Licorice root - A Sweet Addition to Tea

Licorice root has been around as long as tea. In fact the same team of advisors that catalogued tea for the Chinese emperor around 2700 BCE also catalogued licorice root. It is a member of the legume family.
The root of this plant, when boiled in water creates the sweet stickiness that we all know in cough drops. Licorice root has been used medicinally for centuries and its compounds, while now composed in laboratories, still help us sooth sore throats. One should note, that too much licorice root can cause you to retain a lot of water and swell up like the Michelin man. So consumption should be minimal.
For tea, licorice root is a nice ingredient to add a bit of body and sweetness at the end of the beverage. When dried for tea, it looks like a piece of wood. So don't discard it!
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[@daxmarshel]

Hi there! I've gotten a lot of info on Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbology, and I think the best way I found to describe Licorice root, aka, Gan Cao in TCM, is it is like a security guard with all the keys to unlock the doors for specific herbs to get into our bodies at a given time. When putting together a good formula, I like to think, "Hey, will licorice root be able to allow this herb into a specific area to treat a specific issue?" *Not a fan of candy licorice, gotta say.* But as an herbalist, it rocks if you can allow it to show the other herbs to be "targeted." There are, of course, contraindications, so I advise a check with docs and pharmacists for meds or conditions not recommended, but otherwise, great job! Thanks!