Dendrobium Flower and Chrysanthemum Tea

Why people make this tea

Dendrobium flowers (shi hu hua) from iron-bark dendrobium (tie pi shi hu) are a relatively recent addition to the traditional herbal tea repertoire — the plant has long been used in Chinese medicine for its stem, but the flowers carry a similar and somewhat gentler quality with a beautiful fragrance. Available at specialist herb and tea shops and Asian grocers, they are worth seeking out. According to traditional understanding, they support the liver and stomach systems, benefit the eyes, ease emotional tension, and have a generally nourishing effect on Yin fluids — meaning they are considered particularly suited to people who feel run-down, dry-eyed, or emotionally depleted.

Paired with chrysanthemum — one of the most trusted herbs in Chinese eye-care tradition — this tea becomes something lovely: fragrant, clear in colour, easy to drink, and genuinely appropriate for anyone who spends a lot of time at a computer or under artificial lighting.

Method

1. Place the dendrobium flowers and chrysanthemum into a teapot or heatproof glass.
2. Rinse once with a small splash of boiling water, then discard this first rinse — this cleans the flowers.
3. Pour in freshly boiled water, cover, and steep for 5 minutes.
4. Pour and drink. The flowers can be re-steeped with fresh water throughout the day until the flavour fades.

Nourilo’s Tips

After steeping, the dendrobium flowers become pleasantly crisp and can be eaten as a snack — they have a refreshing, slightly crunchy texture. A bowl of scrambled eggs with the leftover steeped flowers is a delicious way to use them up.

Any variety of chrysanthemum works for this tea: hangzhou chrysanthemum (hang ju), tribute chrysanthemum (gong ju), and bud chrysanthemum (tai ju) are all fine. Tai ju is the smallest variety — it blooms beautifully when steeped and has a lovely golden colour.

If you are using stone dendrobium (shi hu) in powdered form rather than the flowers, the best approach is to dissolve the powder in warm water and drink it. Genuine iron-bark dendrobium powder has a slight stickiness when mixed — if the powder dissolves cleanly without any stickiness, it may not be authentic. Keep chrysanthemum as a separate steep in that case.

Drink this tea 3–4 times per week rather than daily if you run cold.