Herbal & Flower Teas
Selfheal, Chrysanthemum and Cassia Seed Tea (Xia Ku Cao Ju Hua Jue Ming Cha)
traditionally used to clear liver heat, support eye health, and help maintain healthy blood pressure
In short: Selfheal, Chrysanthemum and Cassia Seed Tea (Xia Ku Cao Ju Hua Jue Ming Cha) is a herbal & flower tea that traditionally used to clear liver heat, support eye health, and help maintain healthy blood pressure. It is most often made for heart & circulation, liver wellness, eye wellness. Total time about 60 min. Key ingredients: chrysanthemum, cassia seeds.
Why people make this tea
Selfheal (xia ku cao) is one of the workhorses of Cantonese home cooking for cooling teas. It is an ingredient most Hong Kong families know well — often sold pre-packaged for making liang cha (cooling herbal tea) at home. It has a broad traditional reputation: clearing liver fire, reducing swellings and lumps, clearing heat and toxins, stopping cough, and cooling the blood. In clinical traditional Chinese medicine settings, it also appears in formulas targeting thyroid nodules, lymph swellings, mastitis, and urinary stones.
Combined with chrysanthemum and cassia seed, this tea becomes a targeted blend for the liver-eye-blood-pressure axis — conditions that often cluster together in traditional thinking. Someone with eye redness, throbbing headaches, dizziness, or elevated blood pressure due to “liver yang rising” is the classic person for whom this tea is made.
What studies say about the key ingredients
Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.
- Chrysanthemum
Compared with the high-fat meal alone, the extract group had lower postprandial glucose at 1 hour and higher antioxidant markers (T-AOC, SOD, GSH), with lower MDA. Incremental area under the curve did not differ significantly between groups.Limitation: Small sample of healthy young adults given a single high-fat meal, so longer-term effects and effects in people with metabolic conditions are unknown.PubMed 36677639 · 1 more chrysanthemum study
From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.
Safety first — read before you cook
This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:
- are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
- take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
- have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.
Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes
Members only
Unlock the full method & Nourilo's tips
One payment, lifetime access to every one of our 2,344 recipes — step-by-step methods, preparation tips and serving notes.
- Full step-by-step method for this and all 2,344 recipes
- Nourilo's Tips — sourcing, substitutions and serving notes
- One-time payment · card, Apple Pay or Google Pay · no subscription, no renewals
Checking your access…
$59.99 one-time · all recipes
Sign in or create a free account, then pay once by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Continue with GoogleBy continuing with Google or email you confirm you are 16 or older and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
$59.99 one-time · all recipes
Signed in as ·
Secure checkout by Stripe. One-time payment, no renewals. Access is linked to your Nourilo account and never expires. By paying you agree to our Terms of Use; you can get a full refund within 14 days (refund policy).
Comments
Join the conversation — sign in or create a free account to comment.
Continue with GoogleBy continuing with Google or email you confirm you are 16 or older and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Loading comments…