American Ginseng and Longan Tea

Why people make this tea

A friend brought Nourilo a packet of genuine American ginseng back from a trip to the United States — the kind with those fine chrysanthemum-like patterns in the cross-section and a clean, slightly bitter-sweet fragrance that fills the mouth with saliva long after you swallow. That experience is what inspired this simple tea. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is botanically related to Asian ginseng but has a distinctly different character in Chinese medicine: it is considered cooling and yin-nourishing rather than warm and stimulating, making it more suitable as an everyday tonic for people who run warm, work hard, and tend to feel depleted rather than sluggish.

Pairing it with longan flesh — a classic Cantonese tonic for the heart and mind — creates a tea that is both refreshing and settling. It is the kind of drink that a busy, tired person might reach for when they notice their face is pale, their mind feels scattered, and sleep has not been restful.

Method

1. Place the sliced American ginseng and the longan flesh into a small teapot or heatproof cup.
2. Pour boiling water over them.
3. Cover and steep for 7 minutes.
4. Pour and drink warm.
5. You can re-steep the same ginseng and longan several times, refilling with boiling water each time, until the liquid no longer has any taste or colour.

Nourilo’s Tips

The ginseng can be steeped multiple times throughout the day — keep refilling with boiling water until the tea is no longer fragrant. At the end of the day, eat the softened ginseng slices, as the residual root still contains beneficial compounds. When shopping for American ginseng, be wary of imitations: the real thing has tightly packed horizontal markings, a good weight, and a notably bitter-sweet flavour that produces a pleasant, lingering moistness in the mouth. For postpartum mothers who have low energy and are not producing enough milk, adding longan to ginseng-based soups or teas is a popular Cantonese practice — but consult a healthcare provider about postpartum supplement use.