Astragalus, Goji and Red Date Warming Tea

Why people make this tea

A friend with weak lung-qi and a cold, weak spleen-and-stomach was about to travel somewhere cold for a while and asked Bro Niu what to do. His answer: pack a few homemade tea bags that traditionally warm the stomach, dispel chill, and support the lungs. Dried ginger alone with brown sugar already makes a warming brew for people who are always cold-handed and cold-footed; here Bro Niu rounds it out with astragalus, goji, and red dates to support resilience, plus mai dong and tangerine peel for the lungs.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Suits people who feel the cold easily, with cold hands and feet, weak lung-qi, or a cold spleen-and-stomach — handy for cold-climate travel
• Because it is warming, anyone running hot, feverish, or with a heat-excess constitution should go easy

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Astragalus (bei qi): traditionally supports the body’s defensive qi
• Goji (gou qi zi) and red date (hong zao): traditionally nourish blood and support overall vitality
• Dwarf lilyturf root (mai dong): traditionally moistens the lungs
• Aged tangerine peel (chen pi): traditionally regulates qi and helps resolve phlegm
• Dried ginger (gan jiang): traditionally dispels cold from the spleen-and-stomach and supports their warmth

Ingredients (1 tea bag per pot)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Astragalus, sliced	small pinch	use thin original-cut slices
Goji berries	small pinch
Red dates	small pinch	snipped, pitted
Dwarf lilyturf root (mai dong)	small pinch
Dried ginger	small pinch	cut into fine strips
Aged tangerine peel	small pinch	cut into fine strips

Method

1. Snip the red dates and remove the pits; cut the dried ginger and tangerine peel into fine strips.
2. Put a small pinch of each ingredient into a tea bag.
3. To drink, steep, covered, for about 10 to 15 minutes. Refill with hot water until the tea runs pale.

Bro Niu’s tips

Buy the thin “original-cut” astragalus slices — they steep more easily. Snip the red dates into pieces and pit them so they give up their flavor faster.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (Priscilla): For a 92-year-old whose Chinese doctor said the lungs are weak, with cough and lots of phlegm — any food therapy? Bro Niu: For a 92-year-old, try 3 qian powdered chuan bei, 1 tangerine peel, and 1 cored apple or pear double-steamed in 2 bowls of water for half an hour, taken in portions over a day; it helps regulate qi and resolve phlegm. Best to take 3 batches, and if it helps, rest 2 days and repeat. For the whole family, simmer 3 qian fox-milk lingzhi (hu ru ling zhi), 1 tael north-and-south almonds, 3 qian snow fungus, 1 to 2 carrots, and 4 figs in a partridge or other meat soup.

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Published October 23, 2024 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.