My hands and feet get extremely cold during the winter time; so much so that my Grandma actually complained about them, when I tried to fix a bracelet clasp on her wrist, and advised me to make this goji berry, red dates, and longan sweet tea (杞子红棗龍眼肉茶). The Chinese believe that this combination of dried ingredients helps to replenish vital energy and improve blood circulation, thus keeping the body (especially your digits) warm. All 3 ingredients have a natural sweetness to them, and can be added into each cup with the tea itself.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. dried goji berry (also known as wolfberry)
15 dried pitless red dates (also known as jujube)
15 dried longan
4.5 cups water
3 tbsp. honey (optional)
Instructions:
1) Rinse goji berry, red dates, and longan with cold water.
2) In a pot, bring water, goji berry, red dates, and longan to a boil. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
3) Stir in honey (optional) and serve in a tea pot.
Tips:
Red dates have a pit inside them. If you cannot find pitless red dates, use the paring knife to carefully cut the red dates in half and guide the knife around the pit to remove.
Your tea pot set is beautiful! This tea reminds me that lunar new year is near. This is a drink my mum will make for her guest during the their new year visits.
I’ve never tried making this for lunar new year, but will certainly keep it in mind!
This is good stuff! 🙂
Can’t wait to start making some more of this tea now that the weather is getting chilly!