Tea and Traditional Chinese Medicine: Enhancing Health and Treating Illnesses

"The Classic of Herbal Medicine" has a sentence that says, "Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and encountered seventy-two poisons. He found tea to be the antidote." From then on, humans began to use tea to detoxify and heal, promoting health and treating illnesses. This also indicates that the application of tea began with its medicinal properties. As we have mentioned before, different types of tea, classified by different tastes and properties, should be paired with compatible ingredients to maximize their effectiveness in preventing and treating diseases and promoting longevity. Therefore, if one can learn to pair tea with traditional Chinese medicine, the benefits of maintaining health and treating illnesses will be greatly enhanced. So how do we pair tea with traditional Chinese medicine? Here are a few things to note.
 

1. Learn to choose suitable varieties

Chinese medicine has a wide variety of species, with different textures, tastes, etc. Some can be used to brew tea and consumed as a beverage, while others cannot. Generally speaking, light and soft herbs with a sweet and mild taste, such as Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula, Rehmannia glutinosa, donkey-hide gelatin, fat sea, black plum, mountain plant, arhat fruit, olive, honeysuckle, tangerine peel, senna leaf, rhubarb, cassia seed, and peppermint, can be used to make tea. On the other hand, hard and bitter herbs like tortoise plastron, coptis, aconite, and magnolia flower, or those with toxic or irritating odors, should not be used to make tea, let alone paired with tea.

2. Match the tastes and effects

For example, green tea pairs well with herbs that nourish yin, moisturize dryness, clear heat, generate body fluids, relieve restlessness, and calm the mind, such as fat sea, black plum, fresh sweet potato fragrance, white grass root, honeysuckle, peppermint, and cassia seed. On the other hand, red tea pairs well with herbs that are warm and nourishing, such as Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula, Rehmannia glutinosa, and donkey-hide gelatin.

3. Pay attention to individualized treatment

When using tea in combination with Chinese medicine, one must consider their own constitution, symptoms, as well as the climate, season, and time, in order to achieve the desired effect. For example, individuals with a deficiency of yang energy can pair red tea or black tea with Angelica sinensis, Rehmannia glutinosa, and donkey-hide gelatin. Those with yin deficiency and excessive yang or symptoms of sore throat, hoarseness, and constipation caused by wind-heat pathogen can pair green tea with black plum, arhat fruit, and honeysuckle, which can generate body fluids and clear heat. In summer, gold and silver flowers, peppermint, dwarf lilyturf, and houqing can be paired with green tea to clear heat, detoxify, and remove dampness. In winter, Chinese wolfberry fruit and morinda officinalis can be paired with red tea to warm and invigorate yang energy.

4. Master the dosage and administration of herbs

Generally speaking, when brewing tea with Chinese medicine or pairing tea with Chinese medicine, the number of herbs should not exceed 4-5. The dosage of herbs can vary depending on their purpose, as well as whether they are raw or cooked, dried or fresh. For example, for Acorus tatarinowii, it is recommended to use 3-9 grams of dried herb, or 30 grams of fresh herb. In most cases, a smaller dosage is preferred for health maintenance, while a larger dosage is relatively better for treating diseases. For example, if white grass root is used for clearing heat for health maintenance, 10 grams per serving is sufficient. However, if it is used to treat bleeding caused by blood heat, a dosage of 30-50 grams is needed.

When boiling tea with Chinese medicine, it is best to use a stainless steel or clay pot to fully release the medicinal properties. Small herbs can be wrapped in clean paper or gauze bags to prevent residue from affecting the taste. When boiling, it is important to control the heat, using low heat to avoid burning. If the soup is gone, do not add more water to boil again, as it will affect the taste and effectiveness.

In addition, it is important to note that some Chinese herbs can cause allergies or harm pregnancy or cause bleeding. Therefore, individuals with allergies, women during their menstrual cycle or pregnancy, or those with a history of bleeding should not use herbs without proper guidance from a physician.