Prunella, Water Chestnut and Honey Date Tea

Why people make this tea

Prunella is a well-loved, inexpensive herb traditionally associated with clearing “liver fire” and easing congested heat. When liver heat flares up — red, sore eyes, dizziness, or those firm “phlegm-fire” lumps — many home cooks reach for it. Paired with water chestnut and honey dates, it becomes a clear, sweet cooling tea that goes down easily.

Method

1. Soak and rinse the prunella; peel the water chestnuts; rinse the honey dates.
2. Simmer everything in 2.1 L of water for 30 minutes, reducing to about 1.2 L.
3. Add rock sugar and stir until dissolved. Serve.

Nourilo’s Tips

Adding honey dates softens the cooling nature of the brew. Because water chestnuts grow in pond mud where their skins can pick up bacteria and parasite eggs (especially fasciolopsis larvae), never eat them raw — and even for soups, peel them first. This tea is clear and sweet, fine for young and old, but not for those with a cold-weak spleen-stomach, loose stools, or frequent night urination.