As part of the Chinese New Year festivities, my grandparents received this Silver Jubilee Hoga Gaharu tea and they let me be the first in the family to try it! [1]
This set actually contains a can of tea (in the form of tea bags) and a glass bottle.
I haven’t had the chance to use the bottle yet since I have perfectly good cups at home [2], but apart from being double-lined, the glass also has a strainer at the top. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be used for tea since I would expect the strainer to be a bit deeper (unless you shake the glass or strain the tea first [3]).
According to the company’s website:
Gaharu, commonly known as Agarwood and also called Eaglewood, Aloeswood, ChenXiang, (沉香), Jin-koh (沈香), or Oud (عود) in different countries, has many beneficial and healing properties. Possessing such an array of valuable qualities, Gaharu has played a vast and significant role in Middle Eastern, Chinese and Ayurvedic cultures and the earliest documented use of Agarwood was in 600 AD but its existence in the medicinal world goes way beyond these records.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much information about the medicinal benefits of Gaharu, because it seems like its use as incense is more common. However, I did find two interesting papers – one trial on rats saying that “The findings suggest that agarwood leaf is a promising potential antidiabetic agent [4].” and another rat study concluding that Gaharu “has a laxative effect, without causing diarrhea, in a rat model of low-fiber diet-induced constipation” [5].
Outside of these studies, the only medicinal effects I could find about this tea come from alternative health websites where I can’t verify the information. I did, however, find this passage from a paper on the cultivation of Agarwood trees:
Agarwood has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years, and continues to be used in Ayurvedic, Tibetan and traditional East Asian medicine (Chakrabarty et al. 1994; Fratkin, 1994). The Sahih Muslim, which dates back to approximately the eighth century, refers to the use of agarwood for the treatment of pleurisy and its use is referenced in the Ayurvedic medicinal text the Susruta Samhita. Agarwood is prescribed in traditional East Asian medicine to promote the flow of qi, relieve pain, arrest vomiting by warming the stomach, and to relieve asthma (Anon 1995a). High-grade agarwood powder is prescribed in Chinese medicine (Yaacob 1999) and is also used in the production of pharmaceutical tinctures (Heuveling van Beek and Phillips 1999). Burkill (1966) reported that Malaysians used agarwood mixed with coconut oil as a liniment, and also in a boiled concoction to treat rheumatism and other body pain. Chakrabarty et al. (1994) reported that the often-discarded uninfected wood is used as Kayugaharu lemppong by Malaysians to treat jaundice and body pains. Agarwood is also prescribed for dropsy, as a carminative, a stimulant, for heart palpitations, and as a tonic taken particularly during pregnancy, after childbirth and for diseases of female genital organs (Chakrabarty et al. 1994). [6]
So it seems that at the very least, Agarwood tea has been drunk as traditional medicine for a long time. Whether it’s truly effective is a different matter, although studies do suggest it could be used for treating diabetes and constipation [7].
Although the tea comes in a nice can, it’s actually packaged as tea bags and not loose leaf teas. According to the box, the tea bags are “nylon pyramid sachets […] which allows the tea to brew freely.” [8]
To me (and Jo Jie Jie), the tea has a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) smell and tastes like it. The taste of this tea also reminded me of chrysanthemum tea, but in a sweetly medicinal way (medicinal being the TCM sort of medicinal). That said, my grandmother and aunt praised the tea for smelling fragrant and tasting good, so it does have its appeal.
Brewing recommendations, according to the can, are 250 ml of fresh boiling water for one tea bag, to be drunk twice a day (for adults). The recommended brewing time is 5 to 10 minutes but that is definitely too long if you ask me. The tea gets bitter the longer you stew so I would recommend a steeping time of about 1 minute or so. The box also recommends drinking the tea before a meal and that you should consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking this because it’s a “traditional preparation.”
Lastly, I should mention that this tea is from Malaysia, so if you’re from Malaysia or Singapore, you might be able to see this around.
Notes and Links
Official HOGA website
Link to first study mentioned (note 4)
Link to second study mentioned (note 5)
Link to third study mentioned (note 6)
[1] Okay, so I was the only one who asked to try it. But it counts!
[2] Then again it’s a glass bottle so the odds of me bringing it out are quite small, given that it’s heavy and can be cracked.
[3] But if you pre-strain the tea then why have a strainer?
[4] Pranakhon, Ratree, Patchareewan Pannangpetch, and Chantana Aromdee. “Antihyperglycemic activity of agarwood leaf extracts in STZ-induced diabetic rats and glucose uptake enhancement activity in rat adipocytes.” Songklanakarin Journal of Science & Technology 33.4 (2011).
This study also mentioned one diabetic patient drinking this tea and having their long-term blood glucose levels return to normal but one patient does not a study make. Still, they did mention it so I thought I’d add it in too.
[5] Kakino, Mamoru, et al. “Laxative effects of agarwood on low-fiber diet-induced constipation in rats.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 10.1 (2010): 68.
[6] Akter, Nasima, and Ananta Z. Neelim. “Agarwood plantation at BRAC Tea Estate: introduction, environmental factors and financial analysis.” BRAC Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2008).
[7] Please note the weasel words here. In no way am I saying that these effects definitely do exist.
[8] On that same side of the box, they also mention that this tea is caffeine-free (yes!), no preservatives, no artificial flavours, colours, or sweeteners, and that it’s cultivated using natural organic farming.