Ingredients · Flower
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum morifolium, C. indicum · Asteraceae (daisy family)
What it’s like, and how to use it
- 195°F / 90°C
- 3 to 5 minutes, and resteep the flowers
How to use it
Steeped in water cooled slightly from a boil, around 90 to 95°C, with rock sugar if wanted. Resteep the flowers — the second infusion is often the better one. It is also blended with green tea and with pu-erh, which it lightens.
With food
Light Chinese food. Steamed fish. Rice. Melon and pear. Goji berries. Honey.
With spices
Rock sugar. Goji berry. Licorice root. Cardamom.
With tea
Pu-erh, which it lightens. Green tea. Jasmine.
Its story
Where it comes from
Most popular throughout East and Southeast Asia — China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Our lot names no origin.
What happened
Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a herb as early as 1500 BCE, and making tea from them became popular during the Song dynasty. That is an unusually long run for a flower that most of the West knows only as a funeral arrangement. It is drunk on its own, hot or cooled, and it is one of the few floral infusions that holds up to being resteeped rather than fading after one pass.
On the shelf with it
Every product it goes into.
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Kama Sutra Chai, Organic
Regular price From $10.00 CADRegular price
