Globe Amaranth and Verbena Flower Tea

Why people make this tea

Globe amaranth (qian ri hong) is one of those flowers that refuses to fade — it holds its vivid color for a remarkably long time after cutting, which is how it earned the name “thousand-day red.” In traditional Chinese food therapy, it is associated with clearing liver heat, calming coughs, and dispersing nodules. Paired with verbena (ma bian cao), which in European herbal traditions has long been used for nervous tension and fatigue, the two together make a pleasantly floral tea that many people reach for when they feel a headache coming on alongside a sense of heat or tension — the kind that feels like pressure behind the eyes rather than a dull, cold ache.