Green Calyx Flower Tea (Lu Luo Hua Tea)

Why people make this tea

Green calyx flowers (lu luo hua) are an unusual dried flower available at Chinese herb shops. This plant grows only in the frigid high-altitude zones of the Tibetan Himalayas, with a growing season of just over one month. Because it is genuinely rare, it was once quite expensive; wider cultivation has since brought the price down. When brewed, the tea has a clean, pleasantly fragrant aroma. In Chinese food therapy, it is mildly cool in nature and has a long history of traditional use for people with high blood pressure, elevated blood lipids, high blood sugar and various vascular inflammations. It also has a traditional reputation for soothing a sore, swollen throat.

Method

1. Place the green calyx flowers in a glass cup or teapot.
2. Pour a small amount of boiling water over the flowers, swirl briefly and discard this rinse water.
3. Pour fresh boiling water over the rinsed flowers.
4. Steep for 10 minutes before drinking.
5. The flowers can be re-steeped 2–3 times until the flavour fades.

Nourilo’s Tips

This tea is well suited to those with high blood pressure, high blood lipids, high blood sugar or a tendency to carry excess weight. It can also help ease throat soreness and swelling. However, those with a cold or deficient constitution and pregnant women should not use it. Traditionally, drinking this tea 3–4 times per week is considered appropriate; there is no need to drink it every day.