Hawthorn Iced TeaYou’ve probably never tasted Hawthorn Iced Tea, but it’s easy to make, wonderfully refreshing, and has a unique tangy fruit flavor that goes great with any meal.Hawthorn is also prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine for its many health benefits!A Refreshing Berry Iced TeaIf you’re an iced tea lover, you’re nearing the end of the summer and you might be growing tired of your go-to formulations. That said, this Hawthorn Iced Tea is a refreshing alternative with a unique thirst-quenching flavor, and it only takes three ingredients! Dried hawthorn berries, sugar, and water.It’s my kind of recipe.  What is Chinese hawthorn?Chinese Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida; 山楂, shān zhā) is part of the genus Cretaegus, found in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Chinese Hawthorn in particular features small, tart red fruits that resemble crabapples. The first time I had hawthorn, also known as hawberry, or Chinese hawberry, was when my parents were living in Beijing.Naturally, trips to Beijing on my school breaks meant regular trips to the grocery store and settling into a different rhythm of life in China (in between sleeping off my most recent run of ill-advised college all-nighters).Anyone who’s been to a grocery store in China can attest to the alluring yet puzzling quality of the snack/candy aisles with their many colors and oddball flavors (wasabi Oreos, anyone?). I gravitated towards a bucket of plum-colored fruit leathers, and my mother actua

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