Woman swears by the health benefits of blue ‘telang’ tea
SIBU: The blue ‘ telang’ f lower (Clitoria ternatea) a flower used to add natural colouring to food like ‘nasi kerabu’ ( Kelantan blue rice) can also be brewed as tea which has health benefits.
Emily Galau, a regular blood donor from Sarikei, who has been drinking this tea swore by the benefits of this blue tea.
I was asked by a doctor one day during a blood donation drive what I had done that I do not have hypertension and my cholesterol level is good despite my age. I told the doctor I drink ‘telang’ tea regularly. Emily Galau
Emily who is almost 50 said she does not have any health issues and attributed her good health to drinking the telang tea.
“I was asked by a doctor one day during a blood donation drive what I had done that I do not have hypertension and my cholesterol level is good despite my age. I told the doctor I drink ‘ telang’ tea regularly,” she said when met during a cooking competition organised by Sibu Resident Office held in conjunction with Sibu BASE Jump Carnival here recently. Emily said she first found out about the flower when she worked in Kelantan. She said she had been drinking the tea for 10 years now. To make the blue tea, she said she put freshly picked flowers in a pot and add in hot boiled water.
“Let the mixture steep in the water and cool down a bit before consumption. I usually add in honey in the tea and drink it during tea time,” she said.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Times in an online article dated June 1 this year had mentioned the health benefits of the blue flower tea which has antioxidant and anti- diabetic properties.