One of the most traditional ways of boosting your immune system is the drinking herbal teas, also commonly known as ‘Liang Cha’. Effective at fighting disease and infections, Liang Cha is said to protect against oxidative stress and lower the risk of chronic diseases. With that said, not all herbal teas have the same benefits and effects, as with the varying ingredients comes differentiating healing properties.
But with a seemingly endless list of herbal teas out there on the vast internet, one may be overwhelmed or even intimidated by its sheer volume. Therefore, we decided to create a guide to Liang Cha in Singapore, with aims to simplify the abundance of content, making it more accessible for you.
Here is the Ultimate Guide to Liang Cha in Singapore:
Honeysuckle Flower Tea
Also commonly known as woodbine, the honeysuckle is frequently recognised as a plant with impressive medicinal properties filled within its flower, seed and leaves. In addition, the honeysuckle is valued not only for its medicinal values but also for its distinctive elegant appearance. The honeysuckle makes for a good mid-afternoon sipping tea, with its medicinal taste with a slight hint of vanilla flavour.
Benefits of Honeysuckle Flower Tea
With antibacterial and antiviral properties, the honeysuckle flower is especially effective for digestive disorders, headaches, fever, ulcers, and upper respiratory tract infections.
This is primarily attributed to its cooling nature and ability to decrease inflammation, which can help clear out any heat trapped within our bodies all whilst detoxifying it.
How to make Honeysuckle Flower Tea
- Add 1 – 2 teaspoons of dried honeysuckle into a cup
- Pour boiling water into the cup containing the honeysuckle
- Cover and steep for 15 minutes
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Strain and Enjoy
Barley Water
Being the ideal beverage to beat the heat, barley water is not only refreshing but is also healthy and nutritious. Having a mellow and mild taste as of itself, barley water is highly sought out for its medicinal properties as well as its distinctive thick consistency.
Benefits of Barley Water
Credited to the high levels of fibre found in barley grains, barley tea aids in the digestion process, reducing constipation and increasing healthy bowel movements. Barley is also a neutral antacid, which enables the relieving of painful systems derived from heartburn and acid reflux disease.
Furthermore, barley is packed with antioxidants which can help relieve stomach cramps and nausea and eliminate free radicals.
Additionally, drinking barley water can lower one’s cholesterol levels. This is attributed to the chemicals found in barley, called tocols, which have been found to suppress LDL cholesterol and contribute to better overall cardiovascular health.
How to make Barley Water
- Wash ¼ cups of barley in water and soak them for 6 to 8 hours
- Drain the water completely
- Place the soaked barley into a pot and fill it up with 4 cups of water
- Set the pot to boil and when it reaches boil, allow it to simmer until the barley turns very soft and almost mushy
- Cool the barley water
- Strain, Sweeten and flavour with lemon, honey, and rock sugar to taste
Supermarkets also have packets of barley which do not require any pre-soaking. Simply place in a pot and boil.
Rhoeo Leaves with Sugarcane
A purple coloured drink without artificial colouring?! You’ve read correctly – when brewed, rhoeo leaves dispense a purplish pigment, dyeing the water purple.
With a magical and mysterious appearance like that, you’d think that the tea would have bold flavours. On the contrary, when brewed, rhoeo leaves actually have a very mild, light and debatably bland taste. Coupled with sugar cane makes it a refreshing beverage, as the sugar cane adds a tinge of sweetness to an otherwise bland drink.
Benefits of Rhoeo Leaves with Sugarcane
Alongside its bland taste comes a whole myriad of medicinal properties, such as, antioxidants, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-diarrhoea, decongestant, and expectorant. Therefore, this beverage would be the ideal herbal tea for soothing coughs, and relief from inflammation, such as ulcers.
How to make Rhoeo Leaves with Sugarcane
- Wash and cut the rhoeo leaves and purple canes into smaller pieces
- Dump both the purple canes and rhoeo leaves into a pot of water and bring it to a boil under high heat
- When the water starts boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer it for 30mins
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Strain and Enjoy
Jujube Tea
Widely used in Chinese medicine, Jujube, also known as red dates, are commonly used for regulating blood pressure, aiding sleep, digestion and more. Jujubes are small fruits that are naturally sweet with its flavour resembling that of an apple.
Benefits of Jujube Tea
Jujubes are a powerhouse of essential vitamins and antioxidants, particularly vitamin C. Therefore, being able to strengthen one’s immunity, keeping diseases at bay, revitalise one’s skin and fight free radicals.
Jujubes are also packed with both iron and phosphorous, aiding in the regulation of blood circulation as well.
How to make Jujube Tea
- Add a handful of dried jujubes and water into a pot
- Bring it up to a boil for at least 15 minutes
- Strain and enjoy
Sugar Cane Herbal Tea
Feeling the intense heat of Singapore weather? Want to cool yourself from within with a nice refreshing beverage? If you’re looking to reduce heatiness, try making some Sugar Cane Herbal Tea.
With it being naturally sweetened with monk fruit, figs, dates, tangerines, and of course, sugar cane, it is filled with sweet fruity notes. This makes it the perfect drink for people with a sweet-tooth and health enthusiasts alike.
Benefits of Sugar Cane Herbal Tea
In traditional Chinese medicine, dried sugar cane is highly sought out for its hydrational as well as cooling properties. This is an ideal drink to be had when experiencing heatiness, such as mouth ulcers, sore throats, cough or chapped lips.
Moreover, the sugar cane herbal tea is also made using golden luo han guo (Liquorice root), which is regarded to be beneficial to the spleen.
How to Make Sugar Cane Herbal Tea
- Break 2 golden luo han guo into smaller pieces and set it aside
- Halve 4 chilled figs and set it aside
- Fill a pot with 3 litres of water
- Add 100g of dried sugar cane, the broken luo han guo, the halved figs, 2 honey dates, 2 sugared flattened tangerines into the pot filled with water
- Cover and bring to a boil and once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low
- Allow the tea to simmer for 45 minutes before turning off the heat
- Strain and enjoy
Chrysanthemum Tea
One of the OG Liang Chas. Chrysanthemums are not just pretty to look at but are also edible and have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. The tea brewed from the dried flowers is presented with a golden hue and a mild, flowery flavour similar to that of chamomile.
Benefits of Chrysanthemum Tea
Like the Honeysuckle, consuming chrysanthemum concentrated products, such as tea, possesses the ability to reduce heat and inflammation.
How to make Chrysanthemum Tea
- Add 3-6 dried chrysanthemums to 250ml of hot water
- Allow the tea to steep for a few minutes
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Strain and enjoy
Other variations of Chrysanthemum Tea
Chrysanthemum with Wolfberry
By adding wolfberry to your tea, it not only adds a new dimension of sweetness to the tea but also adds a whole list of medical benefits on top of that of chrysanthemum. Some of which include the boost of the immune system, protection against cancer, prevention of liver damage, and even the stabilization of blood sugar.
How to make Chrysanthemum tea with Wolfberries
- Place 3 – 4 dried chrysanthemum flowers and a teaspoon of goji berries into a cup
- Pour around 1 cup of hot water into the cup containing the ingredients
- Steep for 3-5 minutes
- Strain and enjoy
Chrysanthemum with Red Dates
As mentioned, red dates/jujubes have a whole plethora of medical benefits when consumed. Therefore, by adding them to chrysanthemum tea, it not only sweetens the tea but also strengthen one’s immunity and even regulate one’s blood pressure.
How to make Chrysanthemum tea with Red Dates
- Place 3 – 4 dried chrysanthemum flowers and one red date into a cup
- Pour around 1 cup of hot water into the cup containing the ingredients
- Steep for 3-5 minutes
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Strain and enjoy
Chrysanthemum with Luo Han Guo
Due to the superfluity of health benefits, luo han guo has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for decades to treat cough, constipation, acute bronchitis, sore throats, and even acute gastritis. This is ascribed to its anti-inflammatory properties as well as its high fibre content.
How to make Chrysanthemum tea with Luo Han Guo:
- Boil a pot of water / 10 cups of water
- Crack one luo han guo open and add it to the boiling water
- Allow it to sit for 3 – 5 minutes then break the fleshy pulps and seeds of the monk’s fruit in the boiling pot to pieces with an instrument of your choice.
- Add 70 grams dried chrysanthemum flowers to the concoction
- Allow it to simmer for 15 – 20 minutes
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Strain and enjoy
Hawthorn Tea
If you’re feeling adventurous and looking for a unique beverage or tea that you have never tried before, we’ve got the perfect suggestion for you.
It is the distinguished ingredient of our favourite childhood snack yet typically overlooked when it comes to beverages, hawthorn. If you are unaware, hawthorn, also known as hawberry, are little tart red fruits with a flavour like no other.
Some describe it as having the tang of an orange with the undertone of the apple. Nonetheless, if a refreshing beverage on a hot day is what you seek, this tea would be perfect for you.
Benefits of Hawthorn Tea
Hawthorn berries are full of antioxidants such as polyphenols, which are essential to fighting free radicals, decreasing the chance of getting cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. In China, hawthorns are one of the most recommended foods to help treat high blood pressure and indigestion due to its high fibre content and ability to increase coronary artery blood flow.
How to make Hawthorn Tea
- Ensure that your dried hawthorn is in slices and add 15g to a pot
- Fill the pot with 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil
- Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat down and let it simmer and cook for 45 minutes
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Strain and enjoy
Osmanthus Tea
Native to China, the Himalayas and Japan, the Osmanthus fragrans flower has one of the most exquisite scents in the world. Its impeccable beauty coupled with its unique sweet, creamy, peachy and floral aroma and flavour, makes it unlike any other flower on planet earth.
Benefits of Osmanthus Fragrans Tea
Many teas in this list are rich in antioxidants and the osmanthus Fragrans Tea is no exception. However, with that said, the antioxidants packed within the osmanthus Fragrans is unlike that of other tea ingredients and flowers. It is, in fact, loaded with rare antioxidant compounds that is unique to itself, such as catechins and flavonoids, which detoxifies cell-damaging free radicals in the body.
Being a caffeine-free tea that is filled with minerals and vitamin A, it helps to lower blood pressure all whilst relieving the body from fatigue and preventing drowsiness.
How to make Osmanthus Fragrans Tea
- Place one teaspoon of dried osmanthus flowers in a teacup.
- Pour boiling water to the cup
- Cover and let it steep for 2-3 minutes
- Sweeten with honey / stevia / rock sugar to taste
- Enjoy
Did we miss out on any of your favourite and effective liang chas? Do let us know in the comments below!
*Follow MiddleClass.sg on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram for more food, travel and trending stories!