Why Do Chinese People Drink Chrysanthemum Tea (菊花茶)?

June 24, 2026

Walk into any Chinese household, restaurant, or office during the warmer months, and you’re likely to find a glass teapot filled with pale golden liquid and a few floating white or yellow petals. That’s chrysanthemum tea (菊花茶, júhuā chá). It’s not a rare or special-occasion drink. It’s an everyday beverage, served hot or cold, sweetened or plain, and consumed by people of all ages.

To a Western observer, it might seem like just another herbal tea. But in Chinese culture, chrysanthemum tea carries a specific reputation. It’s the drink you reach for when your eyes feel tired from staring at a screen. It’s what your grandmother brews when she says you’ve been eating too much fried food. It’s served at dim sum restaurants alongside the shrimp dumplings, and it’s sold in cans at convenience stores next to the sodas.

So why do Chinese people drink chrysanthemum tea? The answer involves a 2,000-year-old medical text, a flower that blooms in autumn, and a way of thinking about the body that connects what you drink to the season outside your window.

A Flower with a Long History

Chrysanthemums have been cultivated in China for over 2,500 years. They were originally grown for their medicinal properties, not their beauty. The earliest known reference to chrysanthemum as a medicinal plant appears in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (《神农本草经》), a classical Chinese medical text compiled around 200 CE. This text, attributed to the mythical emperor Shen Nong, categorizes herbs into three tiers based on their effects. Chrysanthemum was placed in the top tier — the category for substances considered safe for long-term use and beneficial for overall health.

The text describes chrysanthemum as something that “benefits the five viscera, lightens the body, and sharpens the senses.” Over the centuries, this reputation stuck. By the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), chrysanthemum tea had become a common beverage, and poets were writing verses about its cooling properties and delicate fragrance.

What’s interesting is that the flower’s medicinal reputation is tied to when it blooms. Chrysanthemums flower in late autumn, when the weather turns cold and dry. In the TCM framework, this timing is significant. A plant that thrives in cool, dry conditions is understood to carry those qualities within it. This is the logic behind food energetics — the idea that the nature of a plant reflects the environment it grows in.

chrysanthemum tea – dried yellow flowers in a ceramic bowl — Photo by Ryutaro Tsukata on Pexels

The TCM Perspective: Cooling and Clearing

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, chrysanthemum is classified as a “cooling” herb. Within the TCM framework, this doesn’t just mean it’s served cold. It refers to the herb’s energetic nature — the effect it is believed to have on the body’s internal balance.

Chrysanthemum is associated with the Lung and Liver meridians. In TCM theory, the Liver is responsible for the smooth flow of qi (vital energy) throughout the body. When Liver qi becomes stagnant or when there is what practitioners call “Liver Fire” — a pattern associated with irritability, headaches, red eyes, and a bitter taste in the mouth — chrysanthemum is one of the herbs commonly recommended.

This is why you’ll often hear Chinese people say chrysanthemum tea is good for your eyes. In TCM, the eyes are connected to the Liver. The Huangdi Neijing (《黄帝内经》), another foundational medical text, states: “The Liver opens into the eyes.” So when someone spends hours staring at a computer screen and complains of dry, tired, or red eyes, the TCM explanation involves the Liver. Chrysanthemum, being cooling and Liver-clearing, is seen as a natural remedy for this pattern.

Chrysanthemum is also described as having the ability to “disperse wind-heat.” In TCM, “wind-heat” is a pattern associated with the early stages of a cold or flu — symptoms like a sore throat, mild fever, headache, and a red, swollen throat. This is why chrysanthemum tea is often consumed at the first sign of a cold, sometimes combined with honeysuckle or mint.

More Than Just a Tea: How It’s Used

Chrysanthemum tea is rarely just dried flowers and hot water. There are variations, and each one shifts the tea’s purpose slightly.

Plain chrysanthemum tea: Dried flowers steeped in hot water. Served hot or iced. The most common version.
With goji berries (枸杞菊花茶): A classic combination. Goji berries are considered nourishing for the Liver and Kidneys in TCM. Together, the pair is believed to support eye health and overall vitality.
With rock sugar (冰糖菊花茶): Sweetened to balance the slightly bitter, floral taste. Rock sugar is considered “neutral” in TCM energetics, so it doesn’t interfere with the herb’s cooling nature.
With honeysuckle (金银花菊花茶): Used more specifically for colds and sore throats. Both herbs are considered cooling and are believed to clear heat.
With Pu-erh tea (菊花普洱): A popular combination in Cantonese restaurants. The earthy, fermented Pu-erh is considered warming, so the chrysanthemum balances it out. The result is a tea that is neither too cooling nor too warming.

In southern China, especially in Guangdong and Hong Kong, chrysanthemum tea is also a key ingredient in leng cha (凉茶, “cooling tea”) — a category of herbal beverages consumed to counteract the effects of hot, humid weather and rich, oily foods.

The Cultural Habit: Why It’s Everywhere

If you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurant, you’ve probably seen chrysanthemum tea on the menu. It’s often served alongside dim sum, not as a specialty order but as a standard option. This isn’t an accident. In Cantonese tea culture, chrysanthemum tea is considered a yum cha (饮茶, “drink tea”) staple, right next to jasmine and Pu-erh.

But the habit goes beyond restaurants. Many Chinese households keep a jar of dried chrysanthemum flowers in the kitchen. When someone feels a cold coming on, when the weather is unseasonably hot, or when the kids have been eating too many fried snacks, out comes the chrysanthemum.

There’s also a practical reason for its popularity. Chrysanthemum is one of the few medicinal herbs that tastes genuinely pleasant. Unlike bitter Chinese herbal concoctions that require pinched noses and a chaser of dried fruit, chrysanthemum tea is floral, slightly sweet, and refreshing. It’s easy to drink, which makes it an accessible entry point into the world of TCM-based food practices.

I remember being surprised the first time I saw a friend order iced chrysanthemum tea at a bubble tea shop. It came in a plastic cup with a seal, just like any milk tea, but it was pale gold and had actual flower petals floating at the bottom. She told me her grandmother always made it when she was studying for exams — something about clearing the heat from the eyes and helping her focus.

What Does Modern Research Say?

From a scientific perspective, chrysanthemum has been studied for its chemical properties. The flowers contain flavonoids, phenolic acids, and essential oils — compounds that have been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in laboratory studies.

Some research has explored chrysanthemum’s potential effects on eye health. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that certain compounds in chrysanthemum extract could protect retinal cells from oxidative stress in a lab setting. Another study looked at the anti-inflammatory properties of chrysanthemum and found that it reduced markers of inflammation in animal models.

It’s important to note that these are preliminary studies. They don’t “prove” that chrysanthemum tea treats eye strain or colds in the way TCM describes. What they do suggest is that the flower contains bioactive compounds that are worth investigating further. The gap between a lab study on retinal cells and a grandmother brewing tea for a student with tired eyes is still very wide.

What the research does align with, in a general sense, is the idea that chrysanthemum has a mild, measurable effect on the body. Whether you frame that effect as “cooling the Liver” or “providing antioxidant flavonoids” depends on which system of thought you’re using.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is chrysanthemum tea safe to drink every day?

In TCM, chrysanthemum is considered safe for regular consumption, especially when used in moderate amounts. However, because it is classified as cooling, some TCM practitioners suggest that people with a “cold” constitution — those who tend to feel chilly, have poor circulation, or experience loose stools — might consider drinking it in moderation.

Can chrysanthemum tea help with sleep?

Chrysanthemum tea is not typically classified as a sedative in TCM. However, its cooling and calming properties may help someone who feels restless due to “heat” patterns, such as irritability or a flushed feeling. For general insomnia, some people find other herbs like sour jujube seed (suan zao ren) more commonly recommended.

Does chrysanthemum tea contain caffeine?

No. Chrysanthemum tea is made from flower heads, not tea leaves (Camellia sinensis). It is naturally caffeine-free, which is one reason it’s often consumed in the evening or given to children.

Why is chrysanthemum tea sometimes yellow and sometimes clear?

The color depends on the variety of chrysanthemum used and how long it’s steeped. The most common variety for tea is Huangshan Gongju (黄山贡菊), which produces a pale yellow infusion. Other varieties, like Hangbaiju (杭白菊), yield a slightly clearer brew. The petals themselves are usually white or yellow, and they release their color gradually as they steep.