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What is a Teapill?

Laura Stropes |

The teapill gets its name from the way that raw herbs are low temperature brewed into a “tea” which is later formed into a small round pill called a teapill. They’ve been manufactured in Asia in this form for almost 100 years! Many of our Bamboo Pharmacy products are available in teapill form - think of a teapill like a little ball of condensed herb juice. That’s a very simplified statement, but when you think of it as molded herb extracts instead of medicine, it begins to make sense why you will sometimes need to take 8 of them at a time!

Raw Teapill

To begin the teapill creation process, the raw herbs are brewed at a controlled low temperature to extract the herbal goodness. This may include essential oils, vitamins, color, extracts, and flavors that are part of the herb itself. The “tea” is then vacuum sealed into extractors to ensure the herbal mix does not lose its potency. The extract is then further concentrated into a paste which is then blended with one or more powdered herbs to form an herbal dough. The dough is formed into small balls, the balls are machine spun, and are then coated with a fine layer of edible wax to allow for easy swallowing and preservation of freshness (without the addition of preservatives!). The final results are small round balls of herbs ready for your medicine cabinet.

About the Author

Laura Stropes, L.Ac. is a licensed practitioner of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine with a great love of Chinese herbology. She has been in practice since 1998. She has a passion for helping people on their path to achieve balance and wellness. She is a Fellow of the Acupuncture & TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine (ABORM), and specializes in women's health, in helping women, men, and couples optimize fertility, and supporting healthy pregnancies. She also has a strong focus on treating problems that negatively impact everyday health and well-being (sleep, digestion, stress level, pain). Laura worked at Mayway from 1999-2019 as an herbal consultant and project manager. Laura’s projects included the initial Mayway website in 2004 and website redesign in 2012, the Herb ID Kit recreation in 2009, and she coauthored the book “A Practitioner’s Formula Guide: Plum Flower & Minshan Formulas” - Wrinkle, Stropes & Potts, published in 2008. She also worked on product research and development, writing articles, and consulting services for other acupuncturists, chiropractors, veterinarians and medical doctors in choosing suitable TCM herbal treatments for their patients. Laura can be reached at: laura@laurastropes.com.