One of our favorite Chinese restaurants is House of Nanking in San Francisco, California. At the beginning of the meal, hot tea is delivered to the table. This tea is one of the most fascinating and beautiful cups of tea one may ever lay eyes upon. While green tea leaves float and unfurl at the bottom of the cup, a floating garden of ‘things’ at the liquid surface dazzle the eye. But what is that stuff? Well after much searching, I found a now neglected website called Munchiefood where someone figured out just what is in this cup of tea. And so today I went and purchased those ingredients from our local Chinese Herbalist. The ingredients are as follows, wolfberries also known as goji berries also known as Lycii Fructus, chrysanthemum flowers, and tiny rosebuds. While at the herbalist, another customer hearing what I planned on doing with the ingredients, recommended skipping the sugar and using red dates to sweeten the tea, they are pictured top center, gojis are left, chrysanthemums right, and rosebuds bottom center. Now the tricky part that only further experimentation will be able to determine. According to Munchiefood, you should mix 4 part chrysanthemum, 2 part goji berries, 1 part rosebud, and 3 part green tea, store in a container and use 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture for a 10oz glass of hot tea.

The helpful customer at the herbalist said, first wash the ingredients thoroughly because they are from China, then put a palm-size portion of chrysanthemum, about 1/4 cup of goji berries, 10 to 15 rosebuds, and 15 red dates cut in half into a crockpot. Fill with water and slow cook overnight. Next day, put water and plant mixture in a container and refrigerate, heating the water as needed to make tea and then adding a tablespoon of chrysanthemum, 5 to 7 goji berries, and a rosebud or two you cooked overnight to the cup of tea.

According to the herbalist, goji is good for the eyes, red dates are good for blood, roses help in relaxation, and chrysanthemum is good for the eyes, too.