Traditional Chinese Medicine Healthy Milk Tea Recipe

Warm base tea (5g of 3-year-old Pu'er ripe tea/Lapsang Souchong black tea) + Warm milk (300ml of whole-fat fresh milk/buffalo milk, if you are lactose intolerant, substitute sugar-free coconut milk) + Medicinal and edible auxiliary ingredients (2 pitted red dates, 3 cored lotus seeds, 1 piece of roasted licorice, if you are afraid of sweetness, add 3g of stevia instead of refined sugar). The tea and accessories are boiled for 5 minutes with 200ml of mineral water to release the aroma. After filtering the residue, add milk and simmer until it boils slightly and then turn off the heat. Drinking it will not easily cause internal heat and will not affect sleep. It can also meet the basic health needs of replenishing qi and blood and strengthening the spleen and stomach.

I have been working as a volunteer at a community Chinese medicine clinic for almost two years, and I have seen at least three different schools of Chinese medicine give health-preserving milk tea ideas. They are quite different from each other. It is really not the Internet-famous method that only adds wolfberry and chrysanthemum.

Last month, I met an old Chinese medicine practitioner who was a doctor. He prescribed a prescription for a girl who was so cold that her hands and feet were cold even after wearing two pairs of cotton pants in winter. He directly added 1g of ginger and 1g of Chinese angelica to the basic formula. He repeatedly told her to drink it only from November to February every year, no more than twice a week, and absolutely not to be greedy for too much. Within two weeks, the girl came back with her mouth covered and said that after drinking it for four days, she developed three large herpes on the corners of her mouth. The old Chinese doctor blew his beard and stared at him and said, "I asked you to drink it twice a week. Do you think this is ordinary milk tea made every day?" The medicinal materials are all biased, and if they are replenished, they will naturally cause internal heat." I gave her some chrysanthemum tea to reduce the internal heat, and took the prescription back, saying that I would wait until her herpes subsided to see if she needed to adjust it.

The girl who works in the restaurant usually drinks a much milder version. She is afraid of getting tired of it, so she will add 3g of fried malt and 1g of shredded Xinhui tangerine peel to the basic version. Nothing else is added. It is suitable for afternoon tea after a lunch that is heavy in oil and salt. I tried her version last time after finishing the butter hot pot. I was so full that I started to hiccup, but after drinking half a cup, I gradually stopped feeling bloated. The tea has a hint of the aged aroma of tangerine peel, and the anti-greasy effect is better than the lemon tea I drank before. Later, when I cook it at home, I always like to add some tangerine peel.

There are also those who object to adding supplements to milk tea. Dr. Li, who treats febrile diseases, always says that eight out of ten young people now have damp-heat constitution. Throwing red dates and longan in will block the dampness in the spleen and stomach, making the more you drink, the more tired you will be. He prescribes a completely different prescription for people who often stay up late, have oily faces, and have sticky mouth in the morning: use 3g of white peony white tea as the base, add 3g of diced poria and 2g of fresh mint leaves as auxiliary ingredients, and replace the milk with low-fat milk or sugar-free oat milk without adding sugar. Several friends who work in the Internet industry around me have tried it and said that drinking this in the afternoon is more comfortable than drinking American style. I won’t feel flustered and I won’t feel energetic at night.

Oh, by the way, I have to tell you clearly about the pitfalls I have stepped on. Don’t blindly follow the celebrity formulas on the Internet. I read someone said that adding American ginseng slices can replenish qi and blood, so I secretly threw 3 slices in. As a result, I kept my eyes open until three o'clock that day and didn't fall asleep. After asking, I found out that the refreshing effect of American ginseng is more powerful than ordinary coffee. If I really add it, I can only add 1g. And I have to drink it in the morning and don't touch it in the afternoon. There are also prescriptions posted online that add safflower to activate blood circulation. Pregnant women and people with heavy menstruation must not touch them. All ingredients added to milk tea must be selected from the catalog of medicines and foods published by the National Health Commission. Don’t put unidentified Chinese herbal medicines indiscriminately. It can cause internal heat and insomnia in the least, or it can cause real problems in the worst case.

When I stay at home on weekends and don't want to order takeout, I cook a basic version. When it's cooked, the whole house is filled with the warm aroma of red dates mixed with cooked Pu'er. It tastes sweet and doesn't leave the sticky feeling in the mouth like ordinary milk tea. Last time, my best friend came to pet the cat. After drinking it, she chased me for the recipe. She said it was much better than the so-called "ancient health milk tea" she bought for 28 last week, and the ingredients were solid.

In fact, there is no universal health formula. In the final analysis, it all depends on how your body feels: if you feel comfortable after drinking it, without bloating, getting angry, or having insomnia, then this formula is suitable for you. If you feel uncomfortable after drinking it, don't force it into your mouth no matter how good someone else is.