Ginseng tea

Common card · No. 399183

Ginseng tea, or insam-cha (Korean: 인삼차; Hanja: 人蔘茶; insam means ginseng and cha means tea in Korean), is a traditional Korean tea made with ginseng. While it is called a tea, ginseng tea does not contain tea leaves; it is a herbal tea infusion made out of the ginseng plant's root. Ginseng is a perennial herb derived from the aromatic root of Panax ginseng, also known as Korean ginseng. Ginseng grows in shady forests that are cool and damp. It is a slow-growing plant and difficult to cultivate. It can take four to six years before the root is ready to be harvested. Ginseng roots have a forked and twisted appearance that somewhat resembles the human body. Ginseng roots have been used in East Asian countries for more than 2,000 years. The roots can be used fresh; however, there are various forms which can be processed in different ways for different uses. Fresh roots can be processed into red ginseng (홍삼, hongsam) by steaming and drying, or into white ginseng (백삼, paeksam) by a simpler process...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Mighty Travels, CC BY 2.0