Spring is here! When I look outside I see not only blossoms but "spring green" leaves, sprouting out of previously leafless brown branches. It is the time of leaves. When I think of leaves, I think of a very common leaf that most of us have in our homes or have at some point came in contact with but have no idea of its story; the Tea leaf.  
 
Growing up in Malaysia, I drank Tea often, even as a child. When I say Tea, I mean Black Tea or Wu Long Tea. When we went to a Chinese restaurant, they always served Wu Long or Pu Er Tea in a pot for the whole family to go with the meal. We had Afternoon Tea, around 4 to 5 o'clock, with some snack or pastry, something we learned from being a former British colony. It would often be a Black Tea, Orange Pekoe, which the British set up plantations for in the highlands of peninsula Malaysia. I only began to drink the classical Chinese style of Tea, Gong Fu Cha, when I was in the US. A Tai Ji brother (how we call a fellow student in Tai Ji class) was a student of a master calligrapher as well as of Tea. In Gong Fu Cha, we drink, smell and experience Tea in a ritual, that requires a certain state of calmness as well as introspection; this style of Tea drinking is more relaxed and is less elaborate than the Japanese Tea ceremony. Speaking of Tea rituals, my husband and I were married by performing a (semi-) traditional Tea ceremony, where elders of the family were served Tea; in their acceptance by drinking the Tea served by us, they symbolized their acceptance of us as a couple.
 
What is Tea? There are many misconceptions about Tea. Technically, when you say you are drinking Tea, then you are referring to the infusion of the leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant. All other teas, such as peppermint or chamomile, are not teas but "herbal infusions." Tea is the most widely drunk beverage in the world after water. Camellia sinensis originated in China but has spread all around the world and enjoyed, as well as adopted as their own. My research into Tea has revealed that we can trace how Tea came to that particular region or culture by the terms, Cha or Tey or even La. If the plant came by land through the Silk Road or from northern China then the term Cha or Chai was adopted, such as in Russia, Japan, Turkey or the Middle East. However, if the plant came by the water route from the South of China, by ship mostly brought by the European traders, then it was/is called Tea, The or Te, with the exception of Portugal, which uses the word Cha. The term La was passed on through South-West China to the neighboring countries like Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
 
The Chinese believe that Tea was discovered by Shen Nong, The Divine Farmer or God of Agriculture; he is also the mythological emperor who taught the Chinese to farm and use plants as medicine. He passed down his knowledge through his tasting and testing of the herbs on himself through the The Classic of Herbal Medicine, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. Shen Nong is said to have used Tea as an antidote to counteract any poisonous plants. In old pottery found in the Tian Luo Shan region in Fu Jian province in China archaeologists believe Tea was being cultivated almost 6000 years ago; that would be around 4000 BCE. But it wasn't until China's flourishing golden age of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) that Lu Yu wrote Cha Jing, The Classic on Tea, that drinking Tea became an art, a philosophical pursuit practiced by the cultivated scholarly class. It was the Cha Jing that also influenced the spreading of Tea into Japan, who then in turn created their own manner of drinking Tea, which is more well-known in the West. Chado, The Way of Tea, is influenced by Zen Buddhism and has become not just a cultural ceremony but a meditation, as well as a way of life.
 
In Chinese Medicine, in the lineage of Shen Nong, we use Tea as medicine. In the Materia Medica, we have 2 types of Tea. One is Lu Cha (Folium Camellia sinensis), Green Tea. It is bitter and cool, affects the Stomach organ. It harmonizes the Stomach, sinks the Qi down in cases of nausea and vomiting. A classical usage is to clear the head; Green Tea has an effect to clear headaches due to its circulatory effect. However, one has to be careful with Green Tea, as it can be too strong for people with weak digestive systems, those who have cool systems; this may result in digestive issues such as nausea and too stimulating for people with sleep issues. Green Tea has become a trendy drink due to its ability to aid in weight-loss and metabolism, as well as being high in anti-oxidants. In the Chinese medical point of view, it helps to dispel dampness in the body, as such aid in weight-loss. But no amount of Green Tea without dietary changes and increase in movement  can stimulate weight-loss. One common mistake that many make with Green Tea is to brew it with boiling hot water (100 degrees Celsius). As these leaves are not oxidized, one has to use 80-degree hot water, so as not to burn the leaves. If you have found that your Green Tea was too bitter, it is because it was burnt from 100-degree water, which stimulated too quick a release of catechins from your Tea or that it was left too long to steep. So, to make good-tasting Green Tea, use no more than 80-degree (spring/filtered) water, 30-90 seconds brewing time and use good quality Green Tea leaves; often teabags do not contain good quality Tea. 
 
When you drink a cup of good Green Tea, it should taste like a cup of Spring; like liquid fresh spring leaves or grass in your mouth. That's why the best Green Tea is harvested in Spring. The Chinese and Japanese grow as well as produce the best Green Teas. They have made Tea not just a beverage but an art.
 
 
 
 
Image Tea Plantation by Dendhy Halbaik on Pixabay
Image Green Tea in Gai Wan by apple deng on Pixabay
​Image Shen Nong/Shinno from Wikimedia Commons

If you go on a walk right now, you will observe that the Peony is in or coming to blossom.  In German, we call them Pfingstrosen, I imagine due to the fact that they flower around the time of Pentecost. As a child, I recall having experienced the flower Peony in the form of soap from China; a very strong, sweet scented soap, which was almost too sweet for me. We also used to get duvets from China that were Peony brand. When I went with my mother to the market, I would ask her about the flowers, whose blossoms were wrapped in white tissue and she would tell me that they were Peonies imported from China. So, I had an impression that Peonies were Chinese, as they don't grow in the tropical climate in Malaysia.
 
Since my studies in Chinese Medicine began, I have come to know of how the Chinese honor the Peony. It was referred to by Confucius (551-479 BCE), was often the subject of art in the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) and even declared the national flower of China during the Qing dynasty, the last imperial government of China till 1912. In Chinese it is called Fu Gui Hua, "flower of riches and honor." Peonies are naturally occurring in temperate and cold areas of the northern hemisphere, from Morocco to Japan to North America. There is a Greek myth of Peony, where the God of Medicine, Aesclepius, got jealous of his student, Paeon, and he was saved from Aesclepius' attack by Zeus who transformed him into a flower - the Peony. 
 
There are tree Peonies, herbaceous Peonies and hybrids that have leaves like the tree but are herbaceous.  In the Chinese Medicine itself, we use 3 different species of Peony: Paeonia suffruticosa, Paeonia lactiflora and Paeonia veitchii. Interestingly, the part of the plant that it used as medicine is not the flower. The part of Paeonia suffriticosa, which is the tree, that is used is the cortex or bark of the tree, Mu Dan Pi. It is used to cool the blood and clear heat, as in the case of fevers. It also moves blood when there has been trauma, lowers blood pressure and inflammation. Paeonia lactiflora, the herbaceous Peony, provides its radix or root as medicine in the form of Chi Shao or Bai Shao. Chi Shao is the root that is still red, which helps move blood and relieve pain from trauma or menses. Bai Shao is the white root, which tonifies the blood, calms the liver, relieves tension and adjusts Ying Qi (Nutritive Qi) as well as Wei Qi (Defensive Qi). One of my Chinese herbal teachers called Bai Shao the "White Fairy Mother."
 
I grow Peonies in my garden, both the tree and herbaceous ones. They are special plants that don't like to be moved, they find a spot and they root there till they die. I observe them throughout the year. After they flower in Spring (April to early June), the tree has already flowered now and the herbaceous form is flowering soon, the energy of the plants goes inward and dies back its external manifestation in autumn. This does not mean the plant is not working, the power of the Yin (autumn and winter being Yin times of the year) is being generated in the root of the plant. This I believe is why the root of Bai Shao are so powerful to nourish the Yin and Blood in our bodies. Right now, those who react to the seasonal pollen that is currently in full emission, that includes myself, will be thankful to Mu Dan Pi for providing the cooling and calming of the mucous membranes in the eyes and nasal passages. The bark of the Peony tree is hardy yet gentle, providing the soothing coolness and protection of autumn-winter in the searing heat from growth of spring-summer. It is an herb of balance; sinking when there is strong rising action, calming when there is over-excitement. 
 
Chinese Herbal Medicine uses herbs mostly as formulae, almost never one herb alone, as the synergy of the combined herbs counteract the overexertion of another. One could say they operate as a team, supporting one another and balancing the forces of the other. Each herbal formula is prepared specially for each individual person, paying attention to causes of the imbalance and not just on symptoms. If you are interested in using Herbal Medicine, discuss it with your practitioner so that s/he can help you understand your imbalances and how these amazing plants can aid you in your health.  

Images Peony by Elaine

"An apple a day, keeps the doctor away," is a common English adage. I recall as a young student in school, where the girls used to pass on friendship books to write details of ourselves as a remembrance and this was one of the little adages included. I thought it funny and cute. We don't have apples growing naturally in tropical Malaysia; all our apples came from China, Australia, New Zealand or USA. They weren't always the crunchy, juicy, sweet apples we have here in Switzerland. Sometimes, they were soft and powdery on the inside but outside was bright red. No wonder, as they had to be shipped a couple of thousands of kilometers to get to me. The first time I saw an apple tree laden with fruits, ready to be plucked and crunched into, it felt like a dream, like something from a fairytale. What I did not realize then is that apples are very special fruits and symbols of life and bearers of nourishment, holding the power of spring and summer in its flesh.
 
Malus domestica, is the Latin name for the fruit we now know as apple. It is an ancestor of Malus sieversii, which is a wild form of apple native to the mountains in central Asia, in countries like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Malus sylvestris, European crabapple, found all over Europe. Apples appear to have been around for over thousands of years and have over 7500 cultivars. What also is amazing about this fruit is that it comes from the family of Rosaceae, the Rose. All the relatives of plants that we had no idea of, native to an area and migrating from one place to another and then becoming almost natural to that place over a period of time, as we humans. Have you ever cut an apple horizontally? I normally don't but when I did, this is what I found, a star with five points. Wow! What a revelation for me! The pentagram is sacred in many cultures, the Celts, the ancient Greeks, Romans, Jewish tradition...to name a few. It is also relevant in mathematics and geometry. In Chinese Medicine, it represents the 5 Elements (refer to the diagram in my first post in February 2019). All these years, I have been eating my apple and was never ever aware it had this form within it.  
 
Now is the time of the apple harvest, late summer into autumn, the time of Earth and Metal in Chinese Medicine. As such, the apple affects the organs of the Spleen, Stomach, Lung, Large Intestines and also the Gall Bladder, by nature of its medicinal properties. All herbs and foods in the Chinese Materia Medica, have organs associated with it, a temperature, tastes, which also have connections to organs and its specific functions. Apple is cooling, as most fruits are, and has a sweet, sour taste. This means that apple will cool down warm conditions or heat in the body, its sweetness will nourish Qi and the sour will astringe fluid. So, when we look at its functions of reducing and clearing heat in the body, moistening dryness, stimulating digestion, as well as tonifying Qi and Blood, it all makes sense with the tastes and temperature. It also will cool down heat in the Lung, protecting it from cigarette smoke, stimulate appetite, help lower cholesterol and toxic metal levels in the body. You can grate apple and make a poultice for sunburn and conjunctivitis. Of course, be aware that if you have a tendency to feel cold and have sensitive digestion, like loose stools, you should not overeat apple. Cooking it may help that it be absorbed better, like in the case of babies, who have weak digestive systems. 
 
Remarkable isn't it?  Something so common, found in every grocery store at the moment, or somebody's yard falling to the ground as no one had time to pick it, can do all that. We take too many things for granted. Maybe the simple things in life, right in front of our eyes, hold the magic and the miracle of healing and health. For us in Chinese Medicine, we take the perspective that "Food is Medicine." What you eat in the everyday, affects how your body and mind functions.  Don't just eat apple, because someone told you it's good for you, eat it and sense how it makes you feel, in mind and body. With this, I propose a new adage,
"If you want to stay healthy, listen to your body (and mind ;-))".


Image: apple by Pixabay user bernwaeltz
Image: 5-pointed-star apple by Elaine