Flower Tea? What is that?

Try to think of the word “Tea” for a while. What comes to your mind? Probably you’ll link tea to caffeine, Green Tea, Black Tea, Oolong Tea and you will start to imagine a very refreshing taste in your mouth. But have you ever thought of teas brewed with actual flowers? What benefits do these floral teas bring to your body and your mind? Do not worry, here we consolidate the benefits of over 8 types of teas in an easy to understand manner!

Chrysanthemum Flower

Chrysanthemum Flower and Tea (Credits: Unsplash)

Probably one of the more common and more popular flower teas in Singapore, widely loved by many due to its natural sweet taste that both adults and kids like. There are various kinds of Chrysanthemum Flowers, one such is called the Baby Chrysanthemum “Tai Ju” (胎菊), which are harvested right when the flower is starting to blossom, resulting in a rather refreshing floral taste.

Taste and Appearance

Most Chrysanthemum Teas have naturally sweet taste with hints of refreshing floral tastes. If sweet, refreshing teas are your cup of tea (pun intended), then chrysanthemum teas are definitely your best choice!

When brewed, Chrysanthemum teas usually have a pale yellow appearance, similar to how the dried flowers look.

Benefits

Baby Chrysanthemum Tea has various health benefits, with the most notable one being its ability to boost immunity and reduce “Heatiness” in one’s body, such as relieving sore throat symptoms or redness in eyes. Chrysanthemum can also relieve fever, headache, toothache, dizzy spells, calm the mind, and even help relieve respiratory issues. If the swiss army knife is a flower tea, this would be it!

 

Snow Chrysanthemum

Snow Chrysanthemum Tea and Dried Snow Chrysanthemum Flowers (Credits: JiangTea)

If Chrysanthemum Tea does not perk your interest, maybe it’s more exotic sibling might do. Snow Chrysanthemum (精选雪菊) are usually harvested in the alpine areas of Kunlun mountains in Xinjiang. The flowers grow slowly due to the low temperatures, and retains a super flavourful taste when brewed. Very few flowers thrive in harsh, cold climates,making the Snow Chrysanthemum a rare and exotic flower. It is even rarer due to the extremely short blooming season that this flower has. 

Taste and Appearance

Snow Chrysanthemum Teas have a more distinct taste of caramel and dark honey. The tea in contrast to Baby Chrysanthemum, has a dark red color in comparison to the pale yellow appearance.

Benefits

Snow Chrysanthemum Flowers are known for containing high amounts of amino acids (Essential to a healthy functioning body, including healing and repairing of your body) and proteins. Which helps to prevent inflammation, colds and insomnia. These amino acids are also significant to helping you achieve optimal health as it helps to lower your blood sugar level, reduces cholesterol and also helps to prevent coronary heart diseases. Truly a heart saver.

 

Roselle

Dried Roselle Calyx and Roselle Tea (Credits: Pixabay)

The Roselle Tea is actually brewed with the fleshy calyce of the Roselle plant, which is the thorny outer shell of the flower. Usually harvested roughly 10 to 15 days after the flowers bloom, to have a sweeter taste, otherwise it will have a more sharp and sour taste.

Taste and Appearance

Roselle Teas, also known as Hibiscus Teas, are known to taste similarly to ribena, with a sweet and tart (sharp, sour taste), similarly to cranberries as well. Whether the taste leans towards sweet or tart, depends on when the calyce is harvested. The teas when brewed are maroon coloured.

Benefits

While it tastes similar to ribena or cranberries, its benefits are definitely different. It contains antibacterial or anti-inflammatory properties that can help to relieve cough and cold symptoms. Roselle is also a great source of vitamins C and antioxidants, which means that it is a great choice for a tea to drink in the midst of a certain pandemic. Besides dealing with these common illnesses, Roselle Teas can help in weight loss, regulate blood pressure and prevent constipation. 

 

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle Tea and Dried Honeysuckle (Credits: OrganicFacts)

When you hear of Honeysuckle Tea, you might have the traditional honey in mind, and you are not wrong for thinking that way, as we will dive deep into the taste later on! As a tea that has been used by the Chinese since ancient times for medicinal purposes, this tea indeed has a long and illustrious history. The tea is made from dried honeysuckle flowers and is highly praised for their high concentration of various body-healing minerals, such as quercetin, rutin, calcium, potassium, manganese and other antioxidants.

Taste and Appearance

Honeysuckle teas have a very subtle sweet taste that is not very noticeable to most people. Also, it is also called Honeysuckle because there is a distinct light honey flavour to the tea. Besides that, honeysuckle teas also have a hint of floral notes that can be tasted from the start to finish. However, this floral taste is not overbearing and strong. Honeysuckle teas can either be served warm or prepared cold. The teas usually are yellow in colour, like chrysanthemum, but with a very light greenish tint instead of a warmer hue.

Benefits

As mentioned earlier that Honeysuckles contain various body-healing minerals, Honeysuckles helps with restoring the body back to tip-top condition by relieving constipation, skin inflammation, digestive disorders, colds, fevers, swelling, boils, sores and the swelling of lungs. Honeysuckle is also a perfect fix for hot days, as this tea is known to be cooling, as it used to treat various other ailments such as hot flashes, fever and sunstroke. Overall, if you want to find a cooling tea to drink to relieve your body heat, then the Honeysuckle Tea is the perfect choice for you.

 

French Rose Bud

Rose Bud Tea and Dried Buds (Credits: OhHowCivilized)

French Rose Bud Tea is usually known to be more fragrant than their normal rosebud counterparts. But what they have in common is that they have been used in herbal medicine for multiple centuries and are very healthy. Usually, french rose buds are plucked before they bloom and they contain high amounts of Vitamin C and other minerals. 

Taste and Appearance

French Rose Buds are light and subtle tasting, with a floral taste ranging from bitter to sweet. However, one key note is that the floral smell and taste for the French Rose Bud variety is stronger than regular rose buds. Appearance wise, these teas are usually brewed in a very pale yellow tone, but retains a hint of the rose bud’s colour.

Benefits

These French Rose Buds are well known to be great for relieving menstrual pain, as well as used for improving digestion and treating sore throat. Besides being ideal for women, Rose Buds are also great for improving facial complexion and reducing stomach bloating.

 

Jasmine Flower

Jasmine Tea and Jasmine Flower (Credits: Pique)

On most early mornings, when you wake up to take a walk in your park nearby, chances are, you have smelled Jasmine Flower before. Its incredibly sweet and sensual smell is unforgettable once you have smelled it. However, did you know that it could be brewed into tea as well? For many centuries, people have been enjoying Jasmine Tea, with earliest records dating back to Tang Dynasty in China. Usually these fragrant flowers are brewed commonly with green tea, but sometimes it can be brewed with oolong or black tea, and even other flowers such as french rose buds.

Taste and Appearance

The Jasmine flower tea has a very fragrant floral taste, with a hint of sweetness that is not too overbearing. Just like its flower, the tea has a perfume-like aroma that is sure to calm your mind and make you feel relaxed. Appearance wise, the Jasmine Flower Tea is a pale yellow color that leans towards a warmer tone.

Benefits

The Jasmine Flower contains high amounts of antioxidants, which makes this tea a very good choice for  reducing risk of many diseases including heart-related diseases or even prevent cancer to a certain extent. Jasmine Flower also helps with weight loss, and boost brain function.

 

Osmanthus

 

Osmanthus Tea and dried Osmanthus Flower (Credits: TheFoodXP)

Osmanthus is one of the rarest flowers to be used as a flower tea, as it is only grown in Guangxi Province, China, out of 195 countries in the world. While it is rare, it is also rich in benefits for the human body. 

Taste and Appearance

Osmanthus Tea has a very sweet savoury flavour, with a hint of apricot, that is akin to how rock sugar or even rice cakes taste like. While this may not be everyone’s cup of tea (pun intended again), it is sure to please you if you are a sweet food aficionado. Appearance wise, depending on how you brew it, it has either a pale orange or slightly darker orange appearance.

Benefits

Osmanthus Tea contains very high amounts of antioxidants, which is great for beautifying skin and improving eyesight. Besides these benefits, Osmanthus tea is also known for supporting weight loss by suppressing your appetite, as well as lowering your blood pressure due to it being caffeine-free, like most flower teas.

 

Lavender Flower

Lavender Tea and Lavender Flowers (Credits: Superfood Evolution)

When you picture Lavender Flower, you might be imagining the calm, peaceful sensation the moment you breathe in its aroma. Well, Lavender Flowers can also be used to make teas as well, with similar calming effects! Normally Lavender tea is made from either fresh or dried lavender flower buds, such as our own collection of thye shan lavender buds. Once native to the Mediterranean region, such as southern Europe and northern Africa, nowadays Lavender Flowers can be grown in many countries across the globe.

Taste and Appearance

Usually, Lavender Tea has a very distinct and soothing fragrance. Upon tasting, it does have hints of rosemary and mint without being too overpowering. Depending on how you blend the tea, certain blends can taste smoky or woody, while others can be sweeter and have a floral taste to it. When brewed, Lavender tea can take on the appearance of a yellowish tea with hint of orange hues./

Benefits

Just like the smell of Lavenders, the tea also helps with inducing a calm and relaxed state of mind, which can be great for tackling sleep issues such as insomnia and other sleep disorders. This results in better sleep quality overall. Besides that, Lavender Teas can also reduce inflammation, boost immunity since it contains Vitamin C, Calcium and Magnesium, supports digestive health by relieving stomach pain, and also could help with opening up airways for people who are suffering from respiratory issues, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties.

Bottom line is, this is a great tea for those who want to unwind and relax at night, before going to bed.

Thye Shan Tea Collections

All the Teas mentioned in this post are available right here in our webstore! From the popular and simple chrysanthemum, to the more exotic Osmanthus and Snow Chrysanthemum. Our dried flower buds are cherry-picked by our professional staff and hand packed in small batches to ensure freshness and quality. We also have blooming flower tea balls that will bloom into beautiful flowers when added. Consisting of exotic flower blends, these blooming flower balls are not just pretty, but they bring about many health benefits to help you bloom like a flower.

Premium Health Tea collection

Besides just individual flower buds, Thye Shan has our own concoction of flower tea mixes to aid you in various ways. Our Health Tea series contains a unique blend of flowers such as rose buds, mixed with unique ingredients such as lotus seeds, cassia seeds, ginseng and more. There are currently 3 unique blends to choose from: Digestion Support Tea, Bright Vision Tea, and our Premium Eight Treasures Floral Tea. They have their own unique set of benefits, including Strengthening Digestive System, Boosting Vision or detoxifying of body.

Start your flower tea journey with us!

Flower teas have always been a great way of enjoying various health boosting benefits such as relieving cough and phlegm especially during this pandemic and also indulging in large amounts of antioxidants to beef up our body. Start your floral tea journey today with us at Thye Shan!