Description

Bitters are herbs and herbal preparations that have a characteristically sharp effect on the palate. The name derives from the Middle English verb bitan,, which means "to bite." In the Ayurvedic medical tradition of India, other such groupings of herbs include astringent (e.g. cucumber), salty, pungent (e.g. horseradish or ginger), sweet, and sour. Both traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine regard the action of bitters as drying. Bitters are also antibacterial, cleansing, detoxifying, germicidal, parasiticidal, stimulating, and tonifying.

While the Chinese and Ayurvedic systems of medicine were familiar with bitters as far back as 5,000 years, two more recent paths of historical rediscovery and development have contributed...