My love for Macrobiotics, a lifestyle that recognizes the interconnectedness of the body with the environment and a way of eating that integrates the understanding of universal life energies with food and eating, has helped me throughout my life to feel the healthiest and most balanced in body, mind, and spirit.
One remedy that calls out to me every year during the Autumn season because of it’s warming, soothing, and calming effect is Ume Bancha Tea. This tea has an alkalizing effect, strengthens the digestive lining, and is great for nausea, preventing and treating the common cold, and easing the symptoms of overeating and excessive drinking. And most importantly, it just tastes yummy!
It has a sweet and sour taste from the ume plum paste, a slight bitter and nutty flavor from the Bancha tea, a little salty from the Tamari, and a bit of heat from the optional ginger juice. The Kudzu gives it a thicker consistency, making it go down nice and smooth.
A few words about the ingredients:
Umeboshi Plums come in all forms, including vinegar, salted, and pureed. It is rich in polyphenols and has a delicious sour taste that gets the digestive enzymes flowing. The one you want for this recipe is the concentrated paste from Eden Foods, which has no added salt or sugar.
Tamari: a gluten-free soy sauce is fermented, providing lots of good bacteria to your intestines. It also is alkalinizing and helps build your immune defenses. You could also use soy sauce, shoyu, or soy-free coconut aminos instead.
Kudzu root starch is extracted from the Kudzu vine, which has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years because of its ability to support a healthy fever, reduce diarrhea, normalize blood sugar, maintain healthy blood vessels, support liver detox, and stimulate digestion. Because of its ability to reduce alcohol cravings, I am regularly recommending it to those in my Successful Sobriety program. Here, it is used both medicinally and as a thickener for our delicious tea.
Bancha, also known as Kukicha or simply Twig tea, is made from the twigs of the tree that produces all tea leaves, Camellia Sinensis. It’s packed with healthy nutrients, amino acids, tannins, and polyphenols. It contains minimal caffeine, equivalent to less than a weak cup of green tea, making it suitable for enjoyment before bedtime. I love the mild light nutty flavor and drink it throughout the day all on its own. You may find it at Mountain Rose Herbs or Dandelion Herbs.
Ginger is great for soothing digestion and adds delicious flavor and warmth. You may slice the ginger root and add it to the simmering twig tea, or for convenience, add a teaspoon or two of purchased ginger juice.
Ingredients:
2 cups of spring or filtered water
2 tsp organic Bancha
1/8 tsp ume plum paste concentrate
2 tsp Kudzu root starch
3-5 drops Tamari
Few slices of ginger or 1-2 tsp ginger juice
Directions:
Boil 2 cups of water, then add 1 Tbs Bancha, turn down the heat, and simmer on low for 5 minutes. (An alternative is to let the Bancha just steep in boiled water for 15 min.)
While the tea is simmering, prepare the Kudzu by mixing 2 tsp in a small amount of cold water until it is smooth and free from lumps.
When Bancha is finished simmering or steeping, strain, then add the kudzu paste, ume plum paste concentrate, tamari, and ginger juice and stir.
Enjoy!
