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.

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

1. Soak all the ingredients in warm water for about 5 minutes and rinse clean
2. Boil your tea water
3. When the water boils, add all the ingredients together (except the sugar)
4. Keep covered on a small boil (medium heat) for about 1 hour
5. 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