Cha)
A delicate, floral, incredibly soothing herbal tea made from dried yellow chrysanthemum flowers. Traditionally consumed for its 'cooling' properties to clear internal heat.
- Prep
- 2 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 7 min
- Servings
- 2
- Difficulty
- easy
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 2 servings
- 2 tbsp high-quality dried yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers
- 2 cups boiling water
- Rock sugar or honey (to taste)
- Optional: 1 tsp goji berries
Equipment
- Teapot (preferably glass)
Instructions
- 1
Rinse Flowers
Place the dried chrysanthemum flowers in a tea strainer. Pour a small splash of hot water over them and immediately discard the water. This 'wakes up' the flowers and rinses away dust.
- 2
Place in Pot
Place the rinsed flowers (and goji berries, if using) into a glass teapot or large mug.
- 3
Add Boiling Water
Pour the 2 cups of rapidly boiling water directly over the flowers.
- 4
Watch them Bloom
Watch as the dried flowers instantly rehydrate and unfurl in the hot water, a beautiful visual experience.
- 5
Steep
Cover the teapot and let the flowers steep for 3-5 minutes.
- 6
Check Color
The liquid should turn a pale, clear, bright yellow color. Do not over-steep, or it will become slightly bitter.
- 7
Sweeten
Stir in rock sugar or honey to your desired sweetness. (It is also commonly drunk completely unsweetened).
- 8
Serve
Pour the tea into small cups, allowing a few flowers to float into the cup for presentation. It can be re-steeped with hot water 2 or 3 times.
Cooking Tips
- Using a glass teapot is highly recommended, as half the joy of this tea is watching the beautiful flowers bloom in the water.
- In traditional Chinese medicine, chrysanthemum is considered a 'cooling' food, perfect for drinking after eating heavily fried or spicy foods to prevent a sore throat.
Variations
- Pu-erh Chrysanthemum (Guk Pou): A very common dim sum tea pairing, combining the dark, earthy Pu-erh tea with the light, floral chrysanthemum.
Nutrition Estimate
20 calories · 0g protein · 5g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber per serving
