Herbal Teas
Malt and Hawthorn Drink
Malt and Hawthorn Drink is a classic Chinese medicinal digestive tea, originating from the Chinese Medicinal Diet as a spleen-strengthening medicinal recipe. Made with stir-fried malt and hawthorn as the main ingredients, it can be decocted or steeped. Stir-fried malt is sweet in taste, neutral in nature, and channels to the Spleen and Stomach meridians. It is known for promoting Qi flow, aiding digestion, and strengthening the spleen and stomach, and is especially effective for digesting grain-based foods. Hawthorn is sour and sweet in taste, slightly warm in nature, and channels to the Spleen, Stomach, and Liver meridians. It is known for promoting digestion, resolving food stagnation, and promoting Qi circulation, and is especially effective for digesting meat and greasy foods. Together, malt digests grain-based stagnation while hawthorn resolves meat-based stagnation, achieving the combined effects of strengthening the stomach, promoting digestion, and resolving stagnation. The tea has a reddish color and a pleasantly sweet and sour taste, making it appealing to both the elderly and children. This drink is especially suitable for those with food stagnation, poor digestion, abdominal fullness, and loss of appetite.
Main Ingredients
- Stir-fried malt 10g
- Hawthorn (or stir-fried/charred hawthorn) 10g
- Brown sugar (or rock sugar) To taste
- Water 800ml
Steps
Quickly rinse the stir-fried malt and hawthorn to remove surface dust. Some recipes suggest stir-frying hawthorn until charred and malt until yellow before decocting to enhance the digestive effect.
Place the stir-fried malt and hawthorn into a clay pot or herbal tea maker. Add approximately 300-800ml of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 15-30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, strain out the herbal residue, add brown sugar (or rock sugar) to taste, and stir until fully dissolved. If using brown sugar, add it during the final 5 minutes of simmering.
TCM Notes
Modern Pharmacological Research: Digestion promotion: Amylase, invertase, and proteolytic enzymes in stir-fried malt help break down carbohydrates in grains; lipase in hawthorn promotes the digestion of fatty foods. Together, they resolve stagnation from both meat and grain-based foods. Appetite stimulation: Hawthorn increases gastric digestive enzyme secretion. Malt mildly promotes gastric acid and pepsin secretion. Together, they strengthen the stomach and stimulate appetite. Stomach harmonization: Helps improve symptoms such as vomiting after eating and acid regurgitation.
Suitable for：Those with food stagnation and poor digestion Those with abdominal fullness and acid regurgitation Those with loss of appetite and poor food intake Children with milk or food stagnation Those with meat and greasy food stagnation Generally suitable for post-meal digestion after holidays or heavy meals
Not suitable for：Those with excess stomach acid: Hawthorn is acidic and may stimulate gastric secretion, worsening acid reflux and heartburn Breastfeeding women: Stir-fried malt has lactation-suppressing effects and may reduce milk production — contraindicated Pregnant women: Both malt and hawthorn have astringent properties — consume only under medical supervision Diabetics: Brown sugar is high in sugar — omit sugar when consuming Those allergic to malt or hawthorn
