Drinking Rose Flower Tea to Combat Depression
<U>Chinese Herbal Atlas</U>
Dry rose flowers, vividly colored, are commonly sold in tea shops. Many people overlook their benefits due to lack of awareness. In fact, rose flowers are excellent food-medicine dual-purpose items. Women often use them to brew tea, enjoying numerous benefits. Especially during menstruation, when mood is low, complexion dull, or experiencing menstrual pain, rose tea can provide relief.
<U>TCM</U> believes rose flowers taste sweet and slightly bitter, warm in nature. Their most obvious effect is regulating qi, relieving depression, activating blood circulation, resolving stasis, and regulating menstruation to relieve pain. Furthermore, rose flowers have mild medicinal properties, nourishing heart and liver blood vessels, releasing stagnant qi, and providing sedative, calming, and anti-depressant effects. Women often feel irritable before or during menstruation; drinking rose tea helps regulate emotions. In today’s world of increasing work and life stress, even outside menstruation, drinking rose tea frequently can soothe and stabilize mood.
For women, regular consumption of rose tea can make the complexion as rosy as the petals. This is because rose flowers strongly promote qi and blood circulation, resolve stasis, and harmonize internal organs. Symptoms like poor complexion, facial spots, menstrual irregularities, and dysmenorrhea are all related to impaired blood flow and stagnation in the uterus or face. Once blood flow normalizes, the complexion becomes rosy and the body healthy. To achieve this, simply drink 15 grams of rose flowers daily. For those with qi deficiency, add 3–5 jujubes or 9 grams of American ginseng. For kidney deficiency, add 15 grams of goji berries.
When brewing rose tea, adjust sweetness with rock sugar or honey to reduce bitterness and enhance effects. Caution: Do not brew rose flowers with tea. Tea contains abundant tannins, which impair rose flowers’ ability to soothe the liver and relieve depression. Additionally, since rose flowers strongly activate blood and resolve stasis, women with heavy menstrual flow should avoid drinking during menstruation.