Natural vs. industrial: There’s tea made from dried herbs (emperor’s-level tea), then there’s processed tea products (dried concentrated herbal extracts) made for expeditious accessibility (pills for worker’s out in the fields all day). Today, the processed tea products are made by huge herbal extract manufacturers. They even test their products for us; and they think highly of them. They present their theoretical conclusions regarding potency . . . 5/1, 10/1, 20/1. Some practitioners put more effort into researching a new car than they do verifying the claims. That's probably because we would need a lab to check things out... Actually, we don't. So let's step out of the dark and do our own testing –it’s simple, it’s easy, and we’ll show you how; right here, right now. To clearly demonstrate how important this is, see page, Seven Top Herbal Brands Tested, for a strong dose of reality. 

   Which culinary herb is prized for its dull, stale, lifeless taste?

None. So even if you do not recall why a certain flavor is helpful in a particular dish, or the specifics regarding the relationship of taste to function in traditional Chinese medicine, or you don’t remember what certain herbs are supposed to taste like, you can be sure that if an herbal pill tastes dull, stale, and lifeless, it will not achieve anything. Freshness matters; fresh basil is best, dried basil, acceptable. And they don’t make concentrated basil extract powder because it would taste stale and it would ruin the sauce. ! -Ask any chef, anywhere.  

                                               junk-herbs taste dull, stale, and lifeless.

                     Remember back in college when you tasted the fresh tea made from raw herbs?  

                          . . . That's what high potency tastes like. !

     Good advice: