A little-known fact about Mao Zedong is that he loved Chrysanthemum tea. Rumor has it that not a day passed that he didn’t enjoy a piping hot cup or two of the fragrant brew to help him relax and promote longevity. While Mao is probably the most famous known proponent of chrysanthemum tea, Chinese history with the flower, known as Ju Hua, goes back a lot further than the Great Helmsman, as he is sometimes known.

Chinese association with the flower starts as far back as the Han Dynasty, (206-220 BC). In those days, many believed that plants and flowers possessed mystical powers of healing. Chrysanthemums in particular were believed to offer eternal life. An ancient Han legend from Henan Province tells the story of some villagers who discovered a stream full of chrysanthemum petals. Tired after their long hike, the villagers drank deeply from the stream, and it is said, lived to be 130 years old.

Whether or not the tale can be believed, Chrysanthemums came to be acknowledged as one of China’s honorable plants. (The others are plum trees, orchids and bamboo.) In addition to Chrysanthemum tea’s purported use as a relaxant, traditional Chinese health practitioners maintain that the flower also helps detoxify the blood, aids in sinus congestion, lowers high blood pressure, sharpens vision and clears the mind.

To make our Chrysanthemum Relax tea coins, artisans select top quality Chrysanthemum blooms, which are added to an organic seasonal green tea. The flowers and tea are steamed, pressed into forms, compressed and fired. As the name would suggest, this is one relaxing brew - the cup is slightly grassy with lush notes of flowers and honey. An ancient philosopher once wrote that the reason watching a flowing brook can engender such feelings of relaxation is because a brook knows exactly what it is meant to do. With this in mind we suggest brewing this tea in a glass pot so you can watch the tea and flowers unfurl and do exactly what they were put on this earth to do. Then, sit back and take it easy.