Hawthorn Berry and Pear Drink

Why people make this drink

When fresh hawthorn berries appear in the market — small, red, and glossy — Bro Niu never passes them by. They are sour rather than sweet and not everyone’s favourite snack, but their traditional food-therapy value is considerable. Hawthorn is well known in Chinese food medicine for supporting healthy digestion and blood circulation. Paired with juicy pear, which nourishes and moistens, the resulting drink is pleasantly tangy and refreshing — good for the body and easy to enjoy.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Suitable for most adults who want to support healthy digestion, blood flow, and skin appearance
• Particularly helpful for women whose menstrual flow is sluggish — substitute brown sugar for rock sugar in that case
• Pregnant women must avoid this drink — hawthorn is traditionally known to stimulate uterine contractions
• Those with excess stomach acid should also limit their intake, as hawthorn is quite sour

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Hawthorn berries (shan zha, Crataegus pinnatifida): Sour and slightly warm; one of the most used digestive and circulatory herbs in Chinese food therapy. Traditionally associated with moving stagnant blood, aiding fat metabolism, and supporting cardiovascular wellness.
• Pear: Sweet and cooling; used to nourish body fluids, moisten the lungs, and cool internal heat. Its high water content balances the sourness of the hawthorn.
• Rock sugar (bing tang): Neutral in nature; used to gently sweeten the drink and harmonise the strong flavour of hawthorn. For menstrual support, brown sugar (hong tang) is used instead — it is warmer in nature and traditionally used to promote blood circulation.

Ingredients (4 bowls)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Fresh hawthorn berries (shan zha)	12 berries	Washed and sliced
Pear	2 medium	Skin on, cored, cut into strips
Rock sugar	To taste	Or brown sugar for menstrual support
Water	6 bowls (~1.5 L)	Reduce to 4 bowls

Method

1. Wash the hawthorn berries and slice them.
2. Wash the pears (keep skin on), core them, and cut into strips.
3. Place hawthorn and pear in a pot with 6 bowls of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid reduces to approximately 4 bowls.
4. Stir in rock sugar (or brown sugar) and dissolve over low heat.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Bro Niu’s tips

This sweet-sour drink is pleasant for most people and can be enjoyed regularly. It is traditionally considered helpful for those managing high blood pressure, high blood lipids, or coronary heart disease. Women with irregular or sluggish periods should swap the rock sugar for brown sugar, as it has a warmer, more invigorating character. Pregnant women should not have this drink. Those prone to excess stomach acid should take it after meals rather than on an empty stomach.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (Miss Mak): I have had some burning pain when urinating these past few days — could it be a bladder infection? Bro Niu: You could try a simple tea of fresh cogon grass root (mao gen), raw barley (sheng yi mi), and winter melon rind (dong gua pi) with honey dates, simmered for an hour. If the pain becomes more severe or your urine turns very dark yellow, please see a doctor.

• Q (anca): I finished a course of cold medicine four days ago and mostly recovered, but I still feel occasional feverishness and a slight cough with no phlegm. What food therapy can help? Bro Niu: You could try kudzu root (fen ge) with red beans and barley in a lean pork soup to help clear any lingering external heat. Your symptoms suggest the cold may not be fully resolved — if you still have a low-grade fever, Chinese medicine is often quite effective for that. See a Chinese medicine practitioner if symptoms persist.

---

Published November 3, 2019 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.