Mulberry, Longan and Goji Berry Tea

Why people make this tea

Mulberries are among the most celebrated fruits in Chinese food therapy — ripe, darkly coloured, and naturally sweet-tart, they are associated with supporting the liver and kidneys, nourishing blood, and even with maintaining healthy hair colour in middle and older age. Paired with the gentle sweetness of longan flesh and the mild, nourishing quality of goji berries, this simple tea is something Nourilo keeps coming back to, not just as a wellness drink, but because it genuinely tastes good. Fresh mulberries are seasonal in spring; dried ones work perfectly the rest of the year.

Method

1. Rinse the fresh or dried mulberries, longan flesh, and goji berries in clean water.
2. Place all ingredients in a clay pot or ceramic pot. Cover generously with water.
3. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Drink the broth warm, and eat the mulberries, longan, and goji berries — consuming the ingredients as well as the liquid gives you the full benefit.

Nourilo’s Tips

Fresh mulberries come into season in spring — when they are available they are usually affordable and sold in small boxes at Chinese produce markets. Out of season, dried mulberries are a fine substitute; use about 19 g (19 g) of dried berries.

One small note on brewing: if you want to preserve the anthocyanins (the purple-blue pigments with antioxidant properties), steep the ingredients in hot water around 85°C rather than boiling them. The flavour is slightly better when properly simmered, but if you want maximum antioxidant benefit from the mulberries, a shorter, lower-temperature steep is the way to go. You can always eat the softened fruit afterward for additional nutrition.

Adding 38 g (38 g) of dried lily bulb (bai he) to this tea is a lovely variation that adds a calming quality and may help with vivid dreams.

What studies say about the key ingredients

Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.

• Mulberries · Randomized controlled trial, 24 participants · 2017
  Post-prandial self-monitored glucose was lower than placebo (18.2%), but A1C did not differ between mulberry leaf extract and placebo. Serum creatinine rose about 15% in the extract group.Limitation: Small pilot: only 17 of 24 enrolled participants completed the study, limiting statistical power.PubMed 28619294 · 3 more mulberries studies
• Goji berries · Meta-analysis, 161 participants · 2012
  Compared with placebo (n=80), the goji juice group (n=81) reported greater improvements in several self-rated symptoms, including stress, mental acuity, sleep quality and overall well-being, under a random effects model.Limitation: Outcomes were self-reported symptom questionnaires, and several symptoms showed significant heterogeneity across the four pooled trials of a single branded juice.PubMed 22897500 · 3 more goji berries studies

From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.

Safety first — read before you cook

This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:

• are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
• take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
• have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.

Ingredient notes for this recipe

• Goji berries: A few cases of raised INR (a bleeding-risk marker) have been reported in people taking warfarin after drinking concentrated goji tea or wine. If you take a blood thinner, check with your doctor. Source: Memorial Sloan Kettering — Lycium

Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes

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