Sea coconut and dendrobium sweet tea
Sea coconut, dendrobium and honey dates simmered for an hour into a clear, sweet, moistening tea — just right for summer dryness and restless nights.
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yin-deficient people are short of fluids, prone to a dry mouth, hot palms and poor sleep, and the heavy sweating of Minor Heat drains fluids further. Sea coconut nourishes yin and moistens the lungs, dendrobium nourishes the stomach, generates fluids and clears deficiency heat, and honey dates add sweetness. Make a big pot and have a bowl each afternoon.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 60 min- 1Rinse the sea coconut and dendrobium, and soak the dendrobium for 30 minutes.
- 2Put everything in a pot with the water, bring to the boil over a high heat, then simmer gently for 1 hour.
- 3Strain, let it cool a little and add honey to taste. Drink warm or at room temperature.
Cautions
- Dendrobium is slightly cold, so drink less if your digestion is weak or your stools are loose; pause at the start of a cold.
Chef's tips
- Dried sea coconut is sold in dried-seafood shops — choose pale, odour-free slices; good dendrobium is golden and slightly sticky when chewed.
The TCM view
Dendrobium is sweet and slightly cold, nourishing the stomach, generating fluids and clearing heat — listed as a superior herb in the Shennong Bencao Jing. Sea coconut is sweet and neutral, nourishing yin, moistening the lungs and easing dryness; honey dates moisten the lungs and tonify the middle. Sweet, moistening and slightly cooling without heaviness, it suits yin-deficient people whose fluids are drained by summer heat.
