Wolfberry tea (枸杞茶, Gǒu Qǐ Chá) is made from the fruit of Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense. Wolfberry also called Goji berry is a traditional Chinese medicine.
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What Is Wolfberry
The Chinese name of wolfberry is called Gou Qi, which first appeared in the <Classic of Poetry> 3,000 years ago.
There are many kinds of wolfberries. The best wolfberry is Lycium barbarum, which is native to Ningxia Province of China, so it is also called Ningxia wolfberry or Ningxia Gou Qi.
Ningxia wolfberry is a national geographical indication product and is the largest variety of wolfberry in China. Most of the wolfberry products are made of Ningxia wolfberry.
Ningxia wolfberry has the highest medicinal value, and it is recorded as a treasure in <Compendium of Materia Medica>.
Wolfberry is not only used as medicine, but also a common food. It can be processed into various foods, beverages, health wines, health products, and so on. In China, people often add wolfberry to soup or porridge.
Wolfberry tea is a common health tea, which can be brewed with many other herbs and it will have different medicinal effects.
How to Make Wolfberry Tea
Making wolfberry tea is relatively easy. Put 10-15g of wolfberries into the cup, add some boiling water, and steep it for a few minutes to drink. It can be repeatedly brewed several times. After drinking it, the brewed wolfberries can be eaten.
Wolfberry tea can be brewed with many other herbs, and there is no medicinal conflict. The common herbs used with wolfberry tea are red jujube, hawthorn, longan, cassia seed, astragalus, Ju Hua, Mo Li Hua, rose, etc.
Wolfberry can’t be brewed with green tea but can be brewed with black tea. There is a medicinal conflict between wolfberry and green tea. The medicinal property of green tea is cold, but wolfberry and black tea have warm property.
Benefits of Wolfberry Tea
- Nourish skin
- Treat anemia
- Treat insomnia
- Treat stomatitis
- Treat weakness
- Prevent hair loss
- Boost metabolism
- Treat hypotension
- Treat eye diseases
- Regulate endocrine
- Relieve constipation
- Boost immune system
- Treat liver and kidney diseases
Wolfberry contains carotene, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, vitamin E, nicotinic acid, a variety of free amino acids, linoleic acid, iron, potassium, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, and so on.
In traditional Chinese medicine, wolfberry tea has the effects of treating various diseases such as weakness, cold constitution, liver and kidney diseases, tuberculosis, constipation, insomnia, hypotension, anemia, eye diseases, hair loss, stomatitis, etc.
Modern medicine shows that Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) in wolfberry is one of the most important components, which can promote the phagocytosis of peritoneal macrophages, promote protein synthesis, boost metabolism, regulate endocrine, accelerate liver detoxification, and repair damaged liver cells.
Wolfberry contains riboflavin, nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid, and other vitamins, which can nourish the skin and make the skin delicate and smooth.
Wolfberry tea can prevent hair loss and make hair black and shiny. It has a significant effect on the yellow hair and white hair caused by the lack of essential trace elements.
Side Effects of Wolfberry Tea
Wolfberry tea has almost no side effects, but excessive consumption may cause internal heat and nosebleed.
Patients with hypertension should not drink wolfberry tea.
Patients with fever, spleen deficiency, diarrhea, and inflammation should not drink wolfberry tea.
Wolfberry tea has a high sugar content, so diabetic patients should drink it.
Pregnant women can drink wolfberry tea but should drink it in moderation.