Bamboo Shavings and Dried Tangerine Peel Tea

Why people make this tea

In Cantonese food therapy tradition, the postpartum period is when families pour enormous care into feeding the new mother — and sometimes that care tips into excess. Rich, warming tonics taken too liberally can leave a woman feeling restless, overheated, bloated, headachy, and unable to sleep. This gentle two-ingredient tea is the traditional corrective: bamboo shavings and dried tangerine peel work together to cool the stomach, ease nausea, and move stagnant qi in the digestive tract.

Beyond postnatal recovery, Bro Niu recommends this tea for anyone with regular stomach discomfort — the kind marked by bloating, belching, nausea, or a feeling of heat rising upward. And for people who have experienced a stroke, traditional food therapy suggests that phlegm obstruction often plays a role in blocking the channels; this tea is traditionally valued for supporting smooth flow of phlegm and qi, and can be incorporated as a regular preventive beverage.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Suitable for postnatal women who have taken too many warming tonics and feel restless, overheated, or experience nausea, bloating, and insomnia as a result
• Helpful for anyone with stomach heat patterns: bloating, belching, mild nausea, abdominal discomfort, bad breath
• Suitable for stroke patients or as a general preventive tea for cardiovascular health
• Pregnant women may also drink this — it is considered gentle and safe
• This tea is cooling in nature; those with a pronounced cold constitution should use it occasionally rather than daily

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Bamboo shavings (zhu ru): The pale inner shavings of bamboo, not to be confused with bamboo leaves. They are cool and sweet in nature, traditionally used to clear stomach heat, stop vomiting, and dissolve phlegm. They are one of the classic ingredients for calming the stomach after over-supplementation.
• Dried tangerine peel (chen pi): Warm and aromatic; traditionally used to regulate qi flow, strengthen the stomach, dissolve phlegm, and relieve bloating. It complements the cooling bamboo shavings by preventing the formula from becoming too cold.

Ingredients (1–2 cups)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Bamboo shavings (zhu ru)	4 qian (~15 g)	Rinse briefly; this is the inner white scraping from bamboo, sold dried at Chinese herb shops — not bamboo leaves (dan zhu ye)
Dried tangerine peel (chen pi)	3 qian (~11 g)	Soak in water until softened, then slice into strips; the white pith can be left on — it contains beneficial compounds
Water	3 rice bowls (approx. 600 ml)

Method

1. Rinse the bamboo shavings under cool water.
2. Soak the dried tangerine peel in warm water until it softens (about 10 minutes), then slice into thin strips.
3. Combine both ingredients in a small pot with 3 bowls of water.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Strain and drink warm. The tea has a mild, slightly grassy fragrance.

Bro Niu’s tips

• Bamboo shavings (zhu ru) are NOT the same as light bamboo leaves (dan zhu ye) — they are the pale fibrous inner scrapings of bamboo stalk, available at any Chinese herb shop.
• This tea is equally effective for everyday stomach issues: pain, bloating, gas, and nausea. Stroke patients may drink it regularly as a supportive measure to keep phlegm and qi moving.
• The white inner pith of the tangerine peel is worth keeping — Bro Niu notes it contains compounds that help support blood vessel health, so scraping it off is unnecessary.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (icemimi): Can a postnatal mother during the sitting-in-month period (confinement) drink this tea? She has thirst and phlegm but no cough. Bro Niu: Yes, postnatal mothers can drink this tea. For thirst with phlegm, you can also steep a small pinch of American ginseng (hua qi shen), a small pinch of ophiopogon (mai dong), and one piece of sliced tangerine peel as a tea — this helps generate fluids and dissolve phlegm.

• Q (Cherry): Is bamboo shaving (zhu ru) the same as light bamboo leaf (dan zhu ye)? Bro Niu: No, they are different. Zhu ru is the white layer scraped from inside the bamboo stalk — not the leaf.

• Q (reader): Can pregnant women drink this tea? Bro Niu: Yes, this tea is suitable for pregnant women.

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Published December 6, 2016 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.