Eight Treasures Tea 八宝茶
Eight Treasures Tea for beauty and health
Eight Treasures Tea or Ba Bao Cha (八宝茶) is a famous Chinese herbal tea originating from Yunnan China. The royal and auspicious sounding “8 treasures” refer to the 8 ingredients used, and the tea is said to be Empress Dowager Cixi’s secret recipe for beauty, longevity and youthfulness. In my home blend, the special eight consists of: jasmine tea leaves, chrysanthemum, red dates, ginseng, wolfberries, longan, rose buds and rock sugar (check out the ingredients photo on page two). This light-tasting and soothing tea, like its lux name, is also aesthetically beautiful to look at, making me feel pampered drinking it.
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Said properties of the tea include: thirst-quenching, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and “qi” balancing properties; improves appetite & digestion; reduces fatigue (depending on the ingredients you use).
Eight Treasures Tea Recipe
- Serves: one 350ml tea pot (4 tea cups Servings)
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 5 mins
Eight Treasures Tea (Ba Bao Cha) is a soothing Chinese herbal tea consisting of a special blend of 8 ingredients. Feel free to tweak the recipe by substituting or adjusting the quantity of ingredients to suit your preference.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 4 chrysanthemum flowers (菊花/朵朵香)
- 1 tsp + 4 rose buds (玫瑰)
- 1 tsp + 16 wolfberries (杞子)
- 4 + 4 red dates (红枣)
- 4 + 4 ginseng slices (花旗蔘片/洋参片)
- 4 + 4 dried longan (龙眼)
- 12 small pieces of rock sugar (冰糖) to taste
- 300 ml hot boiling water
- 1 tbsp jasmine green tea leaves (香片)
Instructions
- Prepare four serving tea cups. In each cup, add 1 chrysanthemum flower, 1 rose bud, 4 wolfberries, 1 red date, 1 ginseng slice, 1 dried longan and 3 small pieces of rock sugar.
- Pour hot water into 350ml capacity tea pot with filter bag containing tea leaves and the remaining ingredients. Allow the tea to infuse/seep for a few minutes. Pour hot tea into serving cups. Make a second pot of tea by topping up with hot water and rock sugar as needed.
Get the ingredients photo and cooking notes for Eight Treasures Tea on page 2.
Pages: 1 2
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
This is such a \n interesting and I bet delicious tea. I must go to y Asian market and see if I can find the ingredients. Also, your pctures are so perfect.
A refreshing and healthy drink. The wolfberries and longans are still tasty after the brew.
Sounds healthy! Wondering how it tastes like.
I love 八宝茶, so good for the body. Your pics are awesome, so pretty :)
I have never tried brew by buying separate ingredients as there are always those ready ones those medical halls packed for you. However, I would like to try this recipe one day as I love jasmine tea leaves and even have those premium ones. I’m also quite aware of sweetness, hence by making it on my own, I can reduce more sugar.
I love this tea too. I bought those pre-packages from Guangzhou but I could remove the rock sugar.
This is good! To admit, however I had made it with 5 or 6 treasures as some are run out of stock.
I do that too! ;)
What a pretty cup of tea! The name suits it perfectly.