1. Chrysanthemum Tea Cools Your Internal Fire
Chrysanthemum tea is one of the ‘cooling’ traditional herbal teas with a long history in Chinese medicine. From a TCM perspective (1), when there is excess heat in the body, it will manifest in a multitude of ailments and conditions.
Chrysanthemum tea is often used to ease heat related ailments such as fever, headache and heat rashes. A natural coolant, it helps to dispel wind, cool the body, soothe dry mouths and itchy throats, cough and inflammation.
It is very common for Chinese mothers to make or purchase chrysanthemum tea and other cooling drinks such as barley water for their family whenever anyone is running a fever or feeling under the weather.
2. Chrysanthemum Tea Benefits the Eyes
Spending hours in front of a computer or laptop, burning the midnight oil or working in an enclosed air-conditioned place can place gradual strain on your eyes. The good news is that chrysanthemum tea can help reduce eye strain, red eyes and blurry vision.
The Chinese often drink Chrysanthemum tea to address their eye issues ranging from eye dryness, floaters to pain behind the eyes. In Chinese Medicine (2), the liver manages the eye and ensures that qi (life energy in the body) is able to flow throughout the body.
When this function is impaired, insufficient blood flow will affect the eyes, causing them to dry out and weaken eye muscles. Chrysanthemum tea clears liver heat and thus is beneficial for our vision.
Tip: Combine chrysanthemum flowers with goji berries (a well known superfood for good vision) for a powerful boost to improve your eye health.
3. Chrysanthemum Tea is Calming and Caffeine-Free
Did you have a long or lousy day?
Chrysanthemum tea with its delicate fragrance and mildly sweet taste, helps to relax and soothe those frazzled nerves. I call this my ‘Happy Tea’ especially when it is combined with dried rose buds. Try inhaling the tea before you drink. It has such a wonderful floral aroma.
Chrysanthemum tea is naturally caffeine-free (3) so you won’t get the side effects of caffeine such as anxiety, insomnia, rapid heart rate and increased blood pressure.
Unlike coffee or even green tea, you can take it any time of the day without tossing and turning at night. At the same time, it also energizes and stimulates you naturally without the need for caffeine which may become addictive.
Tip: Chrysanthemum flowers can also be paired with lavender for a restful night’s sleep.
Dried chrysanthemum flowers by Chinese Tea Culture
4. Chrysanthemum Tea Helps to Detoxify
The liver plays an important role in purging toxins from the body and promoting overall circulation. If this function is impaired, it can manifest in a variety of symptoms.
An overactive liver can cause symptoms like headache and dizziness. Drinking chrysanthemum tea helps to clear liver heat and soothe an overactive liver (4).
If you had too much spicy foods (think curry chicken), greasy or fried foods (lemon chicken – so addictive, who can resist?), taking some chrysanthemum tea will help to aid digestion (9) and leave a pleasant, floral taste on the palate.
5. Chrysanthemum Tea is Good for the Skin
Chrysanthemum tea is rich in beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to serve different purposes in the body. Vitamin A is essential for healthy skin. It can promote wound healing, reduce wrinkles, decrease sebum production (thus it’s beneficial for acne and pimply skin) and help to reduce the symptoms of rosacea (5).
Chrysanthemum benefits the skin whether it is imbibed or applied topically. It can be applied to the skin as a face mask with honey (6). The squeezed juice of the fresh flower can be applied to the skin for external infections (7).
From a Chinese medicine perspective, excess heat in the body can lead to a wide range of problems and diseases. They include skin conditions such as acne, skin irritation, eczema and redness.
Chrysanthemum’s therapeutic effects manifests in the lung and liver meridiens and is useful to tackle this excess heat and heal breakouts and inflammation. (8)
