Daidai Flower and Licorice Tea

Why people make this tea

Daidai flower (also written dai dai hua) comes from a citrus tree called the ‘returning green orange’ in Chinese — a poetic name for the fact that the fruit can stay on the tree through winter, and by the following year when the tree blooms and sets new fruit, the old fruit’s skin turns from yellow back to green. The flowers are white, deeply fragrant, and mildly bitter-sweet. This gentle floral tea is particularly effective for the uncomfortable feeling of gas and bloating that so many people experience — especially after stress, eating too quickly, or eating irregular meals. Paired with licorice root, which moderates the slightly bitter edge of the flower and adds harmonising digestive support, this tea is something you can keep on your desk and sip whenever the stomach feels tight or gassy.

Method

1. Place daidai flower and licorice root (and tangerine peel if using) into a teapot.
2. Pour a small amount of freshly boiled water over the ingredients and immediately discard this first rinse.
3. Refill with boiling water.
4. Steep for 7 minutes, then pour and drink.
5. The same ingredients can be re-steeped multiple times until the flavour is very faint.

Nourilo’s Tips

This tea can be enjoyed as a daily wellness drink even without specific symptoms — it has a long history as a beauty tea when drunk alone. Adding a small piece of dried tangerine peel or orange peel makes it even more effective for liver-and-stomach bloating. Daidai flower is available at Chinese herb shops and specialty floral tea shops, as well as online — look for it listed as orange blossom tea, dai dai hua, or orange flower (cheng hua).