Schisandra, Licorice and Ginger Tea

Why people make this tea

When a cough lingers for weeks — the cold has long passed but the lungs still haven’t quieted down — this three-ingredient tea is one of the simplest remedies in the Cantonese food-therapy tradition. Schisandra berry (wu wei zi) is named for its five distinct flavours, and traditional practice holds that those five flavours correspond to the five organ systems. Its sour, astringent quality is thought to help the lungs “gather” and settle, making it particularly valued for chronic or stubborn coughs rather than coughs at the very start of an illness. Paired with warming ginger and harmonising licorice root, the tea is gentle enough to sip over several days and easy to prepare at home.