Household Ingredients Compared › Herbal & Barley Drinks (Singapore)
One shelf holds at least four different kinds of drink. A barley drink is water brewed or flavoured with barley (sometimes with lemon). A chrysanthemum tea is water with chrysanthemum-flower extract, usually sweetened. A winter melon / water chestnut / grass jelly drink is built on that fruit or herb, with sugar and, in grass jelly's case, starch to set the jelly. And a liang teh / herbal tea (literally "cooling tea") is a blend of several herbs — grass jelly, chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, liquorice and others — in one can. The front of the pack rarely says which of these it is; the ingredient list does.
This page covers ready-to-drink bottled, canned and packet herbal and barley drinks sold in Singapore: barley water, lemon barley, chrysanthemum tea, winter melon, water chestnut, grass jelly, sugar-cane-adjacent herbal drinks, longan red date and snow pear tea, and liang teh / herbal tea. It does not cover bottled green or black tea (a separate category), soya bean milk, fruit juices, or cordials/concentrates you dilute at home. It also does not cover fresh-brewed hawker, kopitiam or food-court barley, chrysanthemum and liang teh sold by the cup — those have no pack list to quote, and are noted as excluded below, not as missing. This page does not give a health score or a "best" pick, and it does not repeat traditional-medicine claims as fact: where a brand makes a "cooling" or similar claim, it is quoted as the brand's claim, flagged as such.
| Product | Type | First ingredient | Added sugar / sweetener? | Pack size (as printed) | Country of manufacture (as printed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea (original) | Chrysanthemum tea | Water | Yes — cane sugar + fructose | 250ml / 300ml | Singapore |
| Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea Less Sugar 1.5L | Chrysanthemum tea, less sugar | Not stated in transcription (see flag) | Yes — sugar | 1.5L | not stated |
| Yeo's Chrysanthemum Pu'er Tea 250ml | Chrysanthemum + pu'er, no sugar | Water | No sugar listed | 250ml | Malaysia |
| Yeo's Winter Melon Drink | Winter melon tea | Water | Yes — cane sugar | 6 × 250ml | not stated |
| Yeo's Grass Jelly Drink 300ml | Grass jelly / herbal | Water | Yes — sugar + sucralose | 300ml | not stated |
| Yeo's Longan Red Date | Longan + red date herbal | Water | Yes — cane sugar | 6 × 250ml | not stated |
| Yeo's Snow Pear Tea | Snow pear herbal tea | Water | Yes — cane sugar | 250ml (6 × 250ml pack) | not stated |
| Yeo's Water Chestnut Drink 300ml | Water chestnut | Water | Yes — sugar | 300ml | not stated |
| Pokka Chrysanthemum with White Tea 250ml | Chrysanthemum + white tea | Water | Yes — sucrose | 250ml | Malaysia (MY retailer listing; SG pack not verified — see notes) |
| Drinho Winter Melon Drink 1L | Winter melon | Water | Yes — cane sugar | 1L | not stated |
| Drinho Chrysanthemum Tea | Chrysanthemum tea | Extract of chrysanthemum flowers & liquorice root | Yes — cane sugar + steviol glycosides | not stated | not stated |
| Wang Lao Ji Herbal Tea — Original 310ml | Liang teh / herbal tea | Water | Yes — sugar | 310ml | China (Shopee SG seller: import from China) |
| Marigold Lemon Barley — Less Sweet | Lemon barley | Water | Yes — fructose + cane sugar | 6 × 250ml | Malaysia |
| Tao Ti Supreme Meta Tea Drink 500ml | Barley + oolong herbal tea | Water | No sugar listed | 500ml | not stated |
| F&N Seasons Chrysanthemum Tea — Reduced Sugar can 300ml | Chrysanthemum tea (suspect list — see card) | Water | Yes — sugar (as listed) | 300ml | not stated |
Panelled with verbatim lists: 15 products. Seen-but-not-verified: 27 entries — see the list below. No prices are shown: they change weekly and would go stale. This site compares ingredients only.
Source strength varies a lot on this page — read the flag on each card. Only three panelled lists come from a Singapore retailer's own listing (Yeo's Snow Pear Tea at FairPrice; Yeo's Winter Melon and Longan Red Date at Cold Storage). The rest are brand sites, Open Food Facts Singapore/World (secondary, community-transcribed), or Shopee Singapore seller descriptions — all flagged as such, and none presented as a Singapore pack transcription unless it is one.
Pack size: 250ml / 300ml · Made in: Singapore (as printed)
Ingredients (Yeo's USA brand site; product of Singapore): Water, chrysanthemum flower extract, cane sugar and fructose.
The reference chrysanthemum drink: water, flower extract, then two sugars. Flag: this is the brand's USA site, not a Singapore pack transcription — the SG packet/can still needs a pack photo. A second, shorter transcription of the same product (Yami, SG brand origin) gives "Water, Aqueous Extract of Chrysanthemum and Cane Sugar" with no fructose — the two sources disagree on fructose, so do not treat either as the settled SG list. Chrysanthemum Added sugar: cane sugar + fructose Brand site (USA), flagged
Pack size: 1.5L · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (Open Food Facts, countries sold: Singapore — transcription incomplete, see flag): Chrysanthemum Flower & Liquorice Extract, Sugar.
Flag — incomplete transcription: Open Food Facts lists only three ingredients and no water at all, which cannot be the full pack list for a ready-to-drink tea (water must be present). The entry also records sugars at 2.52 g per 100 g. This row is panelled only to show what the secondary source actually says, with its gap stated — the SG pack still needs a photo. Do not quote this as the complete list. Chrysanthemum Less sugar Open Food Facts, secondary, incomplete
Pack size: 250ml · Made in: Malaysia (as printed)
Ingredients (Open Food Facts Singapore): Water, Chrysanthemum Flower Extract, Sodium Carbonate, Pu'er Tea Leaves Extract.
The only panelled chrysanthemum drink with no sugar or sweetener listed at all — and the only one where pu'er tea is an ingredient rather than the base. Open Food Facts records sugars at 0 g per 100 g and labels it low/no sugar, Halal and Healthier Choice. Flag: Open Food Facts is secondary/community-transcribed; the SG pack still needs a photo, and the sodium carbonate (an acidity regulator / alkaliser) is part of the list, not a sweetener. Chrysanthemum + pu'er No sugar listed Open Food Facts SG, secondary
Pack size: 250ml · Made in: Malaysia (MY retailer listing; SG pack not verified — see notes) (as printed)
Ingredients (Open Food Facts Singapore): Water, freshly brewed chrysanthemum and white tea, sucrose, flavouring, ascorbic acid, sodium [entry truncated in source — see flag].
Pokka blends white chrysanthemum with white tea rather than selling a pure chrysanthemum drink. A Malaysian retailer listing of the same product gives the fuller, cleaner form: "Water, Freshly Brewed White Chrysanthemum And White Tea, Sucrose, Ascorbic Acid (E300), Flavouring" — but that is a MY-market listing, so it is quoted here only as corroboration, not as the SG list. Flag: the Open Food Facts Singapore entry is marked incomplete and its ingredient text ends mid-word at "sodium"; the SG pack still needs a photo. Chrysanthemum + white tea Added sugar: sucrose Open Food Facts SG, secondary, truncated
Pack size: not stated · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (MY Aeon retailer listing — flagged non-SG): Extract of Chrysanthemum Flowers and Liquorice Root, Water, Cane Sugar and Steviol Glycosides. Contains Permitted Colouring (150, 102).
Unlike every other chrysanthemum row, this list starts with the flower/liquorice extract rather than water, and it is the only chrysanthemum row using steviol glycosides (a stevia-derived sweetener) alongside cane sugar — plus two permitted colourings (150 caramel, 102 tartrazine). Flag: Malaysian retailer listing; Drinho is sold in Singapore (Shopee SG lists the brand's winter melon), but no SG pack list for this chrysanthemum tea was retrieved, so this must not be presented as the SG pack list. Chrysanthemum Added sugar: cane sugar + steviol glycosides Colouring: 150, 102 MY listing, flagged
Pack size: 300ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (StationeryWorld Singapore retailer listing, under the Chrysanthemum Tea name): Water, Sugar, Black Tea Extract, Citric Acid, Flavourings.
Flag — this list does not match its own product name. The same retailer's description says the can is white chrysanthemum tea blended with pu'er black tea, yet the ingredient line names black tea extract and contains no chrysanthemum at all. Either the ingredient line belongs to a different Seasons variant (e.g. a pu'er / ice lemon tea) and was attached to the wrong product, or the can really is black-tea based. Either way, this is not a verified chrysanthemum-tea ingredient list. It is panelled here only so the conflict is visible, not hidden — the SG can needs a pack photo before any claim is made about what is in it. Chrysanthemum (name only) List names black tea extract, no chrysanthemum SG retailer, suspect — pack photo needed
Pack size: 6 × 250ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (Cold Storage Singapore listing): Water, Cane Sugar, Winter Melon Juice, Flavouring and Carame… [source text truncated here — see flag].
Water first, cane sugar second, winter melon juice third — sugar before the named fruit. Flag: Cold Storage's text cuts off at "Carame", almost certainly "Caramel" (colouring), but the truncated word is not completed here — do not fill it in. A separate Open Food Facts winter melon drink (380ml, market not confirmed as SG) gives a different list — Water, Winter Melon Juice (5%), Sugar, Fructose, Flavourings, INS150d, Sucralose — with juice at 5% and two sweeteners; that is a different formulation/size and is not merged into this row. The SG pack still needs a photo. Winter melon Added sugar: cane sugar Cold Storage SG, truncated
Pack size: 1L · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (Shopee Singapore seller description): Water, Winter Melon Concentrate, Cane Sugar, Acidity Regulator and Flavour. [Seller text reads "acidity Ragulator" — spelling as listed.]
Winter melon concentrate rather than juice, with cane sugar third. Flag: this is a Shopee SG seller's description, not a retailer ingredient section or a pack transcription — weaker evidence. A Malaysian can listing of Drinho Winter Melon gives a different order — Water, Cane Sugar, Winter Melon Concentrate, Contains Permitted Flavoring And Coloring (150) — sugar before concentrate, plus colouring. The two sources disagree, so neither is settled; the SG pack needs a photo. Winter melon Added sugar: cane sugar Shopee SG seller description, flagged
Pack size: 300ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (UK oriental retailer listing — flagged non-SG): Water, Sugar, Water Chestnut (5%), Sugar Cane Juice, Corn Starch, Flavouring (Contain Soy, Wheat).
Water chestnut at 5%, with sugar cane juice as well as sugar, and corn starch (for body / the chestnut bits). The allergen note matters: the flavouring is flagged as containing soy and wheat — check the SG can if you avoid either. Flag: UK retailer listing of a Singapore-made product; no SG pack list was retrieved, so this is not presented as the SG pack list. Water chestnut 5% Added sugar: sugar + sugar cane juice Allergen: soy, wheat (in flavouring) UK listing, flagged
Pack size: 300ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (Singapore distributor Guanchunding, corroborated by Open Food Facts): Water, Mesona Chinensis and Licorice Extract, Sugar, Corn Starch, Sodium Carbonate, Calcium Lactate and Sucralose.
Open Food Facts gives the fuller additive form of the same list: Water, Mesona Chinensis & Liquorice Extract (Mesona Chinensis 1.5%), Sugar, Corn Starch, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Bicarbonate, E500), Stabilizer (Calcium Lactate, E327), Sweetener (Sucralose, E955). Mesona chinensis is the grass-jelly herb; at 1.5% it is a small share, and the jelly comes from corn starch plus calcium lactate. Sugar and sucralose are both present — this is sweetened twice over. Grass jelly (mesona 1.5%) Added sugar: sugar + sucralose SG distributor + Open Food Facts
Pack size: 310ml · Made in: China (Shopee SG seller: import from China) (as printed)
Ingredients (Shopee Singapore, Scarlett Supermarket — SG local seller, imported from China): Water, Sugar, Grass Jelly, Acutifolia, Microcos Paniculata, Chrysanthemum, Honey Suckle, Common Selfheal Fruit-spike, Licorice.
The classic liang teh: nine herbal ingredients after water and sugar, including grass jelly (mesona), chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, selfheal and liquorice. A second transcription (Spoonful, from the label) spells the same herbs differently — "Water, Sugar, Mesonas Chinesis, Plumeria Rubra, Microcos Paniculate, Chrysanthemum, Loncera Japonica, Prunella Vulgris, Licorice" — the herb set matches; the spellings do not, so the Shopee SG wording is quoted as the panel and the other as corroboration. Flag: parallel import from China sold through a Shopee SG seller, not a Singapore retailer's ingredient section; the SG pack still needs a photo. The 0-sugar variant sold alongside it has no list retrieved. Liang teh / herbal tea Added sugar: sugar Parallel import, Shopee SG seller
Pack size: 6 × 250ml · Made in: Malaysia (as printed)
Ingredients (Shopee Singapore seller description): Water, Barley Extract, Fructose, Cane Sugar, Permitted Flavouring, Milk Solids, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Permitted Stabiliser and Sodium Citrate. Allergen note: Contains milk and gluten. Produced in a factory where soya products are handled.
Barley extract is second, but fructose and cane sugar follow, and lemon juice concentrate comes after milk solids — lemon is a late, small addition, not the base. The milk solids are the surprise: a lemon barley drink that contains milk, plus gluten (from the barley). Flag: Shopee SG seller description, not a FairPrice ingredient section; origin Malaysia. The SG packet needs a pack photo, and the original (non-less-sweet) Yeo's and Marigold lemon barley variants have no lists retrieved at all. Lemon barley Added sugar: fructose + cane sugar Allergen: milk, gluten; factory handles soya Shopee SG seller description, flagged
Pack size: 500ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (UK oriental retailer listing — flagged non-SG): Water, Barley (Gluten) (1%), Oolong Tea (0.4%), Vitamin C, Semen Cassiae (0.03%), Acidity Regulator (E500(ii)), Antioxidant (E301), Stabiliser (E452(i)), Emulsifier (E473).
A barley-led herbal tea in name, but barley is 1% and oolong tea 0.4% — the drink is overwhelmingly water, with cassia seed (semen cassiae, a traditional herbal ingredient) at 0.03% and no sugar or sweetener listed. Flag: UK retailer listing; Tao Ti is sold in Singapore through import channels, but no SG listing with a verbatim list was retrieved in this pass, so this is not presented as the SG pack list. Barley 1%, oolong 0.4% No sugar listed UK listing, flagged
Pack size: 6 × 250ml · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (Cold Storage Singapore listing): Water, Aqueous Extract of Longan, Red Date and Licorice, Cane Sugar and Caramel.
Longan, red date and liquorice as one aqueous extract, then cane sugar and caramel (colouring). The brand describes longan and red dates as "warming in nature" — that is the brand's traditional description, quoted as a brand claim, not as a verified health fact. Longan + red date Added sugar: cane sugar Cold Storage SG
Pack size: 250ml (6 × 250ml pack) · Made in: not stated (as printed)
Ingredients (FairPrice Singapore ingredient section): Water, Extract of Dried Pear, Dried Mandarin Orange, Apricot Kernel, Bei Sha Shen (Radix Glehniae) & Chuan Bei Mu (Bulbus Fritillariae Unibracteatae), Cane Sugar, Flavouring and Caramel.
The most herbal list on the page: dried pear, mandarin orange, apricot kernel and two named Chinese herbs (bei sha shen / glehnia root and chuan bei mu / fritillary bulb) before cane sugar. This is the strongest-sourced panel on the page — a FairPrice SG ingredient section. Snow pear herbal tea Added sugar: cane sugar FairPrice SG ingredient section
All figures in the table are as sold, per 100 ml unless flagged otherwise. Sugars here are total sugars as printed, not added sugars — the ingredient panels show which products add sugar and which do not. No official Singapore Nutri-Grade (A–D) is quoted for a panelled product unless it is stated below as officially listed; no grade has been assigned by this page.
Salt and sodium: salt = sodium × 2.5. The table shows sodium as printed (in mg) with the salt equivalent in brackets. Sodium is not presented as salt, and salt is not presented as sodium.
Total vs added sugars: most Singapore packs list total sugars, not added sugars. A total-sugars figure is never labelled here as "added sugar". Where a source states an added-sugars figure separately, it is noted in the research notes. The ingredient list remains the evidence for added sugar (sugar, cane sugar, fructose, sucrose) versus naturally occurring sugars.
Open Food Facts is a community database and is flagged as secondary where used: the pack and the retailer nutrition section take precedence if they disagree. Figures marked "not stated" were not in the source retrieved; they are not estimated, borrowed from another variant, or copied across flavours. Per-100 g figures from Open Food Facts are shown as printed (per 100 g), not converted to per 100 ml.
| Product | Basis | Energy | Protein | Total fat | Saturated fat | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Sodium (salt equiv.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea (original) | Per 100 g, as sold (non-SG retailer, secondary) | 20 kcal (85 kJ) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 5.0 g | 5.0 g | <4 mg (salt <0.01 g) |
| Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea Less Sugar 1.5L | Per 100 g, as sold (Open Food Facts, secondary) | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | 2.52 g | not stated |
| Yeo's Chrysanthemum Pu'er Tea 250ml | Per 100 g, as sold (Open Food Facts SG, secondary) | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | 0 g | not stated |
| Yeo's Grass Jelly Drink 300ml | Per 100 g, as sold (Open Food Facts, secondary) | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | 4.9 g | not stated |
| Yeo's Winter Melon Drink (OFF 380ml variant — different formulation, see card) | Per 100 g, as sold (Open Food Facts, secondary) | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | 5.0 g | not stated |
| Pokka Chrysanthemum with White Tea 250ml | Per 100 ml, as sold (non-SG retailer, secondary) | 22 kcal (92 kJ) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 5.6 g | 5.6 g | 6 mg (salt 0.015 g) |
Observed numbers, no verdict: where a per-100 figure was verified, sugars are 5.0 g per 100 g for Yeo's original chrysanthemum, 2.52 g per 100 g for the less-sugar 1.5L, 0 g for the no-sugar pu'er variant, 4.9 g per 100 g for Yeo's grass jelly, 5.0 g per 100 g for the Open Food Facts winter melon variant, and 5.6 g per 100 ml for Pokka chrysanthemum white tea. Sodium is 6 mg per 100 ml for the Pokka row and under 4 mg per 100 g (salt under 0.01 g) for the Yeo's original chrysanthemum row. No per-100 ml figure was verified for the other panelled products, so this section does not compare them on sugar.
Per-serving only, not converted: Yeo's Grass Jelly Drink — Singapore distributor listing, per serving (1 can, 300ml): carbohydrate 12.0 g, total sugars 12.0 g. This is quoted as printed and not converted to per 100 ml. Note it conflicts with the Open Food Facts per-100 g figure above (4.9 g per 100 g would be 14.7 g per 300 ml) — the two sources disagree, and neither is treated as settled.
Nutri-Grade — officially listed only: HealthHub's official Nutri-Grade directory (Health Promotion Board) lists these as Grade B: NutriWell Barley, NutriWell Barley Reduced Sugar, NutriWell Chrysanthemum With Wolfberry, NutriWell Water Chestnut & Sugar Cane, NutriWell Herbal Tea, and NutriWell Roselle — all of which are in seen-but-not-verified above, so their grade is recorded here but their ingredients are not panelled. F&N states all SEASONS beverages meet Nutri-Grade B (brand statement, 2026 range update). A Shopee SG listing for Pokka Chrysanthemum White Tea (24 × 250ml carton) states Nutri-Grade B (seller claim). A secondary list adapted from FairPrice gives Grade B for Yeo's Chrysanthemum Tea (Light in Calories) and Yeo's Lemon Barley (6 × 250ml). No Nutri-Grade was found printed for the other panelled products in this pass, and none has been assigned here.
Seen but not verified (nutrition): no per-100 ml nutrition panel was verified in this pass for Yeo's Winter Melon Drink (Cold Storage panel), Yeo's Longan Red Date, Yeo's Snow Pear Tea, Yeo's Water Chestnut Drink, Drinho Winter Melon Drink, Drinho Chrysanthemum Tea, Wang Lao Ji Herbal Tea Original, Marigold Lemon Barley Less Sweet, Tao Ti Supreme Meta Tea, F&N Seasons Chrysanthemum Tea can, and all 27 seen-but-not-verified entries. Their ingredient panels are unchanged; their nutrition figures are not estimated here.
Checked 5–6 November 2026 from: FairPrice ingredient section (Yeo's Snow Pear Tea); Cold Storage Singapore listings (Yeo's Winter Melon, Yeo's Longan Red Date); Yeo's USA brand site (original chrysanthemum); Open Food Facts Singapore/World (Yeo's Chrysanthemum Pu'er, Yeo's Chrysanthemum Less Sugar 1.5L, Yeo's Grass Jelly, Pokka Chrysanthemum with White Tea); Singapore distributor Guanchunding (Yeo's Grass Jelly); Shopee Singapore seller descriptions (Drinho Winter Melon, Marigold Lemon Barley Less Sweet, Wang Lao Ji Herbal Tea); MY Aeon retailer listing (Drinho Chrysanthemum Tea, flagged non-SG); UK oriental retailer listings (Yeo's Water Chestnut, Tao Ti Supreme Meta Tea, Yeo's Sugar Cane — conflicting, not panelled); StationeryWorld Singapore (F&N Seasons Chrysanthemum can — suspect list, flagged); Fraser & Neave brand page and F&N 2026 range coverage (Seasons/NutriWell inventory only); HealthHub Nutri-Grade directory (NutriWell Grade B listings). Full per-fact source list is in the accompanying research notes. Nutrition section added 5–6 November 2026: figures are standardised to per 100 g or per 100 ml where the source gives per-100 figures; per-serving-only figures are labelled as such and are not converted; sugars are total sugars as printed, not added sugars, unless the source states added sugars; salt = sodium × 2.5. Where a full pack list could not be verified, the product is in seen-but-not-verified instead of being panelled.