Ginseng tea

[bagua7]

I found this eBay product:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2009yr-Ginse ... 3367b13f1d

And would like to read your opinions about it:

1. I would buy it.

2. I wouldn't.

Cheers.

[Merrill]

For the record, if this is about health generally it's the Ginseng root that is consumed. I would advise North American Ginseng over the Chinese one. I've never heard of drinking tea made from the leaves.

[AlexZorach]

The listing has expired, but I personally would not buy ginseng as a regular drink. Although some people may consume it as a tonic, my limited understanding of Chinese traditional medicine is that Ginseng is not used as a general herb to drink regularly. It may be somewhat of an all-purpose-positive-effect herb but it's typically used in this function in more in serious situations, in combination with other herbs. When it is used on its own, it is usually used to treat specific conditions.

There are also some concerns about certain species of ginseng, including American species, being overharvested and becoming endangered. For this reason I urge caution when buying ginseng...buying the wild-harvested herb, or an herb of unknown origins, may be supporting a market that is in some cases illegal and at a bare minimum unethical and damaging to the environment.