u/chronic_classman

In Chinese medicine Ju Hua or chrysanthemum goes to the liver channel and that corresponds with the eyes. It’s also great for calming irritability, allergies and when you get a little sick and feel warm or hot more than cold. Daoists will drink ju hua for longevity too.

Gou Qi Zi or goji berries help nourish blood and yin these are the cooling, hydrating fluids in the body. When they run low we can have memory problems, lose flexibility, and feel hot in the afternoons into the evening and even get something called five palm heat where our palms feet and chest feel hot. Goji berries also help nourish the eyes.

So when we combine herbs they have an additive effect in each other. Since chrysanthemums go to the eyes and goji berries nourish blood and yin the former directs that nourishment to the eyes.

This is great if you’re staring at a screen for work all day or have seasonal allergies that affect your eyes leaving them itchy and dry.

For a single serving of goji berry and chrysanthemum tea, use 3-5 dried chrysanthemum flowers and 1 teaspoon of dried goji berries per 1 to 1.5 cups of hot water.

Hi there, my name is James. I am a massage therapist and currently in school for acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbal medicine. I have been using herbs and tea since I was a little kid at any time anybody got sick, I would say “you need some tea.”

Chinese medicine uses a wide variety of ingredients to make tangs or decoctions in English. It’s basically a broth. The formulas a get from school and make up myself have helped a lot through the rigors of grad school and work. So I use herbs as medicine and that knowledge informs what I drink for a morning and afternoon tea.

Chamomile is one of my favorite teas. It’s cool and slightly sweet, bitter (draining in TCM) and aromatic. In western herbal medicine it’s considered a nerve tonic and in Chinese herbal medicine it clears heat, moves qi and blood which alleviates pain and it also strengthens the liver and stomach and calms the shen (spirit/mind).

I have also recently been enjoying a blend of green tea with black tea for a relaxed but sustained boost of energy throughout the day. The flavors are slightly grassy from the green tea and malty from the back tea and I don’t feel like it needs any sweetener.

I’m excited to share what I’ve been learning in school and if I don’t know the something I’m more than willing to do some research to find some answers.

Chrysanthemum and Goji berry tea for the eyes.

Introduction