Ginseng tea

Tisanes prepared from plants not belonging to the Camellia genus
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etr1707
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Tue May 17, 2022 12:51 am

Hi. First of all, I apologise if this is the wrong section for this topic...new here...

I am interested in trying authentic ginseng tea and finding out more about it, but so far, I have only found green tea "with ginseng." When I checked the ingredients on the back of the box of tea bags, it seems that it only contains 1% ginseng. Is that normal? What makes a real ginseng tea?

Incidentally, if anyone has any recommendations of books about Chinese tea-making and history, I would love to hear them.
Ethan Kurland
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Tue May 17, 2022 1:40 pm

I am not giving you a perfect answer, just thinking as I write:

Ginseng is a root. Just as you could with ginger, you can grate or chop finely some of it for infusion. Assume it will taste terrible (otherwise it would be readily available in a pure processed form to be used like tea). Liquid ginseng is available in tubes & it is expensive.

As w/ most items purported to be cure-alls w/o evidence; there are funny situations. People in Korea like American ginseng; people in USA seek Asian ginseng. (One won't think something is miraculously wonderful if it is right in one's backyard. I see you are from Jerusalem. We have something in our supermarkets here called Jerusalem artichokes. I wonder what they are called where you are.

Welcome to the forum.)
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Maerskian
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Tue May 17, 2022 5:37 pm

etr1707 wrote:
Tue May 17, 2022 12:51 am
Incidentally, if anyone has any recommendations of books about Chinese tea-making and history, I would love to hear them.
Welcome to Teaforum.

You might want to check & bookmark this amazing thread and maybe ask over there for specific recommendations ( given you have some specific topic in mind ).

Still have plenty to go through although so far my favorite one remains "Zhang, J. Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic" which is focused on puerh's surroundings rather than puerh itself.

Currently reading "Fisher, A. Tea Wisdom" which is a nice interesting condensed walk over some basics with some interesting info bits here & there. Not a long read, intro/prologue is quite skippable, still ... an enjoyable read.
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wave_code
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Thu May 19, 2022 10:36 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Tue May 17, 2022 1:40 pm
Assume it will taste terrible (otherwise it would be readily available in a pure processed form to be used like tea). Liquid ginseng is available in tubes & it is expensive.

As w/ most items purported to be cure-alls w/o evidence; there are funny situations. People in Korea like American ginseng; people in USA seek Asian ginseng. (One won't think something is miraculously wonderful if it is right in one's backyard.
To most probably... though I actually just picked up some Wisconsin ginseng while over here visiting at a tea shop my dad used to take me to since I was a kid. I always loved the smell of the shop, and for a long time I assumed it was the tea, but I think a big part of the distinct smell of that shop is actually the ginseng mixing with the tea. I hadn't had any for a long time so I grabbed some for adding to my morning shu. while it is of course different I find a lot of more humid stores teas I like take on a sort of ginseng note to them that I really like, so why not kick it up a little bit more. I haven't had it on its own in a very long time though.

Before picking this ginseng out I did a brief little investigation, and from what I could understand (someone correct/fill me in here please) that US ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng or "true" ginseng) contain different concentrations of different compounds. In TCM US ginseng is cooling and better for things like reducing anxiety or inflammation and Korean ginseng is warming and better for promoting blood circulation or for energy, so maybe depending on how you find certain other types of teas affect you might be a good way of picking out which of these you might also get along with best. I won't vouch for the medical efficacy of either in any way at this point - but if you like the taste of rooty and herbal/medicinal things in your tea its a solid bet :D
Ethan Kurland
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Thu May 19, 2022 11:22 pm

wave_code wrote:
Thu May 19, 2022 10:36 pm
.... but if you like the taste of rooty and herbal/medicinal things in your tea its a solid bet :D

Nice thorough reply, thanks.

I remember my younger self who was sometimes a bit desperate for a better way. I drank herbal teas (fenugreek, raspberry leaf, mulberry leaf.....) & convinced myself that I liked them. Decades later when I saw people drinking honey w/ hot water, I realized that the herbal products that I had infused w/ hot water were an indirect way for me to drink honey w/ water. However, rooty and/or medicinal flavors moderately blended w/ honey = yummy. It's not important, but somehow I have the impulse to express my belief that the sweetness is key, not what goes w/ it.

When I question the use of herbal infusions, it is reminding myself that I refused to question myself or just be honest about how much I liked honey. I continue to use it w/ almost anything or just eat a bit straight.

I don't like lies. I dislike a lot of what is said to sell things. You writing about the differences between ginsengs is straightforward & honest. I like that. People being charged more for the one ginseng that some people push as the best tonic, when those people cannot be sure that any ginseng helps w/ concerns about health, is another matter.
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