Chinese Herbal Tea ideas for Traveling
(A TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE PERSPECTIVE)
When we think Traditional Chinese medicine or herbal teas, we think of something that’s hard to make, difficult to drink, and full of unknown ingredients. However, there also exists is beautiful happy medium where Chinese herbal teas can be delightfully delicious, easy-to-make, readily-accessible, and travel ready! Read on for more!
One guiding principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the yin yang theory. In the natural world, there exists a balance between 2 opposing and co-existing forces and yet, they also exist in each other. Our bodies, minds, and souls are designed the same way in that to be healthy, we need to be in harmony between these 2 bipolar states. Yin is receptive and passive, calm and slow, embodying cold and damp qualities (when we are sleeping). Yang is its exact opposite in aggressive and active, embodying heat, dryness, and movement (when we are awake).
One of our mission at The Chinese Soup Lady is to bring these principles into the foods and drinks we consume in order to support harmony.
Welcome to the TRAVEL SERIES for Chinese Herbal Teas!
Since travel is back on and my work requires me to be back in the air, I’ve started to create and take with me some Chinese herbal teas to help with my health, condition, and scale back on coffees and regular teas, substituting them with a more natural choice of drinks.
A few key reminders that help with travel:
- I will always bring a thermal flask with me everywhere I do. You can fill up with hot water in the lounges, any restaurant, or in Asian airports, anywhere in the airport (seriously, HKIA or Hong Kong International Airport has hot water dispensers everywhere!)
- I will also pre-create my teas and add all the ingredients for 1-2 cups of tea together
- I tend to bring ingredients that don’t spoil easily and have good dry shelf live (such as dried flowers)
- Double check that the hotel or place you’re staying in has a fridge you can use, such as a mini fridge or bar fridge. The ingredients tend to be small enough that you can slot them in between the drinks. This is great for dried ingredients such as dried red dates, or longans, or wolfberries.
- I will also sometimes bring with me small portions of honey or rock sugar to supplement some of the teas
See the mind and body as connected and whole rather than separate. See the organs as connected and shared, rather than as individual organs. Think of yourself as one unit, one system.
You are whole.
The great thing about understanding how yin and yang is balanced is that this also pairs with the cooking styles of Chinese soups!
You can follow this post on “How Different Styles of Chinese Soups are Made“.
WHERE YOU CAN BUY THESE TEAS & MY POT!
This is the type of stove top safe tea pot that I use for making my teas! This is great because it’s dishwasher safe, it’s an all-in-one, easy-to-clean pot that I use.
I bought these amazing eco friendly individually bagged pu’er tea which I carry to the office or on travel! You can find these on amazon and they come highly rated!
I have also tried these oolong versions of the individually bagged teas! You can also get this from amazon. They are amazing!
For more videos, visit us on YouTube.
For further reading, I’ve found some more scientific and published articles. Here are some to read up on:
- Shen, 2007, “Yin Deficiency”, Science Direct [online], “https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/yin-deficiency“
- Ting-Ting Jiang,Ji-Cheng L, 2020, “Review on the systems biology research of Yin-deficiency-heat syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine”, American Association for Anatomy [online], “https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24354″
- Hicks, A., (2013). Principles of Chinese Medicine: What it is and how it works. 2nd Edition. Singing Dragon. USA
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