Longan and Toasted Sour Jujube Seed Brew

Why people make this brew

In traditional Chinese food-therapy thinking, epilepsy (particularly the pattern described as “spleen and kidney deficiency”) is associated with symptoms that worsen over time: pale complexion, mental fogginess, forgetfulness and fatigue. Longan flesh — mild, sweet and warming — has long been used in folk medicine to nourish brain and nervous function and is considered easy to eat daily, whether steeped as a tea or nibbled as a snack. Pairing it with toasted sour jujube seeds (which are traditionally associated with calming the heart and anchoring scattered shen / mental energy) and dan shen (red sage root, associated with invigorating blood circulation) makes a brew that addresses both the emotional and circulatory dimensions that traditional practitioners link to long-term qi-blood depletion.