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Someone holding a cup of longan jujube tea with other TCM ingredients in the background.
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5 from 43 votes

Longan Tea with Red Dates

This Ginger Red date Longan Tea recipe with Goji Berries is a nourishing, traditional Chinese tea. It contains no caffeine and warms you right up on a cold day!
Prep Time3 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Drinks
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 95kcal
Author: Zen

Equipment

  • Knife and cutting board or kitchen scissors
  • Pot

Ingredients

  • ¼ Cup dried longans about 50-60g
  • ½ Cup Chinese Red dates Also known as jujubes. About 6-8 pieces, cut into strips, seeds removed, I find it easiest to use a kitchen scissors to snip off the flesh but you can use a knife if you prefer (See post above for directions if you are not sure how to remove the seed.)
  • Cup Goji berries also known as wolfberries, about 15g
  • 1 Thumb sized ginger washed and cut/ sliced, skin can be left on
  • 4 C water 1 litre
  • Rock sugar Optional: to taste. Can substitute with brown sugar and other sweeteners if you don't find this sweet enough, but please taste first as most of the ingredients have a natural sweetness!
  • Pine nuts, lightly toasted Optional garnish

Instructions

  • Rinse all the ingredients- you never know where they were sitting whilst drying!
  • Add everything to the pot and bring to the boil.
  • Once boiling, reduce to a simmer (I used 4-5 on a Bosch induction cooker) and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or to taste.
  • Taste and, if necessary, add brown sugar (or substitute) and stir till dissolved.
  • Serve with a few goji berries, a longan and some red date slices in each cup.
  • Optional garnish: lightly toasted pine nuts go well with the tea too.

Notes

Optional ingredients
If you're adding other ingredients such as pandan leaves or dried tangerine slices, add them right from the start along with the dried longans and red dates. I like how the ginger balances the sweetness of the dates and longans but remember that the more ginger you use, the longer you boil it for and/ or the higher a temperature you boil it at, the spicier this dried longan tea is going to taste.
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

Nutrition

Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.003g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg