Cinnamon and fennel tea - A precious winter remedy

"Cinnamon and fennel tea" is a wonderful medicine and drink for winter days and when eating cold raw food. That is the secret to maintaining the health of the Japanese people, along with the tea ceremony culture with the spirit of Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility.

The main ingredients of the tea recipe are cinnamon and fennel, which are familiar and easy-to-find herbs that have the effect of eliminating cold and supporting digestion very well.

1. Cinnamon

The warm, sweet aroma of cinnamon is unmistakable with any other herb. Cinnamon was a precious commodity that was widely traded throughout the ancient and modern world. Cinnamon has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb and as a flavoring in many industries.

The ancient Egyptians highly valued and used cinnamon as an essential ingredient in the aromatic mixture for embalming. In Rome in the first centuries AD, cinnamon was 15 times more valuable than silver and centuries later, it was still expensive. Only the very wealthy in medieval Europe could afford this expensive commodity, due to high demand and low supply. Gradually, cinnamon became more widespread and affordable, suitable for many social classes. In our country, natural cinnamon is very rare, mainly cultivated cinnamon, in Van Yen, Yen Bai and the western mountains of Thanh Hoa, there are still some ancestral cinnamon trees, which have existed for many years, and are of high value for cultural traditions and as medicinal herbs.

3 cinnamon and fennel tea recipes for winter and when eating cold raw foods.

Modern medicine uses cinnamon as a remedy for digestive disorders, colds, flu, lung infections, and blood circulation, thereby increasing blood flow to the hands and feet. More recently, cinnamon has been shown to have an insulin-like effect in the blood and may help stabilize blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It may also lower blood cholesterol, but more research is needed on this effect. Therefore, cinnamon has the effect of reducing blood sugar and preventing complications of diabetes.

According to traditional oriental medicine, cinnamon has a spicy and sweet taste, is very hot, and has a pure yang energy. It enters the lungs and kidney blood, so it has the effect of calming the lungs, nourishing the kidneys, and replenishing the insufficient fire of the life gate (between the two kidneys is the innate ancestral qi, also known as true fire. When true fire is insufficient, it cannot cook food into a fine substance, the spleen and stomach are weak, and the qi is exhausted and dies), and benefits the yang and eliminates evil yin. It treats stubborn cold and sinking cold (internal cold deep inside), can induce perspiration to clear the blood vessels, and leads hundreds of medicines (the spicy taste has the effect of dispersing, and the hot nature helps to circulate). It expels cold evil in the yin and yang, causes spontaneous sweating (yang deficiency), abdominal pain and cold (abdominal pain due to cold), and coughs and stagnant qi (coughs and stagnant qi due to qi not returning to its source, cinnamon has the effect of leading fire back to the dantian).

When cinnamon is used to prick the roots of a tree, the tree will dry up and die, so cinnamon has the effect of stopping liver wind and supporting spleen earth (a strong liver wood suppresses spleen earth, the spicy taste disperses liver wind, the sweet taste benefits spleen earth). Insufficient fire of the Mingmen, causing spleen deficiency, fear of eating and drinking, can also be treated with cinnamon. In addition, cinnamon also nourishes tuberculosis and brightens the eyes. When using cinnamon, the dry outer bark must be removed.

Cinnamon heart is cinnamon bark without the inner and outer bark, leaving only the middle part. Cinnamon heart has the properties of drying, nourishing yang, and can expel blood, lead blood, transform perspiration, transform pus, clear internal boils, and cure boils (used with cloves), benefit the essence and brighten the eyes, eliminate stasis and regenerate tissue, nourish labor, warm the back and knees, and heal joints. People use cinnamon heart to treat wind-induced chest and abdomen distention, abdominal pain due to cold, and the nine types of heart pain (one type, two types, three types of wind, four types, five types, six types of drinking, seven types of cold, eight types of heat, and nine types of sitting pain, all caused by evils following the collateral channels of the heart and yin, evil and righteous attack each other, leading to heart pain).

Small cinnamon branches are called cinnamon twigs. Cinnamon twigs have a spicy, sweet taste, are hot in nature, and have a silvery, rising qi. They enter the Taiyin lung and Taiyang bladder meridians. They have the effect of warming the meridians, clearing the channels, inducing perspiration, relaxing muscles, and leading lung qi. Cinnamon twigs are used to treat headaches caused by wind evil (no sweating, causing sweating), and stroke with spontaneous sweating (sweating, stopping sweating). Cinnamon twigs can regulate the blood and body, both causing evil to follow sweat and stopping spontaneous sweating due to yang deficiency.

2. Dill

Dill is an herb and vegetable that has been used as a cooking spice for over 2,000 years. Traditionally, physicians used it to treat children with stomach aches due to colds, digestive disorders, and to help with lactation.

Emperor Charlemagne - the first German Emperor (742 - 814) was the one who introduced and brought fennel to Europe. In England, fennel became one of the sacred herbs from the 10th century with the belief that it could cure all diseases. When European colonists brought fennel to the United States, it was used to aid digestion, gargle, soothe sore throats, treat gingivitis, increase milk production and as a spice... Until now, fennel is still commonly used for medicinal purposes.

In cuisine, fish dishes cannot lack an important spice, which is dill, thanks to dill, the dish increases flavor, eliminates fishy smell, and aids digestion. Japan is a country rich in cultural traditions, in every daily meal there is fish as well as some other seafood. These are cold raw foods that can easily cause digestive disorders. Along with tea culture, the Japanese use cinnamon dill tea before eating to warm the spleen and stomach, regulate yin and yang, and aid digestion.

Dill is an easy-to-grow plant and can be grown and harvested year-round in Vietnam.

3. Cinnamon and fennel tea - A valuable remedy for winter and when eating cold raw foods

With the good uses of cinnamon and fennel, learn how to make cinnamon and fennel tea on winter days and when eating cold raw food like the Japanese (see photo) to take care of your family's health.

According to SK&DS