Lycii, Fructus - 8 oz. bulk

 Lycii, Fructus (Chinese: Gou qi zi, AKA goji berry or wolfberry) is an important herb for longevity and beauty. It nourishes the blood and essence and is used for weakened sexual energy, backache, fading eyesight, oversensitive eyes, mental confusion, and underdeveloped inner psychic vision. This sweet and tasty fruit can be made into tea, eaten by itself, or used in food preparations. It combines well with Ginseng, Rehmanniae, or Chrysanthemum. Use 6-15 grams per four cups water.

Size: 8 oz. bulk

Medicinal

Wolfberries have long played important roles in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) where they are believed to enhance immune system function, improve eyesight, protect the liver, boost sperm production and improve circulation, among other effects.

In TCM terms, wolfberries are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They act on the liver, lungs, and kidneys and enrich yin. They can be eaten raw, consumed as juice or wine, brewed into an herbal tea or prepared as a tincture.

Culinary

As a food, dried wolfberries are traditionally cooked before consumption. Dried wolfberries are often added to rice congee, as well as used in Chinese tonic soups, in combination with chicken or pork, vegetables, and other herbs such as wild yam (dioscorea), Astragalus, Codonopsis and Glycyrrhiza (licorice) root. The berries are also boiled as an herbal tea, often along with chrysanthemum flowers and/or red jujube , and packaged teas are also available. Various wines containing wolfberries (called gouqi jiu) are also produced, including some that are a blend of grape wine and wolfberries.

In the West, dried wolfberries are also eaten hand-to-mouth as a snack, in the manner of raisins or other dried fruit. Their taste has an accent of tomato and is similar to that of dates, dried cranberries or raisins , though drier, more tart, less sweet and with an herbal scent.

Medicinal and Culinary Information Source: Wikipedia