Chrysanthemum tea is a flower-based

infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An inf ...

beverage made from the

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

flowers of the species '' Chrysanthemum morifolium'' or ''

Chrysanthemum indicum ''Chrysanthemum indicum'' is a flowering plant commonly called Indian chrysanthemum, within the family Asteraceae and genus ''Chrysanthemum''. Description ''Chrysanthemum indicum'' grows up to tall and across. It usually blooms from August to ...

'', which are most popular throughout

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. First cultivated in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as a

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

as early as the 1500 BCE, Chrysanthemum became popularized as a tea during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. In Chinese tradition, once a pot of chrysanthemum tea has been drunk, hot water is typically added again to the flowers in the pot (producing a tea that is slightly less strong); this process is often repeated several times. To prepare the tea, chrysanthemum flowers (usually dried) are steeped in hot water (usually 90 to 95 degrees Celsius after cooling from a boil) in either a

teapot A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water and serving the resulting infusion called tea; usually put in a teacup. It is one of the core components of teaware. Teapots usually have an ...

, cup, or glass; often rock sugar or

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

is also added. The resulting drink is transparent and ranges from pale to bright yellow in color, with a floral aroma.

Varieties

China

Several varieties of chrysanthemum, ranging from white to pale or bright yellow in color, are used for tea. These include: *''Huángshān-gòngjú'' (, literally "Yellow Mountain tribute chrysanthemum"); also called simply ''gòngjú'' () *''Hángbáijú'' (), originating from

Tongxiang Tongxiang City () is a county-level city, part of Jiaxing, in northern Zhejiang Province, China, bordering Jiangsu province to the north. It had a population of 1,029,754 as of the 2020 census even though its built-up (''or metro'') area is sm ...

, near

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

; also called simply ''Hángjú'', () *''Chújú'' (), originating from the

Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Provinces of China, Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwest, Huainan to the west, Bengbu to the northwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the ...

district of

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

*''Bójú'' (), originating in the

Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at ...

district of

Of these, the first two are most popular. Some varieties feature a prominent yellow flower head while others do not.

Korea

''Gukhwacha'' () is made from dried Indian chrysanthemum collected before fully opened. * Chrysanthemum tea – The flowers are blanched in bamboo salt water, carefully washed in cold water and drained on kitchen towel. The drained flowers are covered with hanji and dried in an

ondol (; , ; ) or ''gudeul'' (; ) in Korean traditional architecture is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor. In modern usage, it refers to any type of underfloor heating, or ...

(floor-heated) room. When served, three to four flowers are added to hot water. * Honey chrysanthemum tea – The flowers are carefully washed and dried, then preserved in honey for three to four weeks. When served, the preserved flowers are added to hot water. * Medicinal chrysanthemum tea – The flowers are washed carefully, steamed using the water mixed with herbal decoction and dried. When fully dried, they are steamed again, and dried again. This process is repeated nine times. Water to decoction ratio can be 8:1, and the decoction is usually made of dried roots of white woodland peony, steamed and dried roots of

rehmannia ''Rehmannia'' is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the order Lamiales and family Orobanchaceae, which is native to China and Japan. It has been placed as the only member of the monotypic tribe Rehmannieae, but molecular phylogenetic ...

, dried roots of Korean angelica, and dried roots of lovage.

Commercial availability

Although typically prepared at home, chrysanthemum tea is sold in many Asian restaurants (particularly Chinese), and in various Asian grocery stores in and outside Asia in canned or packed form, as either a whole flower or teabag presentation. Juice boxes of chrysanthemum tea may be sold.

Gallery

Image:A Large Pack of Chrysanthemum tea (MY and SG).jpg, A juicebox of chrysanthemum tea by Singaporean brand Yeo's.

References