Tea with Chinese lemongrass: preparation features, benefits and harms
The benefits of Chinese magnolia vine have been known for a long time. The use of tea from this plant helps to increase resistance to many diseases, and also reduces the impact of the negative effects of stress on the body. Seeds and fruits of magnolia vine have medicinal properties. They contain a large number of substances that cause a burst of energy. Drinking this healthy drink increases efficiency, improves mood.
Collection and preparation of raw materials
This medicinal plant grows in the Far East, in the taiga. It is a vine, reaching a length of more than 10-12 meters. In spring, Schisandra chinensis blooms with fragrant pink flowers, and in autumn, red fruits appear on its branches. Berries have a spicy taste with slight sourness and bitterness. If you rub the leaves or stem in your hands, you can immediately feel the rich smell of citrus.
This plant appeared in China more than 3 thousand years ago. The inhabitants of this country already then drank a healing tonic tea from it. In Russia, this plant began to be cultivated much later. Lemongrass is a rather unpretentious culture; it is often used in the manufacture of hedges to decorate garden plots.
Berries, leaves, stems of the plant are taken as food. Healing drinks are prepared from all parts. In autumn, lemongrass fruits are harvested. When cutting the brushes, use a sharp knife or scissors. This is necessary so that the main mother plant is not damaged.Such gentle pruning will ensure a good harvest next year. Although the plant is long, it is a vine, so getting to the branches is not difficult at all.
During picking, the cut berries are neatly placed in a large container or basket. After that, the brushes are laid out on a large clean canvas to dry. Then the berries are laid out on a baking sheet and dried at a temperature of 60 degrees in the oven. Fruits dried in this way do not lose their unique properties for up to two years. If dried properly, the fruits will remain firm. If the berries are dried incorrectly, they may lose some of their benefits.
Berries have a bitter taste with spicy notes. Oil can also be extracted from ripe fruits, but it is produced only industrially (by steam distillation). Another way to harvest fruits is to freeze them. To do this, the berries are carefully poured into bags or containers and sent to the freezer.
Beneficial features
This plant has a number of medicinal properties. Oriental doctors knowingly compare it in action with Eleutherococcus or ginseng. Medicinal qualities are not only fruits, but also leaves, as well as the bark of this shrub. The bark and leaves are usually harvested at different times, taking into account the purpose for which the raw material will be intended, what properties it should have.
Schisandra chinensis contains a large amount of important and necessary vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, ash, and starch. The composition of useful berries is not yet fully understood. However, the benefits of lemongrass for the human body are undeniable.
- The use of tea from the leaves and fruits of the plant helps to improve metabolic processes.
- The fruits of the shrub improve the functioning of the digestive system.
- Thanks to the use of these berries, you can strengthen the immune system, strengthen the protective functions of the body.
- Lemongrass tea affects vision, improves it, enhances the ability to see objects well in the dark.
- This drink is recommended to use to increase male strength, because it enhances potency, sexual performance and attraction.
- This tea is useful for diabetes, as it lowers blood sugar levels.
- It is useful to use the fruits and leaves of the plant and with beriberi.
- Healing tea will help in normalizing pressure, you should drink it with CFS, lethargy and drowsiness.
- Useful vitamin drink during seasonal colds. Its use increases resistance to viruses and bacteria, it will help in extreme situations, during the period of acclimatization.
- Schisandra chinensis preparations help with depression, they are used during heavy loads.
- It should be especially noted that lemongrass berries are used as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent in oncology.
- The use of lemongrass chinensis reduces the likelihood of asthma attacks.
- Also, tea from the fruit helps to relieve hangover syndrome, they also drink it to improve sleep.
- The drink is also used for skin diseases, it is used to heal trophic ulcers.
Contraindications and harm
Before using any drug, it is important to learn not only about its benefits, but also to find out if there are any contraindications in its use.
- The fruits of the plant have strong tonic properties, so the drink is not recommended for people with high blood pressure. Also, the plant will not be useful for stress, insomnia, and arrhythmias.
- It should not be used by pregnant women and nursing mothers.
- Tonic tea should not be given to children under 12 years of age.
- It is contraindicated in VVD in the acute phase.
- Do not use it for stomach ulcers.
It is important to remember that some people may be allergic to one or another component. This should be taken into account, so it is better to start drinking the drink in small doses. It is better to start with 50 ml, then you can switch to drinking tea in the same amount twice a day. In the absence of ailments and unpleasant symptoms, you can slightly increase the amount of drink consumed per day.
How to brew?
To brew tea from Chinese lemongrass, take the berries of the shrub, leaves or stems. Dried fruits are sold in specialized stores or pharmacies. It is possible to order their delivery directly from China.
from the leaves
If the leaves of the plant are used as tea leaves, then in order to preserve their astringency and aroma, it is better not to take a thermos. Hunters of the Far East like to brew a tonic drink. To create it, take 1 teaspoon of leaves and fall asleep in a teapot. Boiling water is poured into a container with tea leaves and set aside for infusion for several minutes. Thanks to this method of brewing, the tea is strong, fragrant and tasty. Such a drink will give vivacity and strength for the whole day.
From fruits
If fruits are taken for a drink, then tea is brewed in the traditional way. To do this, one tablespoon of berries is placed in a small container, a glass of purified water is poured into it. The container is kept on fire until it boils, then the fire is reduced. The fruits are boiled over low heat for about ten minutes. Then the tea is removed from the stove and allowed to infuse for 15 minutes. Some recommend infusing the drink for 10-12 hours. After that, the tea must be filtered.
The healing tonic broth is poured into cups, a sweetener is added if desired. The drink is recommended to drink 60-100 ml, but not more than 250 ml per day. This tea is drunk both warm and cold.
You can use sugar or honey as a sweetener. If honey is used, then it is added to a liquid heated no higher than 40 degrees, otherwise the sweet product will lose some of its valuable substances.
From creeper
You can brew a tonic drink from a vine. It will help maintain health in the cold season, during colds and epidemics. For its preparation, the stems are taken fresh or dried and cut into pieces.
Combined
Green tea lovers should try to prepare this delicious drink by enriching it with lemongrass fruits. Thanks to this component, the taste and aroma of the finished product improves, and the benefits of its use increase, since the components successfully complement each other.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp green Chinese tea;
- 1 tsp lemongrass berries;
- 5 g ginger powder;
- honey.
The fruits are brewed with clean water. For this amount take 500 ml of water. After the liquid boils, all the indicated ingredients are added to it, except for honey. The finished hot drink is poured into cups, honey is added as desired.
fermented
Especially valuable is the fermented lemongrass tea. During fermentation, the effect of healing properties is enhanced several times, while the tea has astringency in taste, it becomes amber in color.
For fermentation take the leaves of the plant. They are washed and dried. Then they are dried for several hours. When the leaves lose their original elasticity, they proceed to their further processing.To do this, each individual leaf is placed in the palm of your hand and, rubbing, twisted into a tube. This allows essential oils and excess moisture to be released. Twisted leaves are placed in a container and kneaded until juice appears. Then the container is covered and left for several hours. The appearance of a sharp lemon smell with a hint of bitterness will indicate that the fermentation process has come to an end.
The process is completed by drying the raw material. To do this, the leaves are cut into pieces of 0.5 cm and spread on a baking sheet covered with foil in a thin layer. Raw materials are dried for 90 minutes at a temperature of about 100 degrees. Then the temperature is reduced to 50 degrees. Raw materials are kept in the oven until the leaves begin to crumble. Then the fermented leaves are taken out of the oven, cooled, poured into canvas bags and left to air dry for 2 or 3 days.
Store finished raw materials in glass jars with hermetically sealed lids. It is allowed to prepare tea immediately or brew it after a month of storage of raw materials. At the same time, the drink turns out to be as tasty and rich as possible.
Tincture
They make Chinese lemongrass and a healing tincture. To prepare the drug yourself, you need to take the fruits and pour them with alcohol. For 1 part of berries take 5 parts of alcohol. The tincture should be infused in a dark room for ten days. After that, it is filtered.
40 ml of alcohol are added to the precipitate and left for the same period. Then water is poured into the mixture in the same amount. The course of taking this tincture is two weeks. It is recommended to drink with nervous tension, dizziness, sleep disturbances.
So, by choosing the recipe you like, you can prepare a delicious and fragrant tea that will not only give you energy, but also help to cope with many ailments. Tonic tea is recommended to drink before lunch. They should not be abused. It is enough to drink one, maximum two cups per day.
See below for details.