Luo Han Guo is a type of fruit known as monk fruit and sometimes goes by the name “Buddhist fruit”. As the name suggests, it has some Chinese religion subtext to it. During the Tang Dynasty, a group of Buddhist monk went for a retreat to a temple at the top of the mountain, Guilin.
This is where the fruit was first discovered. It was then immediately named after an advanced Buddhist practitioner, Luo Han. Guo in Mandarin stands for fruit. Hence the name, Luo Han Guo.Revamped it into a drink and you have a tea that is sweet to drink and soothing to the throat.
It is best known for its cooling properties towards the lungs and its ability to remove internal heat from our body. Other known health benefits also include its prominent anti-ageing properties and coping asthma-related allergies. The study also shows this tea is a boon towards ramifying heart-related health issues.
Luo Han Guo has a dauntingly blackish outlook, compelling some to think twice before drinking it. But once you try it, we believe you are bound to get addicted!
Ingredients (8 Servings):
- 3-4 Monk fruit (Luo Han Guo in Mandarin)
- 50 grams of dried longan (gui yuan in Mandarin)
- 50 grams of dried chrysanthemum flower (Ju Hua in Mandarin)
- 3 slices of liquorice
- 50 grams of rock sugar (to be adjusted until desired taste suffice)
- Water
Directions:
- Crack open the monk fruit. Do not dispose of the shell.
- Add water into a pot and boil. Add the cracked monk fruit with its shell into the boiling water.
- Ladle the mixture evenly.
- Add in dried longan, dried chrysanthemum flower and liquorice into the mix. Stir evenly.
- Reduce the heat and cover the pot. Let it simmer for approximately 1 hour.
- Add in rock sugar and ladle the mixture. Amount of sugar is adjusted accordingly.
- Switch off the heat. Pour the tea into a glass and serve.
- Luo Han Guo tea is done!
Notes: Do note that only longan is edible while the other solid ingredients are not. We recommend you to serve the tea while it is hot/ warm. You can keep the leftover tea inside the refrigerator. When served icily, it will give you a brand new experience, and we recommend you to try both!