Chinese jujube tea with ginger (Red date tea)

A cup of cinnamon jujube tea with pine nuts on it.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Chinese jujube tea with ginger (Red date tea)

A traditional Chinese and Korean drink which is sweet and nourishing.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Chinese, korean

Servings:

Calories: 341kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

Large pot I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven and it was almost overflowing- if your pot is smaller, just add as much water as you can without the tea spilling over then top up later if necessary.
sieve

Ingredients

4 Cups jujubes, rinsed Make a few slashes in each to release the flavour. Best if you want to remove the seed as it supposedly makes the tea very heaty but it's not 100% necessary.
18 Cup Water
Few slices ginger Omit if not a fan of ginger
1 cinnamon stick, optional
Brown sugar, rock sugar or honey, optional For those with very sweet teeth
Goji berries, dried longans, red ginseng. Other optional ingredients
Dry toasted pine nuts, optional For sprinkling on the tea

Instructions

Add the jujubes and water to a pot and bring to the boil.
Note: If using cinnamon, ginseng, ginger etc, add them now too.
Lower to a simmer and leave for a minimum of 1 hour or till the jujubes are soft and plump, stirring every now and then.
Sieve the skins and seeds out whilst pressing the pulp back into the jujube tea. Stir well and simmer for another 30 minutes-1 hour. (I usually cook for 2- 2.5 hours in total till the flesh is pretty much breaking apart.) Discard the seeds- the skins contain nutrients so I'll let you decide whether to eat them or not as they're quite fibrous.
Note: if using wolfberries, add them 30 minutes before you turn off the fire.
Switch off the fire, remove the cinnamon and ginger (if using- they can be tossed) then taste. If not sweet enough for you, season to taste with brown sugar, rock sugar or honey.
Ladle into cups, and garnish with toasted pine nuts if you have them.

Notes

If you want to keep the tea for more than a week, simmer the jujubes for a minimum of 8 hours till a thick syrupy paste is formed - you may want to do this in a slow cooker for easier cooking. This syrup can be refrigerated for a few weeks then diluted with water when you want to drink red date tea.

For something more exotic, you may want to add rose and milk to the jujube tea, though maybe not with the ginger.

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

Nutrition