Recipe
Lotus leaf tea (trà lá sen)
- Herb:
- Sacred lotus Nelumbo nucifera
- Method:
- Herbal infusion (tea)
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 10 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Break dried lotus leaf into pieces and put a tablespoon into a small pot.
- Pour over 300 ml of water at about 90 °C (just off the boil).
- Steep for 5–8 minutes; the drink is golden green, lightly astringent and grassy.
- Strain. In Vietnam it is drunk after meals, warm or over ice; a mint leaf goes well.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 tablespoon of dried chopped leaf per 300 ml
- Solvent:
- water at 90 °C, 5–8 minutes
- Shelf life:
- drink the same day; also good chilled
- Target compounds:
- flavonoids (quercetin, isoquercitrin) and alkaloids (nuciferine) enter hot water; the drink is slightly astringent
Notes
An everyday Vietnamese and Chinese drink. Lotus leaf contains alkaloids (nuciferine) — a tea for now and then, not litres a day, and tradition tends to skip lotus leaf and heart in pregnancy.
Why it works
Hot water releases flavonoids and part of the alkaloids from the leaf. The traditional 'lightening' reputation of the leaf is recorded in Chinese and Vietnamese materia medica; the Paudel & Panth review summarises mostly laboratory data, clinical evidence is lacking.
Literature
- Paudel KR, Panth N (2015): Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activity of Nelumbo nucifera. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2015:789124 — Review of the composition of individual lotus parts and traditional use; very little clinical data.
Related
Sacred lotus — Herb card
Herbal infusion (tea) — Processing method detail