Natural Herbal's Drink : Cat's Whiskers Tea

No, I am not boiling real cats’ whiskers for a healthy drink :lol: … but a type of plant known as “Misai Kucing” in the Malay language (translated as “Cat Whiskers”) because the sprays of white flowers look like a cat’s whiskers! :wink:

A few pots of “Cat’s Whiskers” growing in my little garden
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The scientific name for this plant is “Orthosiphon Aristatus” and it is a common ornamental plant or garden herb in Malaysia. I was first introduced to Misai Kucing more than 10 years ago when my husband’s elderly aunty told me to brew its leaves as a health drink to treat his gout problem.
(**Add on 14 Sept, 2009 – READ HERE for an article in our local newspaper recently on “Misai Kucing Cures All” , and the lady talked about the A H1N1 Flu and breast cancer.)
In addition to treating gout (it removes urea acid), the active compound of Misai Kucing is also good for -

1. diabetes by balancing blood sugar levels
   
2. stress
3. high blood pressure
4. removing toxins
5. revitalise our energy
6. regeneration and building of new cells
7. balancing our body systems

Seeing the real benefits of this plant, I then quickly harvested some Misai Kucing from my garden and made a large pot of health drink for my family. As I had some other Chinese herbs like a Buddha fruit or Lor Hon Kor (good for phlegm and lungs), dried cane strips, and some cooling dried herbs….I decided to combine them with the Misai Kucing.




Misai Kucing on the left, some dried cooling Chinese herbs, dried bamboo cane, a Buddha’s Fruit aka Lor Hon Kor…all ready to be boiled for 4 hours in a large pot
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After 4 hours of simmering over a small fire, I added in 2 cups of red sugar or dark sugar … this type of sugar has anti-inflammatory properties
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My pot of Misai Kucing and other herbs to make a cooling, health drink
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A large mug of Cat’s Whiskers health drink for each of my family.
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The rest of the drink are stored in jugs in the fridge and we drink this over 2 days…a nice, refreshing drink for the hot days here in KL. I now have 6 pots of Cat’s Whiskers plants in my garden, so that they can be harvested every two weeks for making my family’s pot of health drinks for health maintenance. It is definitely cheaper than buying those teabags! :wink:
So, I would advise you to buy a small pot of Misai Kucing and plant it in your garden or in your apartment’s balcony, i f you have some space. They grow easily in pots and need minimum care – water daily, direct or indirect sunlight, and bi-monthly fertilising. If I can plant them, you can, too! My present batch of Cats’s Whiskers plants are offshoots of the original one- foot tall plant that I bought about 4 years ago.

I wish you good health always!