Chrysanthemum drink is a herbal cooling drink, it is best to drink it if you feel heaty or you sense that a sore throat is coming. My elder girl and hubby have been complaining about a possible sore throat so I prepared this tea for them. I made mine very simple with just dried Chrysanthemum flowers and yellow rock sugar. Still my elder girl complained it was too bitter and would not touch her tea at all, but she is not someone who likes the taste of tea. My little one happily finished her cup without any complaint.
My big pot of Chrysanthemum tea! Did I put too much dried Chrysanthemum flowers? I just put in two handfuls of dried Chrysanthemum flowers and filled the pot with water and let it boil. When it boiled, I turned the heat to low and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Then, I added rock sugar to taste. Sieve and serve warm, at room temperature or cold from the refrigerator.
Edit to add: this tea is not supposed to boil for too long. Turn it off when it started to boil and let it sit, add rock sugar or honey to taste.
My mom boils herbal tea for us every Saturday. Chrysanthemum tea is one of my favourites. Other than this, she boils longan, barley, sugar cane and some other herbal drinks as well. It nice when they are drank warm and if we still have some more, she would fill them up in little bottles and place them in the fridge for us .. so nice of her.
ReplyDeleteoh! I don't mind to have a big glass right now with all the heat fussing out from heater!!
ReplyDeleteHm..........it seems it was a bit too much of dried chrysanthemum flowers from the picture, perhaps that's the reason your elder girl complained the bitter tase of it. It's a good drink for winter also coz hotpot(steamboat) is also heaty. I put rock sugar in summer and honey in winter
ReplyDeletethis is something my mom always gave whenever we were not feeling well... a comfort drink indeed... happy new year!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI think there can never be too much chrysanthemum hehe ;p
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! I've never had crysanthemum tea before but it sounds like a great way to beat sore throat. I actually like a bit of bitterness in my tea so this sounds like a must try.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your family!
Hi
ReplyDeleteI once heard that chrysanthemum should be soaked in boiling water and not boiled to prevent having a bitter taste to the drink
Normally I would add honey dates, honey suckle flower, wolfberries to boil first and add cane sugar when the mixture boil and when the sugar dissolve, add in chrysanthemum, do a quick stir and off the fire..
You may wish to give a try :)
I used to cook this quite often when living in SG. Now, always get "leong cha" from restaurant or hawker cos I am the only one drinking it. My 11m/o boy drinks a few sips from my cup sometimes.
ReplyDeleteFamily First, yeah I like those kind of drinks too, for the sugar cane we can buy the packet one here.
ReplyDeleteHehe beachlover.
I also thought it was too much Chumpman. The dried chrysanthemum flowers has the power to expand explosively. LOL! I actually thought of putting honey too, maybe next time, thanks! :)
Happy New Year mikky! :)
Hehe noobcook, I hope so. :P
Thanks Lore. Happy New Year to you and family too! :)
Thanks Mrs. Ng for your tips. Will give it a try next time.
Yes the convenience Lydia. I also order cooling drink in the restaurant when I was back in M'sia. Hehe...
My favourite beverage since I was a kid
ReplyDeleteI don't know why it is winter and yet sore throats are common. I had sore throat too when I was in wintry US. Funny leh! Weather so cold still need cooling drink.....
ReplyDeleteHi LCOM
ReplyDeleteMy MIL says it's best to put the rock sugar in after turning off the heat and allow it to dissolve slowly. This will cut out the bitterness in herbal teas. That's how I do mine and my 4 year old drinks it with no problems. .....
rgds Dorie
hahahah that is a huge pot of herbal tea! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is something that I like to make for myself often. It taste so good especially out from the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI love drinking this during summer. It's really refreshing.
ReplyDeleteYeah Indo-eat, we even have the packet one in Asia.
ReplyDeleteTigerfish, according to Beachlover, it's the heater and we mostly stay indoor.
Thanks Dorie. I actually added the rock sugar in the end. So, I made those changes in my post already.
Yeah BBOven, so that I can have the cold one from the fridge. :)
Yes Gert, v. good indeed. After this, have to make the barley drink next.
Hey, welcome pigpigscorner! :)
love this tea so much, but too bad i havent had it 4ages.
ReplyDeletechrysanthemum tea = <3
ReplyDeleteYum--one of the best teas.
ReplyDeletewaw i normally buy those sachet ones...i should try making my own chrysanthemum tea ^_^ it is quite easy to get here
ReplyDeleteI love the taste of chrysanthemum Tea. Fortunately, I could buy them in Asian store here.
ReplyDeleteching
ReplyDeletei agree with (can't read chinese, so?????) - it should only be put into hot water and let it steep. Boiling will cause bitterness
Lily, it's Mrs.Ng. I will try doing it like her next time. :)
ReplyDeletemaybe you can try blanch the chrysanthemum one round with hot water first, hopefully it remove some bitter taste? also gina commented before in my post that over-brewing will cause bitterness ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks rokh, will give that method a try. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mum told me not to "cook" this tea (over-cooked it turns bitter)instead just pour boiling water to it and let it stand till the flower all drop down to the bottom of the pot, then it is ready to drink. Best drink it plain if not add a tsp of honey to it.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few more chinese herb tat can be added to this drink, e.g. gan cao, gou qi zi, yang sheng xu..etc.
And also the base of this drink can be make for the 2nd time round, also jus boiling in boiling water. However the 2nd time will be not as fragrant as before and we will drink it w/o adding any honey (it just like drink the plain water throughout the day)
Thanks JL for your input! :)
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteUnlike green bean drink, this tea should not be boil for a long time.A kind sinseh taught me many years ago that I've to turn off the heat immediately after it started boiling, the reason is not because of bitterness but because boiling too long will make this drink becoming ' heaty ', which defeat the purpose of making this drink.
Boiling for 25mins is thus too long.
I suggest you add rock sugar after that like what other bloggers suggested.
Regards,
Queen butter
Thanks Queen Butter, I already put a note in my post to warn others.
ReplyDeleteI love chrysanthemum tea!! I've been trying to make it but can't seem to get it right. I tried boiling it...I think I overcooked and it was very sour. Then I tried just pouring hot water with the dried flower in a teapot and let it sit but it still turned out sour...I'm not sure why. I would really appreciate some help hehe
ReplyDeleteJen, sour huh? You think your Chrysanthemum flowers gone bad already? Over boiling it will turn it bitter but not sour though. It is not supposed to be sour.
ReplyDeleteMy chrysanthemum tea always turns greenish-blue (happens after the 2nd round of hot water added) Is that still drinkable?
ReplyDeleteHi Jess, that's the first time I heard of it. I won't drink it if I were you.
ReplyDeleteNomatter how I boiled the flowers or just pour hot water on it, after twi hours, it become blue....
ReplyDeleteI am very confuse.. What's wrong??? Why always turned blue?
ReplyDelete