Peanut and ginger tea

This is a very restoring drink to take when you are exhausted from overwork, especially hard, manual work, or if you are feeling run down.

You should use unsalted, raw peanuts which still have their skins. Look for stringy, old, but not dried root ginger rather than plump, young, juicy ginger.

• 20 raw peanuts 
• 5-6 slices of root ginger
• Tea of your choice
• 3 cups (850 ml) of water

Wash the ginger and cut five or six slices across the root, each about 1/8 in. (3 mm) thick. Roughly chop these slices. Take 20 raw peanuts with their skins and use a pestle and mortar or food processor to grind them. Alternatively, you can chop them roughly with a knife. Put the ground nuts and chopped ginger into a teapot and add tea leaves to taste. Bring the water to a fast boil and pour into the pot. Leave to stand for 2-3 minutes before drinking.

Lychee and plum tea

This delightful fruit tea not only pleases the palate but also boosts energy levels. However, only take the tea twice a week as lychees have very strong yang energy. The plum used is a preserved plum that you will find in Chinese stores, and looks similar to a date. You will also need a fresh lychee and some rock sugar. Lychees are in season from May through August. You can spice up the flavor of the tea by adding a little ginger root.

• 1 fresh lychee
• 1 preserved plum
• 1 small piece rock sugar
• 1 thin slice ginger root (optional)
• 1 ½ cups (430 ml) of water

Cut the plum in half and remove the stone. Peel the lychee and remove the stone. Put the lychee, plum, sugar, and ginger into a large Chinese mug. Fill up the mug with boiling water, stir it quickly, and put on the lid. Leave to stand for 2-3 minutes, stir, and then drink.

If you like, you can try adding a pinch of green tea to freshen the taste. You can also top off your mug with more water and then eat the fruit when you have finished the tea. 

Dragon eye tea

Dragon eye is a direct translation of the Mandarin name of this fruit, which is called “longan“ in Cantonese. Longan look similar to lychees in size and shape but have smooth pale brown skins. Like lychees, they are in season from May through August. They are highly prized in Chinese medicine, as they help restore blood chi.

They can be used fresh or dried. When fresh, the flesh is white; when dried, the skin is a darker brown and the flesh a rich dark brown. The flesh is sweet and fragrant. Whether you use fresh or dried longan always remove the skin.

To prepare the tea, follow the recipe for lychee and plum tea, only use a dragon eye instead of the lychee.

 

 

Dry-fried rice tea

This energy-boosting tea has the ability to balance the hot (yang) and cool (yin) energy in the body and is used for people with too much yin who need more yang. It is not recommended for yang people.

It has a good nutty flavor and, once prepared, you can keep the dried ingredients in an airtight jar: In Japan it is so popular that you can buy it ready-mixed.

• 1 cup of long grain rice
• 1 cup of green tea leaves
• 3 cups (850 ml) of water

Heat the wok and tip in the rice. You do not need any oil. Stir-fry the rice until the grains are light golden and smell toasty.

Allow the rice to cool and then add the green tea leaves and mix gently.

To make the tea, put five teaspoonfuls of it into the teapot and add boiling water: Allow to stand for 2-3 minutes before drinking. You can refill the teapot with freshly boiled water once or twice.

 

Eight treasure tea

This very healthy, energy-boosting tea can be taken twice a week. The eight ingredients are the treasures of this recipe. They should all be available from a good Chinese market or herbalist.  

• Green tea
• 2 white chrysanthemums
• 1 small piece of dried mandarin orange peel
• 1 longan or dragon eye (fresh or dried)
• 1 red date
• 1 tiny piece ginseng root
• 1 dried medlar berry (gou qi yi)
• 1 piece rock sugar 
• 1 sultana or dried apple slice 
• 1 ½ cups (430 ml) of water

Put all the ingredients into a large lidded mug and pour over the boiling water. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes before drinking. You can refill your mug with freshly boiled water two or three times.