{"title":"Cold nature","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe scale of the five natures describes the thermal quality the tradition lends to a material, from the most cooling to the most warming. Cold nature (寒 Han) is its far pole: that of the matter the tradition keeps for frank excesses of heat, and uses with measure.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"fruit-du-gardenia-zhi-zi","title":"Gardenia fruit - 栀子 (Zhi Zi)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe fruit of \u003cem\u003eGardenia jasminoides\u003c\/em\u003e, harvested in autumn when it ripens and takes on its characteristic orange-red tint. Dried whole or sliced, it comes as ribbed, hard ovoid capsules, orange-brown, with a mild, woody scent; its savour is frankly bitter. It is one of the oldest dyes in China: the saffron yellow of the imperial fabrics owes its shade to it. Split and thrown into a bowl of water at 95 °C for five minutes, a single fruit gives a bright yellow water, used as much for the colour as for the bitterness.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827580494163,"sku":"BQ-ZHI-ZI-100G","price":7.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/zhi-zi-dessus-3.jpg?v=1784503531"},{"product_id":"chevrefeuille-du-japon-jin-yin-hua","title":"Japanese honeysuckle - 金银花 (Jin Yin Hua)","description":"\u003cp\u003eJin Yin Hua means literally “gold and silver flower”: the buds of \u003cem\u003eLonicera japonica\u003c\/em\u003e open white then turn golden yellow within the same day, so that the two shades sit together on the one stem. They are picked at the very start of spring, before they fully open, and dried quickly in the shade, which keeps their pale colour and their scent. Dry, they are fine curved tubes, pale yellow to ivory, very light in the hand. As an infusion, a spoonful of buds in a bowl of water at 85 °C for three to four minutes gives a clear liquor, floral and barely bitter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"50 g","offer_id":53827580559699,"sku":"BQ-JIN-YIN-HUA-50G","price":7.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/jin-yin-hua-dessus-2.jpg?v=1784503437"},{"product_id":"pissenlit-dent-de-lion-pu-gong-ying","title":"Dandelion (Lion’s tooth) - 蒲公英 (Pu Gong Ying)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Chinese dandelion (\u003cem\u003eTaraxacum mongolicum\u003c\/em\u003e), a close cousin of our European dandelion, is harvested whole — root, leaves and flowers — in spring, when the plant is in full growth, just before the flower heads run to seed. Dried in the shade, it keeps a fresh vegetal scent and a clear bitterness; the cut lengths mix the brown of the root, the dark green of the leaves and the faded yellow of the flowers. As an infusion, a spoonful in a bowl of water at 95 °C for five minutes gives a golden and frankly bitter liquor, readily softened with a little honey.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827580789075,"sku":"BQ-PU-GONG-YING-100G","price":7.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/pu-gong-ying-dessus-4.jpg?v=1784503500"},{"product_id":"herbe-de-hedyote-bai-hua-she-she-cao","title":"Hedyotis herb - 白花蛇舌草 (Bai Hua She She Cao)","description":"\u003cp\u003eHedyotis diffusa, whose Chinese name means “white-flowered snake tongue” in reference to the narrow, lance-shaped form of its leaves, is a modest herb that grows in mats in the damp zones of southern China. Harvested in summer when it flowers, dried whole, it comes as finely branched tufts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827580854611,"sku":"BQ-BAI-HUA-SHE-SHE-CAO-100G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/bai-hua-she-she-cao-cote-1.jpg?v=1784503406"},{"product_id":"racine-de-rehmannia-fraiche-crue-sheng-di-huang","title":"Rehmannia root (raw) - 生地黄 (Sheng Di Huang)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe root of \u003cem\u003eRehmannia glutinosa\u003c\/em\u003e, one of the most emblematic plants of the Chinese repertoire. “Sheng” denotes the raw form: the tuber is simply cleaned then dried, without the repeated preparation that gives Shu Di Huang. Fleshy, blackened and glossy after drying, it cuts into supple lengths, a little sticky under the finger, with a dark, shining break; the taste is sweet then bitter, the texture slightly gummy. It is simmered in pieces in broths, an hour at least, or infused for fifteen minutes in water at 95 °C — the water then takes on the colour of ink.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"200 g","offer_id":53827581182291,"sku":"BQ-SHENG-DI-HUANG-200G","price":9.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/racine-de-rehmannia-fraichecrue-sheng-di-huang-3047242.jpg?v=1785714386"},{"product_id":"racine-disatis-ban-lan-gen","title":"Isatis root - 板蓝根 (Ban Lan Gen)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe root of \u003cem\u003eIsatis indigotica\u003c\/em\u003e, the plant whose leaves — Da Qing Ye — give indigo blue. Grown for two years before being lifted in autumn, the root is washed, dried then cut into rounds with a grey-brown bark and paler flesh, floury in appearance. It is light, brittle, of a discreet scent and a sweet taste that turns bitter. It is one of the most widespread roots in China, where it is sold in slices everywhere. It is set to simmer in a broth, about forty minutes, or infused for ten minutes in water at 95 °C; it is often softened with a little rock sugar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827581477203,"sku":"BQ-BAN-LAN-GEN-100G","price":7.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/ban-lan-gen-cote-1.jpg?v=1784503406"},{"product_id":"mures-sechees-murier-blanc-sang-shen-zi","title":"Dried mulberries (White mulberry) - 桑椹子 (Sang Shen Zi)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe fruits of \u003cem\u003eMorus alba\u003c\/em\u003e, the white mulberry whose leaves feed the silkworm. At maturity, the mulberries pass from white to deep red then to an almost black purple: it is at that stage that they are picked by hand, delicately, then dried in the sun or in a low-temperature drier. Small, ovoid and dark, they stay supple and a little sticky, and keep a sweet, tart savour, close to raisin with a hint of wine. They are nibbled as they come, thrown into rice porridges and compotes, or infused — a spoonful for a bowl of water at 90 °C for five minutes, the infusion taking on a purple tint.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827589046611,"sku":"BQ-SANG-SHEN-ZI-100G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/sang-shen-zi-dessus-5.jpg?v=1784503496"},{"product_id":"plantain-deau-ze-xie","title":"Water plantain - 泽泻 (Ze Xie)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe fleshy rhizome of \u003cem\u003eAlisma orientale\u003c\/em\u003e, an aquatic plant of the marshes and paddy fields of Asia, whose lance-head leaves emerge above the water. It is lifted at the end of autumn or in winter, stripped of its outer bark, dried, then cut into rounds. These are a matt yellowish white, floury at the break, sown with small darker points; the smell is discreet, the taste sweet at first, then slightly bitter. Its name, 泽泻, translates word for word as “the marsh that flows away”, in reference to the waterlogged ground where the plant grows. In broth or as a long infusion: a few rounds in just-simmering water, fifteen to twenty minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827590914387,"sku":"BQ-ZE-XIE-100G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/plantain-deau-ze-xie-4253101.jpg?v=1785714383"},{"product_id":"grand-plantain-parties-aeriennes-che-qian-cao","title":"Greater plantain (aerial parts) - 车前草 (Che Qian Cao)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe aerial parts of \u003cem\u003ePlantago asiatica\u003c\/em\u003e, sometimes \u003cem\u003ePlantago depressa\u003c\/em\u003e, that common plantain of the roadside. Its name, 车前草, translates word for word as “the grass in front of the cart”: the plant thrives in ruts, where the seeds fall and germinate. It is cut in summer, during flowering, and dried whole, in bundles. Dry, it keeps its oval leaves with strongly marked parallel veins, of a greyish green turning khaki, and its long, fine brown flower spikes; the smell is herbaceous and frank, the taste vegetal, a little bitter. A pinch goes into just-simmering water, five to ten minutes, on its own or with other herbs; the young leaves are also eaten, briefly blanched, as a leaf vegetable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827590979923,"sku":"BQ-CHE-QIAN-CAO-100G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/che-qian-cao-dessus-1.jpg?v=1784503408"},{"product_id":"graines-de-plantain-che-qian-zi","title":"Plantain seeds - 车前子 (Che Qian Zi)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe seeds of \u003cem\u003ePlantago asiatica\u003c\/em\u003e, sometimes \u003cem\u003ePlantago depressa\u003c\/em\u003e, separated from the spike by threshing in autumn, once the capsules are dry. Not to be confused with Che Qian Cao, which denotes the aerial parts of the same plant: here only the seeds are kept. Minute — barely a millimetre — brownish-black, glossy and angular, they have almost no smell and a very discreet, faintly cereal taste. On contact with water they swell and surround themselves with a slippery mucilage that clouds the liquid and thickens it slightly. Their fineness makes straining awkward: Chinese usage encloses them in a cloth bag (Bao Jian) which is dipped for some twenty minutes in just-simmering water before being lifted out.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827591012691,"sku":"BQ-CHE-QIAN-ZI-100G","price":7.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/che-qian-zi-dessus-2.jpg?v=1784503410"},{"product_id":"sargasse-hai-zao","title":"Sargassum - 海藻 (Hai Zao)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA brown seaweed of the genus \u003cem\u003eSargassum\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cem\u003eS. pallidum\u003c\/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eS. fusiforme\u003c\/em\u003e), harvested off the coasts of northern China and Japan, then dried in sun and wind. It has none of the wide flat blade of kombu: sargassum is branched like a small bough, with narrow straps and minute round floats that hold it upright in the water. Dry, it comes as supple blackish-brown tufts, still a little salty to the taste, with a frank marine smell. Rehydrated for ten to thirty minutes in cold water, it swells again, softens and takes on an olive tint; it is rinsed, then added to salads, broths and simmered dishes, where a few minutes of cooking are enough.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"50 g","offer_id":53827591242067,"sku":"BQ-HAI-ZAO-50G","price":5.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/hai-zao-cote-1.jpg?v=1784503437"},{"product_id":"laminaire-kombu-kun-bu","title":"Kelp (Kombu) - 昆布 (Kun Bu)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA large brown seaweed (\u003cem\u003eSaccharina japonica\u003c\/em\u003e, long known as \u003cem\u003eLaminaria japonica\u003c\/em\u003e, sometimes \u003cem\u003eEcklonia kurome\u003c\/em\u003e), harvested off the coasts of Japan, Korea and north-east China. The blades are hauled up then dried in sun and wind until they turn stiff. Dry, the seaweed is thick, blackish-brown, almost armoured, often veiled with a fine white powder which is not mould but salt and sugars crystallised at the surface — it is wiped rather than washed. The smell is marine and discreet, the taste deeply umami. It is the base of Japanese dashi and of many Korean broths: a ten-centimetre piece in a litre of water, heated slowly and lifted out just before boiling, failing which the broth turns slimy and bitter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"50 g","offer_id":53827591274835,"sku":"BQ-KUN-BU-50G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/laminaire-kombu-kun-bu-8461683.jpg?v=1785714382"},{"product_id":"racine-dimperata-bai-mao-gen","title":"Imperata root - 白茅根 (Bai Mao Gen)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe creeping rhizome of \u003cem\u003eImperata cylindrica\u003c\/em\u003e, a perennial grass found on almost every continent, known in English as cogon grass and considered invasive in several countries. The shallow rhizomes are lifted in spring or in autumn, washed with care — they run through sand and soil — stripped of their rootlets and their scales, then dried and cut into lengths. These are yellowish-white, glossy, grooved lengthwise, marked with regular nodes; they are light, hollow at the centre, and their airy pith crushes between two fingers. The taste is mild, subtly sweet, without bitterness, and the infusion stays very pale. A handful of lengths in just-simmering water, ten to fifteen minutes, to be drunk warm or cold.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827592061267,"sku":"BQ-BAI-MAO-GEN-100G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/bai-mao-gen-cote-3.jpg?v=1784503406"},{"product_id":"rhodiola-du-tibet-hong-jing-tian","title":"Tibetan rhodiola - 红景天 (Hong Jing Tian)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe root of \u003cem\u003eRhodiola crenulata\u003c\/em\u003e, an alpine plant of the high plateaux of Tibet, Qinghai and Sichuan, where it grows between 3 500 and 5 000 metres, in scree, under a keen cold, air poor in oxygen and intense sunlight. It is lifted in autumn, from specimens several years old, then cleaned and cut into slices before drying. The root is a thick taproot, covered with a brown bark that peels away in scales; the cut face is pale yellow with a pinkish heart and gives off, freshly sliced, a discreet scent of rose, unexpected enough for a root. The taste is bitter and astringent, with a floral trace on the finish. Two or three slices to a cup of water at 90 °C, ten minutes; it is also added to broths.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":53827592388947,"sku":"BQ-HONG-JING-TIAN-100G","price":12.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/hong-jing-tian-dessus-2.jpg?v=1784503439"},{"product_id":"the-amer-houx-amer-ku-ding-cha","title":"Bitter tea (Bitter holly) - 苦丁茶 (Ku Ding Cha)","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Bitter tea” (Ku Ding Cha) is \u003cstrong\u003enot a true tea\u003c\/strong\u003e (Camellia sinensis): it is an infusion based on the leaves of Ilex (tropical holly) or of Ligustrum (privet), according to the regional variety. The long, leathery leaves are rolled into characteristic green sticks and dried. Very popular in southern China and in Vietnam, its name Ku Ding means “bitter nail”, in reference to its extreme bitterness and to its nail-like shape. A drink of folk tradition and of the orthodox pharmacopoeia, on the border between tea and traditional infusion.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"50 g","offer_id":53827592651091,"sku":"BQ-KU-DING-CHA-50G","price":9.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/the-amer-houx-amer-ku-ding-cha-9437724.jpg?v=1785714376"},{"product_id":"racine-de-scutellaire-huang-qin","title":"Skullcap root - 黄芩 (Huang Qin)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe root of Scutellaria baicalensis, native to north-east China and Mongolia, comes as golden-yellow cylindrical lengths, sometimes hollow at the centre when the plant is old (Ku Qin). Harvested in autumn after three to four years of growth, it is sliced and dried. Its bitter savour is less pronounced than that of Huang Lian, which makes it more approachable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":54354830491987,"sku":"BQ-HUANG-QIN-100G","price":7.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/huang-qin-dessus-1.jpg?v=1784503437"},{"product_id":"brunelle-commune-xia-ku-cao","title":"Common prunella - 夏枯草 (Xia Ku Cao)","description":"\u003cp\u003eXia Ku Cao means literally “the herb that withers in summer”: selfheal (\u003cem\u003ePrunella vulgaris\u003c\/em\u003e), though a perennial, sees its inflorescences dry out on the stalk from the summer solstice — a botanical curiosity that earned it its name. It is these purplish-brown flower spikes, harvested at that precise moment then dried, that are sold. Dry, they are light, a little rough to the touch, made of overlapping scales, and give a pale brown infusion of a vegetal, slightly bitter taste. Allow a spoonful of spikes for a bowl of water at 95 °C and five to eight minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yi Shang Tang","offers":[{"title":"100 g","offer_id":54354835407187,"sku":"BQ-XIA-KU-CAO-100G","price":6.8,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1067\/3343\/7267\/files\/xia-ku-cao-cote-2.jpg?v=1784503530"}],"url":"https:\/\/botaqi.shop\/en\/collections\/nature-froide.oembed","provider":"BotaQi","version":"1.0","type":"link"}