YIN/YANG Placemat Collection
Traditional Chinese Medicine is interwoven with the principles of harmony and equipoise, using herbal ingredients to balance yin and yang within the body. The YIN/YANG Placemat collection derives inspiration from this ancient practice, while expanding on our original 2021 design based on Southeast Asian taxi seat covers.
Made with wooden beads resembling Chinese medicinal grains and fruit, our YIN/YANG placemats bring a natural sense of energy and serenity to the home. In the same spirit, we’ve included a TCM recipe with each placemat, so you can make a sweet and nourishing tonic at home.
Sesame 芝麻
The Sesame placemat uses grey beads interspersed with white ones, creating a speckled appearance that reminds us of black and white sesame seeds. In TCM, sesame seeds are valued for their cooling properties, and they can support hair and skin health.
Recipe
Serves 2.
This simple but effective tea is popular for its balancing and even beautifying properties. The “three reds” in the name refer to its three red ingredients. It is caffeine-free and can be drunk throughout the day—even chilled, though most people have it warm so as not to counteract its effectiveness. This recipe is so easy that it hardly feels right to call it a “recipe”. But we’ve included it because it’s such an essential, everyday way that people incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine into their lives. Make this tea every day and enjoy with mulberries, especially when they’re fresh and in season!
Ingredients:
- Dried goji berries, 25g
- Dried hawthorn berries, 25g
- Jujubes, 10g
- Rock sugar
- Dried or fresh mulberries
Steps:
- Add all ingredients to a pot with 500ml of water.
- Bring to a boil, then turn down heat.
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add and dissolve rock sugar to taste. You can also leave it out.
- Serve warm. We like to balance this warming tea with a side snack of cooling dried or fresh mulberries.
