New! A delicious traditional Chinese medicinal tonic of aged ginger and unrefined black sugar. Made for us by a historic sugarcane mill that dates back to the Qing Dynasty, who holds an Intangible Cultural Heritage for the traditional production technique they use for these ginger tea blocks.
This recipe contains two ingredients: whole ginger and unrefined black sugar, and is China Green Food Certified, grown without pesticides or chemicals.
Only aged ginger is selected for a spicier taste and greater effects. Ginger tea is a well-known immunity-boosting, inflammation-reducing, and digestion-aiding tonic in traditional Chinese medicine. It is a nourishing drink for everyday consumption, with fat-burning, pain-reducing, and anti-nausea benefits as well.
Unlike white or brown sugar, black sugar is unrefined: it is sugar made by slow-cooking sugarcane juice. It also has a powdery texture, with a deep, complex flavor. Black sugar retains the trace minerals of sugarcane juice including potassium, iron, and calcium. Black sugar is grouped as a “warming” food in Chinese medicine and is widely used therapeutically, especially combined with ginger.
Warm Tonifying Formulas: Ginger and black sugar are often used together in tonifying formulas for their combined ability to warm and invigorate the digestive system, improve circulation, and relieve cold-induced stagnation.
Digestive Health: When combined, they are particularly useful for people with weak digestion due to cold or deficiency, as they work together to enhance digestive function and reduce bloating or discomfort.
Ginger Tea Functions:
China Green Food certified raw materials, grown without chemicals or pesticides. Each box is 218 grams and contains 13 individually wrapped blocks.
History: The use of ginger and black sugar has a long history in Chinese medicine. From the very first textual accounts we have of Chinese medical practice, ginger has been an integral aspect of this traditional healing system. Chinese use multiple forms and preparations of ginger, including raw ginger (生薑), aged and dried ginger (乾薑), pan-fried aged ginger (炮薑) and charred ginger (薑碳). Because our ginger and black sugar cubes use aged and dried ginger, we will focus on this form in the present discussion.
The earliest Chinese materia medica book published during the Eastern Han dynasty already contains a detailed discussion of the uses and indications of both raw and aged ginger. Of aged ginger, it says it is a warming and acrid herb that can be use to treat diarrhea, pain, and cold in the abdomen, cough, and rheumatism. Not surprisingly, in the very first clinical manual published during the Han dynasty, aged ginger was employed to treat just these diseases—the herb is found in formulas treating chronic diarrhea (“Counterflow Cold Decoction”), cough (“Minor Black Dragon Decoction”), and pain in the abdomen (“Peach Blossom Decoction”). In these earliest texts, there is no mention of black sugar, but we do see ginger and malt sugar combined in “minor center fortifying decoction” to treat abdominal pain. In this formula, the sugar is thought to soothe spasming, while the ginger drives out pain-inducing cold—combined, the two herbs work to mitigate abdominal pain.
As early as the Song dynasty (960-1279), we see the combined use of ginger and black sugar in A New Book on Promoting Longevity in the Elderly, in which the combo is indicated for “cough, shortness of breath, heat effusion, distention in the abdomen and poor appetite.” This formula is likely to treat a common cold with concomitant indigestion. Later formularies would indicate the combination of similar issues. The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) Collected Writings on Materia Medica records two formulas using the black sugar and ginger combination—“Ginger, Black Sugar, and Perilla Decoction” is indicated for common cold with diarrhea, while “Ginger, Black Sugar, and Smoked Plum decoction” is indicated expressly for diarrhea. To this day, in Taiwan during the cold season of the winter months, one can get fresh roasted sugar cane and ginger juice drinks at roadside stops throughout the countryside. Black sugar and ginger blocks are also often sold in grocery stores and pharmacies in winter months to keep away the common cold.
In modern China, ginger and black sugar cubes are also a common remedy for menstrual pain. This usage harkens back to the Han dynasty's usage of ginger for abdominal pain, especially in women, for whom the formula “Angelica, Ginger, and Mutton Decoction” was commonly used. The Ming Dynasty materia medica classic The Compendium of Materia Medica notes that black sugar has a warming and soothing nature and can also promote circulation. It was believed to particularly warm the liver channel, which is deeply implicated in gynecological disease. It is thus no wonder that black sugar would be combined with ginger to treat menstrual pain. Indeed, a 2018 study out of Taiwan found that college-age women who drank ginger and black sugar tea during menstruation were found to have significantly less pain than a control group that did not receive any intervention.
Recently, however, some Chinese doctors have pushed back against the unilateral use of ginger and black sugar cubes for menstrual pain. This is due to the fact that there are multiple mechanisms of pain during menstruation, and ginger and black sugar cubes are not suitable for every mechanism. In general, the cubes are best suited for women who are averse to cold, often have cold hands, feet, and lower abdomen, and are prone to diarrhea or unformed stools. For women with menstrual pain that are averse to heat, often thirsty, and tend toward constipation, ginger and black cubes are not a good option.
Clinical Studies: Modern studies confirm the experiential findings of the ancient Chinese, with several studies noting the positive effects of ginger on the gastrointestinal system. A comprehensive systematic review of 109 randomized controlled trials found that ginger effectively treats “nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, inflammation, metabolic syndromes, [and] digestive function”. Another paper released through the Swiss scientific journal Molecules suggests that the anti-inflammatory properties of Ginger would be helpful in the treatment of various GI auto-immune inflammatory disorders such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease as well as general auto-immune disorders such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Modern findings regarding black sugar also correlate with traditional beliefs in Chinese medicine. A 2007 study out of Japan found that black sugar intake led to reduced incidence of atherosclerosis in an animal model, this supports the Chinese medical idea that black sugar promotes healthy blood circulation. Additionally, black sugar has also been found to have a strong anti-oxidant profile and an inhibitory effect on blood glucose levels, making it a wise choice for those with a sweet tooth who may be concerned about the harmful effects of sugar.
INSTRUCTIONS: Add a ginger tea block to a mug (150-200 ml) of boiling or very hot water to brew. Stir and enjoy. Note: our blocks are made with chunks of whole ginger, not ginger powder.
HOW TO STORE: Store in a cool, dry place away from light.
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