Ginseng Knowledge | Heil Ginseng
Start with the ginseng you have in the kitchen. A tea bag needs a cup and hot water. Slices work in a mug or a small saucepan. Whole roots take a little more preparation.
American ginseng is a plant grown for its root. If you’ve seen a pale, branching root in a gift bag or slices steeping in a teapot, you may already have met it. Its botanical name is Panax quinquefolius .
Think about how the person you’re buying for uses ginseng. Someone who already prepares whole roots may appreciate a carefully sorted five-year selection. Someone who likes a simple cup of tea may get more use from tea bags or slices.
When two bags of ginseng look similar, start with the label. Where was it grown? How old is the crop? What will you actually receive? Those answers tell you more than a polished photo alone.
American ginseng and Korean ginseng are related plants with different species names. American ginseng is Panax quinquefolius ; Korean, or Asian, ginseng is Panax ginseng . That distinction is the place to start when the bags on a shelf all say “ginseng.”
Wisconsin is where our family farms, and where we grow every root we sell. For us, its ginseng story is tied to the gardens, the people who tend them and a community that has spent years learning how to grow this crop.