Concentrated Herbal Granules vs. Raw Herb Powders: Which is better?

Modern technology has made a huge contribution to Chinese medicine in the last 4 decades. Westernised society has made time scarce and many individuals struggle to find time to decoct their herbs at home. Fortunately, we have new ways to take herbal medicine. There are two main types of instant Chinese herbal medicine, Concentrated Herbal Granules and Raw Herb Powders.

Concentrated Herbal Granules

Concentrated granules are simply consumed like instant coffee – just add hot water and stir! The herbs are decocted traditionally and then the concentrated extracts are drawn out to be made into granules. What’s more, concentrated granules are relatively easy to be made into tablets or encapsulated for an even more convenient way to take herbal medicine. As granules are concentrated, less product is needed to create a herbal tea.

Raw Herb powders

There are also raw herb powders, which are simply raw herbs ground up into a fine powder. Hot water can be added to create a hot tea. These powders were traditionally rolled into tea pills which were popular alternatives to raw herbs. Ready-made tea pills are now prohibited for use in the UK and across many countries in Europe due to wide criticism for contamination with heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. One major concern for the use of raw herb powders is that they are not traditionally decocted to kill off bacteria and microbial contamination poses a risk to your patients.

Which is best?

There are pros and cons to both, so let us help you decide what might be best for your practice. We have compared raw herbal powders to our own Phoenix Tianjiang concentrated herbal granules. Although we do like to shout about our own products (doesn’t every company?!), we have compared both with an honest standpoint and used factual information. Please note that other brands of concentrated herbal granules may not have the same advantages as our concentrated granules are specifically produced by a method called ‘Spray Dry Granulation’.

Download our printable comparison guide here: Concentrated Herbal Granules vs. Raw Herbal Powders

The Chinese FDA approves only raw herbs and concentrated herbal granules for use as herbal medicine. This is to eradicate risk for microbial contamination from raw herbal powders.

Practitioners can purchase concentrated herbal granules in our wholesale store or prescribe formulas using our dispensary service. If you need any assistance, please contact our team and a member of staff will help.