Red Dates Hawthorn Tea
Soup Name:
Red Dates Hawthorn Tea
Traditional Chinese Name:
山楂红枣茶 (shān zhā hóng zǎo chá)
This nice slightly sweet and very tart tea was introduced by my herbalist who suggested I make it for my dad (while he was visiting HK). The tea is designed for people who would like to lose weight, reduce the fat content in their bodies, reduce blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and help clear the blood of the impurities that come with a not so healthy diet. That’s not to say my dad’s not healthy, but he does enjoy all foods – so this tea will help balance out a delicious, heavy meal and aid in digestion. The tea is super tart, so you can add either apples or a sprinkle of sugar to sweeten it up. It’s best drank either at room temperature or hot.
What’s involved?
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 5 mins
Serves: 4 cups of tea
Ingredients
- 50 g of pitted red dates
- 50 g of dried wood ear
- 80 g of dried hawthorn
- 2 fresh apples (optional)
- 2 teaspoons of brown sugar (optional)
- 10 cups of water
Cooking Instructions
- Soak all the ingredients in warm water for about 5 minutes and rinse clean
- Boil your tea water
- When the water boils, add all the ingredients together (except the sugar)
- Keep covered on a small boil (medium heat) for about 1 hour
- Serve hot or warm and add sugar (as needed)
Benefits
- Helps reduce the fat content in the body
- This red date and hawthorn tea will also help reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol
- It helps clear the blood of toxins
- This tea is especially helpful after a meal and helps in digestion
Precautions
- The hawthorn is especially tart and sour, so not everyone will like it like that
- Take caution when adding sugar (as not to add too much)
- Be sure to pit the dates (or use pitted dates). The pits are said to be “CHO” – which is very heaty, but not in a good way
Can women (female) drink the Red Dates Hawthorn Tea since the description states that “the tea is designed for men”?
Dear Fannie, women can drink it too, however I found it interesting that my herbalist pitched it to me for me – could be because more men have heart problems vs women. I ended up drinking it with my husband as well! The way it works best is to actually blend the boiled ingredients afterwards and eat it with the tea, but it has to be eaten regularly (ie: once a week) over a period of time. Hope this helps! Lisa
Hello, do you have suggestions what kjnd of herbal soup during and after your period you can take? Do you have any soup ideas for women especially? Thank you very much!
Hi Ching! So during your period, I’d stick to more neutral teas and soups for now. For post periods, my mom always made us something more warming and healing such as chicken soups.
Here are a few to try:
https://thechinesesouplady.com/pork-and-conch-herbal-soup/
https://thechinesesouplady.com/herbal-pork-soup-with-longans-and-ginger/
https://thechinesesouplady.com/abalone-in-chicken-soup/
Anything within the Chinese Confinement soups are also good. They are designed as heaty, warm, prevents wind. Hope this helps!