Ume Plum, Licorice and Chrysanthemum Tea

Why people make this tea

Nourilo has personal experience with this one. Years of teaching long classes meant overusing his voice, and an overworked, dry throat almost always leads to an irritable cough — the kind that does not come from infection but from the throat simply being dry, raw, or reactive. During allergy season, or after a period of stress and overwork, this kind of cough can linger for weeks. The three ingredients in this tea each address a different part of the problem: ume plum has an astringent, gathering quality that helps settle a persistent cough and moisten dry lung tissue; licorice is anti-inflammatory and soothing; and chrysanthemum disperses the kind of wind-heat that tends to trigger an irritable, itchy-throat cough in the first place. Together they make a pleasantly tart, easy-to-drink tea that can be sipped throughout the day.

Method

1. Place all ingredients into a teapot or a tea filter bag.
2. Pour a small amount of boiling water over the herbs and discard — this rinses the herbs clean.
3. Pour fresh boiling water over the herbs and steep for 7 minutes.
4. Drink warm. The same herbs can be steeped multiple times throughout the day until the flavour fades.

Nourilo’s Tips

This tea has a pleasant mild sourness from the ume plum — most people find it quite easy to drink. For a long-standing dry cough, patience is key: drink it consistently for several days before judging whether it is helping. For a persistent, chronic cough that has not responded after a week, Nourilo sometimes adds 11 g of tai zi shen (prince’s ginseng) and increases the ume to 3 pieces; for a cough that worsens at night, adding 11 g of wu wei zi (schisandra) may help further. If a cough comes with thick yellow phlegm, the situation has shifted and this gentle tea may not be enough — see a doctor.