Tangerine Cake and Schisandra Berry Tea

Why people make this tea

Schisandra (wu wei zi) earns its Chinese name — “five-flavour berry” — because it genuinely tastes of all five flavours: sour skin, faintly sweet flesh, and a core that when broken releases pungent, bitter and salty notes. That complexity is part of why herbalists have valued it for centuries. Modern research has looked at schisandra’s potential to support liver cell repair and help moderate elevated liver enzymes, and in Chinese food therapy it is a classic choice for anyone whose liver is under strain — whether from hepatitis, stress, fatigue or the toll of daily life. Pairing it with the gentle sweetness of tangerine cake and the warming quality of red dates makes a tea that is much more pleasant to drink than it might sound.