Ginseng, Astragalus, Ligustrum, Goji, and Buckwheat Tea

Why people make this tea

Cancer and its treatments — surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapies — take an enormous toll on the body. In Cantonese food-therapy tradition, maintaining strength and nourishing the body’s core systems is seen as essential support alongside conventional treatment. This simple tea is one approach: a blend of two classical tonic herbs (ginseng and astragalus) that are associated with strengthening the spleen and building vital energy, combined with two liver-and-kidney nourishing herbs (ligustrum berry and goji), and tied together with buckwheat, which is both a food and a traditional moderating ingredient said to temper the warming nature of ginseng.

Buckwheat is the ingredient that makes this recipe practical for long-term use. It balances out the more stimulating herbs, making the tea gentler overall — and it is readily available in supermarkets and health food stores worldwide.