Red Date Longan Goji Berry Tea | TCM Recipe

Some teas require a cabinet full of obscure herbs and a degree in botany. This one needs three ingredients, fifteen minutes, and a pot of boiling water. Red Date Longan Goji Tea 紅棗桂圓杞子茶 is a staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine, brewed by grandmothers across Guangdong long before wellness influencers caught on. The taste is naturally sweet, faintly floral, and deeply comforting.

It makes as much sense at 7 a.m. before school drop-off as it does at 10 p.m. when your brain refuses to power down.

> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Chinese Red Dates Tea

This Chinese herbal tea is perfect for winter months when the temperature drops. The three key ingredients are sweet and warm in nature and balance the Yin. Those with a heaty constitution can also add dried chrysanthemum flowers to this tea to reduce the yang. For maximum heat-clearing power, try the complete chrysanthemum honeysuckle tea recipe which combines chrysanthemum with honeysuckle and licorice root for sore throat relief and inflammation reduction. I find the floral addition particularly pleasing!!

Jump to:

• > In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Chinese Red Dates Tea
• What Is Red Date Longan Goji Tea?
• Best Time to Drink Red Date Longan Goji Tea
• Ingredients and TCM Health Benefits
• Where to Buy the Ingredients in Canada and the US
• Instructions - Step-by-Step Cooking Method For TCM How to Make Red Date Longan Goji Tea
• Troubleshooting
• Batch Brewing and Meal Planning
• More TCM Teas and Nourishing Soups
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• > Recipe
• Red Date Longan Goji Tea 紅棗桂圓杞子茶

What Is Red Date Longan Goji Tea?

This classic TCM blood tonic for women is made from three warm, sweet herbs: red dates (jujube), dried longan, and goji berries. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, they work together to nourish blood, calm the Shen (heart-mind), and restore Qi. The result, this red date tea benefits and addresses fatigue, restless sleep, and hormonal imbalance from the inside out.

Also called jujube goji berry tea in some households, this blend is mild enough for daily use and warming enough for cold Canadian winters. It's sometimes called the "three treasures" tea in Cantonese households, and it shows up in some form at almost every Chinese postpartum recovery table. You don't need to be postpartum to enjoy it, but if you are, brew this by the litre.

Best Time to Drink Red Date Longan Goji Tea

In TCM, this tea aligns naturally with autumn and winter, the seasons governed by the kidney and lung systems. Lidong, the start of winter on the Chinese solar calendar, traditionally marks the beginning of the body's most important nourishing period. Blood-building, warming foods and drinks take priority from this point through the coldest months, and this tea fits that prescription precisely. Think of it as your cold-weather maintenance plan in a mug.

Ingredients and TCM Health Benefits

Red Dates 紅棗 (Jujube)

Red dates enter the heart, spleen, and stomach meridians. They tonify blood and calm the mind. Always choose unpitted red dates because the seeds carry their own sedative quality, making this an excellent jujube tea for sleep.

Nutritionally, jujube is a solid source of vitamin C, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. That magnesium content is exactly why so many modern supplement brands feature it in sleep and stress formulas. TCM got there first, obviously.

Red dates support women through every hormonal stage. For those with blood deficiency and painful periods, this tea can help restore balance. For anyone searching for a gentle herbal tea for period cramps, this is one of the most well-documented TCM options, with centuries of use behind it

After having Emily, I was exhausted and irritable in ways I hadn't expected, and a daily cup of this was one of the first things that genuinely helped. Red dates also safely supplement iron during pregnancy and improve breast milk quality. They're equally useful in perimenopause, and that's not a small thing.

The old Cantonese saying holds: 一日吃三枣，青春不显老. Eat three dates a day, and you won't look your age. Honestly, at this point I'm willing to test the theory.

Jujube also plays a starring role in the jujube goji berry sleep tea from The Best Thing 爱你 cdrama, where Dr. He Suye brews it to calm an overworked nervous system. Fiction, but the TCM logic is sound.

Dried Longan 桂圓肉

Longan tea for women is a well-established Cantonese postpartum staple, but its blood and Qi nourishing properties are just as useful for everyday stress and disrupted sleep.

Dried longan nourishes blood in the heart and spleen channels. When the heart lacks sufficient blood, the mind wanders and sleep suffers. Longan addresses this pattern directly, which is why it appears in TCM formulas for anxiety and restlessness.

Rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, and organic acids, it also supports digestive Qi. In Cantonese cooking, longan adds a natural caramel sweetness to soups and teas without a single gram of added sugar. It's understated in the best way.

桂圓肉味甘，開胃健脾，補虛益智保心血，潤五臟，治怔忡。滋補養血安神。女性在產後調補也很適宜。

Goji Berries 枸杞子

Goji berries enter the kidney and liver channels, nourishing blood and tonifying Yin. They carry a dense nutritional profile: polysaccharides, betaine, vitamins A, B1, B2, and C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zeaxanthin, and linoleic acid. A quarter-cup serving lands at about 111 calories and contains 18 amino acids. Apples have 16. Worth mentioning at dinner.

High in antioxidants, goji berries help protect cells from oxidative damage. Known as the Matrimony Vine Fruit, they have a long reputation for brightening the eyes and moistening the lungs. Anyone spending long hours in front of a screen is already making a compelling case for adding more of them to the daily routine.

This goji berry longan tea is one of the easiest ways to get consistent goji berry intake. You can also stir them into oatmeal or blend a handful into a smoothie. The Energy Raw Bars on the site use them too, if you'd like another reason to keep a bag on hand.

枸杞子有养阴补血、滋补肝肾、益精明目清火的功效。養血安神、治療失眠、养肝护肝、補腎。

Optional Ingredient

Dried Chrysanthemum 乾菊花

Chrysanthemum is cool in nature and balances the warmth of the other three herbs. It clears heat, soothes the liver, and benefits the eyes. For anyone who runs warm or spends hours on a screen, this addition is less optional than it sounds.

Add four to six dried flowers to balance a heaty constitution. For the full heat-clearing formula, the chrysanthemum honeysuckle tea combines chrysanthemum with honeysuckle and licorice root for sore throat relief and inflammation. That one is the complete prescription.

菊花味甘苦，性微寒；具有疏風清熱、清肝明目、解毒消炎等功效。

Most dry goods ingredients, tools, and supplies can be purchased at local Asian markets, Chinese grocery stores, or Amazon Online. Amazon Prime members receive free shipping and faster delivery times.

How to Store Dried Chinese Herbs

Once opened, store red dates, dried longan, and goji berries in separate airtight glass jars away from direct sunlight and moisture. A cool, dry pantry shelf works well. Dried longan and red dates keep for up to a year when stored properly. Goji berries are a little more sensitive and are best used within six months for optimal colour and flavour. If you live somewhere humid, a sealed container in the fridge extends shelf life noticeably.

Where to Buy the Ingredients in Canada and the US

T&T, Costco, and Online

All four ingredients are widely available at T&T Supermarket, which stocks a reliable range of dried Chinese herbs year-round. The bulk herb section usually carries unpitted red dates, dried longan meat, and goji berries at reasonable prices.

For goji berries, I usually buy them at Costco because the quality and price are consistent. At the rate this tea gets made in our house, a Costco-sized bag of organic goji berries is a practical decision, not an indulgence. Red dates and longan are easy to find at any Chinese grocery store, and most well-stocked South Asian grocers carry them too.

If you prefer online shopping, Amazon carries all four. Look specifically for unpitted red dates. The seeds are part of what makes this a proper Chinese herbal tea for blood deficiency, not just a sweet fruit drink. It's a small detail with a meaningful difference.

Instructions - Step-by-Step Cooking Method For TCM How to Make Red Date Longan Goji Tea

Stovetop Method

Rinse the herbs in cold water and soak for five to ten minutes in a small bowl. This removes surface dust and any residue from the drying process. Drain and set aside.

Add the red dates, dried longan, and goji berries to a small pot with one litre of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. A clay or glass pot is preferable to metal, which is a habit most TCM practitioners recommend.

Strain into mugs and serve hot. That's it.

Buydeem Beverage Maker

If you have a Buydeem Health Beverage Maker, add all the herbs, fill to the water line, and select Tea Mode. The machine manages temperature and timing so nothing over-extracts. This is the low-effort version for weekday mornings.

A large French press also works. Add the herbs, pour in just-boiled water, and steep for at least fifteen minutes. Longer steeping means more colour, more sweetness, and more depth.

Use boiling water, not lukewarm. Lukewarm water doesn't extract the active compounds properly, and a weak cup of this tea is entirely avoidable.

Troubleshooting

Tea tastes too bitter. This usually means the herbs steeped too long or the heat was too high. Reduce simmer time to eight minutes and taste as you go. Goji berries in particular turn slightly astringent when overcooked.

Tea tastes too weak. Increase the number of red dates to ten and add an extra pinch of longan. A longer simmer of up to twenty minutes draws out more sweetness and depth.

Goji berries turned mushy. Add the goji berries in the last three minutes of simmering rather than at the start. They hold their shape and release flavour without dissolving into the liquid.

Batch Brewing and Meal Planning

Make It Once, Drink It All Week

As a Chinese herbal drink for fatigue, this tea earns a permanent spot in the weekly meal prep rotation. Make a litre on Sunday and you're covered through Thursday. It holds well in the fridge for three to four days, stored in a glass jar or pitcher, and reheats easily in individual servings throughout the week.

It also works beautifully chilled in summer. My daughter prefers hers cold in July with a small spoonful of honey, which I can confirm is an excellent idea. For a family of four, double the recipe. For solo brewing, scale down to three or four of each ingredient per cup. The ratio is forgiving.

This tea fits naturally into a full Cantonese meal. Pair it with Steamed Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms and Sausages Claypot Rice, Microwave Soy Sauce Chicken Wings, or a quick Chinese Tomato Egg Stir-fry. For a fully TCM-aligned spread, Si Shen Tang Herbal Soup alongside this tea covers most of the blood and Qi bases in one meal.

More TCM Teas and Nourishing Soups

If this recipe has you curious about Chinese herbal tea for blood deficiency, the Three Reds Digestive Tea is a natural companion for mornings. For something more substantial, the Peach Gum Dessert Soup is a collagen-forward dessert with a similar nourishing purpose. The Ching Bo Leung soup clears summer heat, and Ba Wong Fa Soup supports the lungs through drier months.

Each one fits a different season and a different need. That's the practical beauty of seasonal TCM cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This tea comes up a lot in conversation, and the questions tend to cluster around the same themes: safety, frequency, and whether it actually works. Here are the ones worth answering before you brew your first pot.

Notes on Sweetness and Storage

No additional sugar is needed. All three main ingredients are inherently sweet, and the natural flavour holds well on its own. A piece of rock sugar dissolves cleanly if you prefer a touch more sweetness, without changing the flavour profile.

This tea is particularly well-suited for anyone spending long hours in front of a screen. The combination of longan and goji berries moistens and brightens the eyes, which is one of those TCM claims that modern antioxidant research actually supports.

常喝紅棗桂圓枸杞茶的女性朋友，皮膚白皙，美容效果不錯。不但補氣血，還能明目，特別適合長期待在電腦前的辦公一族。

Other Nourishing Chinese Soups

• Ba Wong Fa Soup for Cough and Phlegm 霸王花無花果瘦肉響螺湯
• Moisturizing Chinese Apple Sea Coconut Soup 雪梨蘋果海底椰玉竹無花果湯
• Chinese Papaya Soup with Black Eyed Peas (Easy) 木瓜花生眉豆雪耳雞腳湯 
• Si Shen Tang Herbal Soup Adrenal Fatigue 四神湯
• Silkie Chicken Cordyceps Fish Maw Conch Soup 蟲草花花膠响螺煲烏雞湯

What To Serve With Goji Berry and Red Date Jujube Fruit Tea

Make a big batch of this delicious tea in a tea pot and enjoy it through the day. A cup of this tea is a great way to warm up and absorb nutritious vitamins and minerals.

Make a complete meal with these delicious recipes:

• Steamed Chicken with Chinese Mushrooms and Sausages Claypot Rice 臘腸冬菇滑雞煲仔飯
• Instant Pot Braised Chinese Mushrooms 髮菜炆冬菇食譜
• Microwave Soy Sauce Chicken Wings 豉油雞翅微波爐
• Chinese Tomato Egg Stir-fry 番茄炒蛋

I'd love to see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.

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