Talking about teas. A more mundane pleasure (compared with fresh Dragonwell leaves) is the Jiaogulan (jiǎo gǔ lán 绞股蓝), a herbal tea coming mostly from the south chinese province of Guangxi, but also known in other southern mountainous regions, and in Japan, where it is called amacharuzu (meaning sweet vine). Chemically related to the Ginseng agents, the tea is attributed with a lot of medicinal benefits. People in the chinese South call it a herb of immortality (xiān cǎo 仙草) and are said to hold its consumption responsible for the significant number of centenarians in the province of Guizhou. The taste of Jiaogulan is sweet (as the japanese name implies) and slightly bitter. It’s a very pleasant every day drink.
On the Sweet Path to Immortality
