Chrysanthemum tea

Chrysanthemum tea
Type	Herbal tea
Other names	Gukhwa-cha júhuā-chá
Origin	China (Song dynasty)
Quick description	Tea made from dried chrysanthemum
Temperature	100 °C (212 °F)
Time	2‒3 minutes

Regional names
Chinese name
Chinese	菊花茶
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin júhuā chá Wade–Giles chü2-hua1-ch'a2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization gūk fā chàh Jyutping guk1 faa1 caa4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ kiok-hoe-tê

China

Several varieties of chrysanthemum, ranging from white to pale or bright yellow in color, are used for tea. These include:

• Huángshān-gòngjú (黄山贡菊, literally "Yellow Mountain tribute chrysanthemum"); also called simply gòngjú (贡菊)
• Hángbáijú (杭白菊), originating from Tongxiang, near Hangzhou; also called simply Hángjú, (杭菊)
• Chújú (滁菊), originating from the Chuzhou district of Anhui
• Bójú (亳菊), originating in the Bozhou district of Anhui

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

Korea

Gukhwacha (국화차;菊花茶) 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 (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, 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. ^[5]

Gallery

• 
  A juicebox of chrysanthemum tea by Singaporean brand Yeo's.

See also

• Chinese herb tea
• List of Chinese teas
• List of Chinese inventions
• Traditional Korean tea
• Xia Sang Ju

References

1. "Bunga kekwa penyejuk badan" [Body cooling chrysanthemum flower]. Media Permata (Brunei) (in Malay). 27 February 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
2. Campbell, Dawn L. (1995). The tea book. Gretna: Pelican Publishing. p. 116. ISBN   978-1-56554-074-3.
3. "History of the Chrysanthemum". mums.org. National Chrysanthemum Society. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
4. "The History and Healing Power of Chrysanthemum". the-qi.com. The Qi. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
5. "Buy VITA Chrysanthemum Tea Drink 8.45floz | HMart - The Best of Asia in America". H Mart . Retrieved 23 June 2024.