Mulberry-Almond Drink (Sang Xing Yin)

Why people make this drink

Not all coughs are the same — and in traditional food therapy, the remedy depends entirely on the type. After a cold or flu, some people are left with a hot, dry cough: the throat feels scratchy, there is little or no phlegm, the voice may be slightly rough, and the discomfort often worsens in warm, dry air. This is what traditional Chinese medicine calls a “dryness-heat” cough — the kind that lingers because the lungs are dried out and irritated rather than congested. Sang Xing Yin (Mulberry-Almond Drink) is a well-known herbal formula for exactly this. Mulberry leaf gently clears wind-heat from the lung’s surface, while snow pear and glehnia add moisture from below. Fritillaria (zhe bei mu) dissolves any residual phlegm, and apricot kernel descends the lung qi to stop the coughing impulse. Together they are balancing rather than aggressive — clearing heat and dryness while helping the lungs restore their natural moisture.