5 Health Benefits of Chrysanthemum Tea & 4 Facts

Diana Barkley (Senior Editor)

In this article we’ll find out more about the benefits of consuming chrysanthemum tea, what it tastes like, interesting nutritional facts about it, and how best to prepare it. We’ll also give you the best hacks for serving chrysanthemum tea at home — some of which may surprise you.

Chrysanthemum tea was first enjoyed during the Song dynasty over around 1000 years ago. Traditional Chinese medicine has long praised this special floral tea for helping with lowering your blood pressure.

It’s also been hailed for helping with a variety of other ailments. Besides this, chrysanthemum is known for being a beautiful, fragrant tea all around.

What Chrysanthemum Tea Is: Interesting Facts

What Chrysanthemum Tea Is: Interesting Facts

Chrysanthemum tea is a tea or tisane made from chrysanthemum flowers steeped in hot water. Common flower species used are Chrysanthemum Indicum and Chrysanthemum Morifolium.

Chrysanthemum plants were first cultivated as a herb in China around 1500 BCE, so they’ve been used for culinary use for a very long time.

As a flower, the chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity, vitality, and rejuvenation.

In China it’s associated with Fall and is used for a variety of cultural and festive celebrations such as the Chongyang Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

You can’t just use chrysanthemum buds in tea, either. The leaves and greens of the Chrysanthemum Indicum and Chrysanthemum Morifolium plants are also edible, and are used in a variety of cooked and raw dishes.

Origin and Where Chrysanthemum Tea Comes From

Origin and Where Chrysanthemum Tea Comes From

As mentioned above, chrysanthemum tea originated sometime in the Song Dynasty. The popular plants were initially cultivated for herbal and medicinal use around 1500 BCE, before being popularized as a fragrant floral tea.

What Chrysanthemum Tea Is Made Of

What Chrysanthemum Tea Is Made Of

Chrysanthemum tea is made of flowers from the Chrysanthemum Morifolium and Chrysanthemum Indicum species.

It’s widely enjoyed across Southeast and Eastern Asia. You only use the flowers of chrysanthemum plants to make tea, rather than its leaves or greens.

Fun fact: While the leaves and greens aren’t used in tea, they are actually edible. Read on to find out how you can use edible chrysanthemum greens in other ways.

What Chrysanthemum Tea Tastes Like

What Chrysanthemum Tea Tastes Like

Chrysanthemum tea has a delicate floral aroma with a herbal, slightly sweet taste.

People most commonly enjoy it on its own or sweetened with honey.

While only the dried flower buds are used for making tea, you can also use chrysanthemum teas for making other healthy dishes. Read on to find out more.

Does Chrysanthemum Contain Caffeine?

Does Chrysanthemum Contain Caffeine?

Chrysanthemum tea is naturally caffeine-free. This is great news for those wishing to reduce their caffeine intake as well as people wanting to avoid caffeine altogether.

Chrysanthemums do contain B vitamins, which may help boost your energy levels all the same.

Nutritional Facts and Calories of Chrysanthemum Tea

Nutritional Facts and Calories of Chrysanthemum Tea

As far as nutrition is concerned, chrysanthemum tea doesn’t contain any calories, fats, sodium, carbohydrates, sugars, or dietary fiber.

It does contain vitamin A, a small amount of vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, flavonoids and antioxidants.

Chrysanthemum tea also contains a variety of B vitamins such as pyridoxine, folic acid, niacin, choline, and riboflavin.

Top tip: Chrysanthemum greens, if you can get a hold of them, also offer vast nutritious health benefits. They’re particularly high in fiber, vitamin C, and iron.

Health Benefits of Chrysanthemum Tea: What It Is Good For

Health Benefits of Chrysanthemum Tea: What It Is Good For

Traditional Chinese medicine has used chrysanthemum tea for bettering your health for hundreds of years.

This lovely floral beverage has plenty of benefits and very little potential side effects. Here we’ll cover some of the key effects consuming chrysanthemum tea may have on your body and mind.

May Help Lower Blood Pressure and Levels of Bad Cholesterol

May Help Lower Blood Pressure and Levels of Bad Cholesterol

Chrysanthemum tea has long been used for lowering your blood pressure in traditional Chinese medicine.

Modern studies have found that it indeed does show benefits as an anti-hypertensive beverage (meaning it lowers blood pressure).

In a similar way, it may also reduce levels of bad cholesterol in your body. This makes it an overall useful addition to a heart-healthy diet.

May Offer a Calming Effect and Reduce Stress Levels

May Offer a Calming Effect and Reduce Stress Levels

Many people enjoy chrysanthemum tea for its possible calming effects. This makes chrysanthemum tea a useful addition to your diet when you’re going through periods of high stress.

It’s said to promote a calming effect on your nervous system, lower anxiety levels, and make it easier for you to go to sleep.

It’s even suggested that chrysanthemum tea makes it easier to stay asleep too, so you’ll have a more restful, relaxing night.

Contains Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antimicrobial Properties

Contains Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antimicrobial Properties

Chrysanthemums contain quite a lot of beta-carotene (vitamin A), which is known for fighting free radicals in your body.

This makes chrysanthemum tea beneficial for reducing signs of aging and age-related symptoms you may be experiencing.

A study also showed that chrysanthemum may help in the reduction of inflammation in your body.

This clever tea has further been shown to be effective for treating colds, abscesses and more, so it evidently has some good antimicrobial properties, too.

Could Reduce Your Risk of Stroke, Cancer, Diabetes, and Some Heart Conditions

Could Reduce Your Risk of Stroke, Cancer, Diabetes, and Some Heart Conditions

The high potassium content of chrysanthemums has shown it to be helpful when it comes to reducing the risk of developing certain serious illnesses.

It’s said to have a preventative effect on conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Adding chrysanthemum tea to your diet may have a beneficial, protective effect on your body. It’s an easy change to make when it comes to your everyday living, plus it tastes lovely.

Promotes Healthy, Glowing Skin

Promotes Healthy, Glowing Skin

As mentioned above, chrysanthemum tea has excellent anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. This has made it a useful addition to topical treatments for itchiness, skin redness, eczema, and even psoriasis.

Some even suggest that adding chrysanthemum tea to your diet may help fight acne. As a topical treatment, it can have a lovely cooling effect and reduce inflammation.

Read on for our skin mist recipe hack in this article. You may also wish to mix some chrysanthemum tea with yogurt and/or honey and use it as a yummy natural face mask.

Potential Risks

Potential Risks

Any natural remedies and herbal concoctions that have benefits for your health will also pose some risks.

In the case of chrysanthemum tea, there really only seems to be a possible risk, which we highlight below.

If you’re prone to allergies towards other flowers in the Asteraceae family, you’ll want to proceed with caution when it comes to chrysanthemum tea.

Some People May Be Allergic to Chrysanthemum

Some People May Be Allergic to Chrysanthemum

There aren’t many risks associated with the consumption of chrysanthemum tea. Indeed, there only appears to be one potential downside: some people are allergic to chrysanthemums.

A small number of people experience asthma or skin irritation when coming into contact with the flowers, with fewer yet being at risk of developing anaphylaxis or serious allergic shock.

Chrysanthemum stems from the same family of plants as chamomile, daisies, and sunflowers.

If you’re allergic to other flowers in the plant family Asteraceae, you may wish to proceed with caution when it comes to trying chrysanthemum tea.

Interestingly, chrysanthemums are also highly toxic to pets such as cats, dogs, horses, and some other animals. The flowers of chrysanthemum plants are the most concentrated in its toxins.

If your pet has ingested any, they’ll generally develop gastrointestinal symptoms fairly quickly, so you may wish to take them to the vet.

Is Chrysanthemum Tea in Pregnancy Good For You?

Is Chrysanthemum Tea in Pregnancy Good For You?

The short answer is maybe. Chrysanthemum hasn’t been extensively tested for use during pregnancy, so we’re not sure of its safety.

It’s generally recommended that you speak to your doctor or midwife before consuming chrysanthemum tea during pregnancy.

You may also wish to err on the side of caution and avoid it entirely during your first trimester, as with many other herbal teas.

How to Make Chrysanthemum Tea: A Simple Recipe

How to Make Chrysanthemum Tea: A Simple Recipe

Chrysanthemum tea is easy to make, especially if you have some good-quality dried chrysanthemum tea at hand.

To make it at home, you’ll need around 0.2oz of the dried flowers and 3 cups of water.

Place the flowers in a strainer or tea ball. The dried petals can get a little bit lost in your tea, so you’ll want to make sure you strain it well before drinking.

Boil your water and pour over the dried florals. Steep for around 3-5 minutes. Chrysanthemum tea is fairly robust, so you’ll be able to re-steep the same buds several times before they lose their flavor.

Serve while still hot and enjoy your chrysanthemum tea on its own or sweetened with some honey.

Tips for Drinking and Serving Chrysanthemum Tea

Tips for Drinking and Serving Chrysanthemum Tea

Chrysanthemum tea isn’t just good for you – it’s also very versatile and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. You can use it to make a range of delicious drinks at home, and even incorporate it into food and DIY beauty products. We think number 4 on our list below will particularly surprise you.

Sweeten Your Chrysanthemum Tea with Honey

Sweeten Your Chrysanthemum Tea with Honey

Honey is frequently lauded for its many health benefits: it offers antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.

It can soothe your throat, treat nasty coughs, and even promote wound healing. As such, it’s the perfect addition to a healthy, hot (or cold) cup of chrysanthemum tea.

It adds a lovely natural sweetness to your tea. Depending on which honey you choose, you may even bring out more of the tea’s natural floral flavors, for a truly beautiful, relaxing beverage.

Make a Refreshing Chrysanthemum and Rosebud Iced Tea

Make a Refreshing Chrysanthemum and Rosebud Iced Tea

The easiest way to make iced tea out of any kind of tea is to, you guessed it, chill your tea until ice cold. With that said, we found a wonderful recipe that suggested using some chrysanthemum buds and fresh, unsprayed rose buds in ice.

To make these, you’ll want to add one bud per compartment in an ice cube tray and fill about half-full with water. Once that’s frozen, top up the tray and freeze again.

Add some of your floral ice cubes to a cup of chilled chrysanthemum tea and sweeten with a little bit of honey for a delicious, healthy summertime drink.

Chrysanthemum Greens Salad

Chrysanthemum Greens Salad

Did you know that chrysanthemum greens are edible? The slightly bitter greens are known as shungiku and are frequently enjoyed across East Asia.

They’re enjoyed raw in salads or cooked into stews, soups, and hot pots recipes.

One popular way to enjoy these is to blanch them in boiling water, before seasoning them with some sea salt, sesame oil, and a little bit of minced garlic. Some people also add chili oil and/or soy sauce for extra flavor.

Top tip: squeeze any excess water from your cooked greens, as you would when preparing spinach.

Craft Your Own Chrysanthemum Tea Face Spray

Craft Your Own Chrysanthemum Tea Face Spray

Chrysanthemum is frequently used as an ingredient in cosmetic and skincare products. It’s said to improve your skin’s health, soothe irritations, and even reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.

Craft your own chrysanthemum tea spray by preparing the tea as usual. Once cooled, fill it into a clean face spray bottle and use as you would other facial mists.

Homemade varieties such as this one will stay good in the fridge for around a month, before you need to make a fresh batch.

Whip Up Some Chrysanthemum Syrup

Whip Up Some Chrysanthemum Syrup

If you happen to have edible chrysanthemums growing in your own garden, nothing can stop you from using them for delicious recipes.

One we like is a simple syrup made with a ratio of 1:1 of water to sugar. Simply add around ¼ cup of dried chrysanthemum flowers per cup of water/cup of sugar.

Take care to remove any green leaves and stems, then proceed as you would with other simple syrup recipes.

If you prefer a thicker syrup, you can use a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water instead.

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