Lophatherum and Rush Herb Tea

Why people make this tea

After a child runs a fever, sometimes a restless, irritable phase follows — trouble settling at night, mouth ulcers, dark yellow urine, or a flushed look without an obvious illness. In traditional Chinese food-therapy thinking, this is understood as residual heat in the heart channel, and the remedy is a simple, mild herbal tea rather than another round of medicine.

Lophatherum (dan zhu ye) is a slender bamboo-leaf herb widely used in Cantonese households; rush pith (deng xin cao) is a traditional infant calming herb. Together they make one of the gentlest clearing teas in the Cantonese repertoire — light-tasting, easy to prepare, and safe enough to serve as an infant “opening milk” tea in very small amounts.

Method

1. Rinse the lophatherum and rush pith briefly.
2. Combine both ingredients with 1.2 L of water in a small pot.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid reduces to 600 ml.
4. Strain, cool slightly, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Nourilo’s Tips

This tea is not suitable for those with a cold stomach or during pregnancy. For children who also have trouble sleeping or night crying, Nourilo suggests adding 38 g of lily bulb (bai he) and 38 g of lotus seeds with their inner embryo (you xin lian zi) — cook in 1.5 L of water down to 600 ml. This version can be used as a nursing tea for breastfeeding mothers as well, administered 30–60 minutes before feeding. For a more pronounced calming effect, brew over medium heat for about 30 minutes.