Herbal & Flower Teas
Sha Shen, Yu Zhu & Dendrobium Cooling Tea
traditionally used to generate fluids, quench thirst, and clear summer heat
In short: Sha Shen, Yu Zhu & Dendrobium Cooling Tea is a herbal & flower tea that traditionally used to generate fluids, quench thirst, and clear summer heat. It is most often made for respiratory & lung wellness, cooling & summer heat. Total time about 1 hr 5 min. Key ingredients: rock sugar.
Why people make this drink
Nourilo points out that when the summer heat sets in and you find yourself sweating heavily and craving something cold, reaching for ice-cold sodas or sweet drinks only makes things worse — the sugar content means you end up thirstier. A far better approach, he suggests, is to brew something with real herbal depth. This four-herb combination has long been used in Chinese food therapy as a summer cooling tea: sha shen and yu zhu are well-regarded “moistening” herbs that are associated with easing dryness in the throat and lungs; mai dong adds a gentle cooling quality; and dendrobium (shi hu) brings a reputation for supporting stomach fluids and easing the kind of parched discomfort that follows a fever or a particularly humid and draining day. A few sour plums add a pleasant tartness that makes the drink genuinely thirst-quenching, not just medicinal.
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.
- Dendrobium
Salivary flow rate and oral mucosal scores improved more in the Dendrobium group than in the control group using vitamin B12 rinse alone (P < .05). Serum IL-10 rose from baseline, and oral bacterial composition differed.Limitation: Small single-hospital sample; the Dendrobium group also used the B12 rinse, and the abstract does not say whether the control group received a placebo drink.PubMed 39811879 · 2 more dendrobium studies
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
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