“Eight Treasures Herbal Tea” is a refreshing herbal tea made from 8 medicinal ingredients. It is beneficial for nourishment, cooling the body, promoting urination, detoxifying, and has a sweet and fragrant taste, making it ideal for hot summer days.
“Eight Treasures” refers to the 8 precious medicinal ingredients. The term “bát bảo” means 8 (bát = 8, bảo or bửu = precious), “lường” means sugar, and “xà” is a variation of the word for tea. Some also refer to this drink as “eight treasures nourishing tea” (where “nourishing” means good).
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Pennywort (Photo: DanTri) |
The ingredients of “Eight Treasures Herbal Tea” include 20g of bamboo leaves (fresh), 5g of vetiver roots, 5g of honeysuckle flowers or leaves, 5g of Chinese angelica roots, 5g of cooked rehmannia, 5g of licorice roots, 5g of coix seeds, and 50g of sugar cane. The quantity of each ingredient can be adjusted, but the tea should not be too concentrated.
Bamboo leaves can be replaced with pennywort or burdock; vetiver roots can be substituted with corn silk or plantain leaves; Chinese angelica can be replaced with dioscorea or tuckahoe; honeysuckle can be substituted with dandelion or ground morning glory; cooked rehmannia can be replaced with black ginseng or golden thread; licorice roots can be substituted with licorice vines or earth licorice (there is a trend to use sweet grass for its high sweetness); coix seeds can be replaced with yam or lotus seeds.
The 8 medicinal ingredients in “Eight Treasures Herbal Tea” can be divided into two groups. The first group consists of the “cooling” herbs: bamboo leaves help clear heat, promote urination, and reduce fever; vetiver roots promote urination, stop bleeding, and cool the blood; honeysuckle clears heat, detoxifies, and disinfects; Chinese angelica invigorates blood circulation, strengthens tendons, and fortifies bones. The second group consists of the “nourishing” herbs: cooked rehmannia nourishes blood, strengthens kidneys, and darkens hair; coix seeds strengthen the spleen, nourish the lungs, and clear heat; licorice detoxifies, moistens the lungs, and harmonizes the other ingredients; sugar cane quenches thirst, cools the lungs, promotes phlegm elimination, aids urination, harmonizes the spleen, and prevents vomiting.
All the herbal ingredients in “Eight Treasures Herbal Tea” are non-toxic, easily found in your garden, neighborhood, or can be purchased at traditional medicine shops.
You can brew “Eight Treasures Herbal Tea” as follows: Add the herbs in the mentioned quantities (except for the sugar cane, which should be cut into small pieces) to a pot or aluminum kettle, along with one liter of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes. When serving, strain and drink hot or let it cool according to personal preference. Brew only as much as needed and do not prepare a large batch to avoid keeping it overnight.
Dr. Đức Huy
