The Healing Indonesian Tonic You May Not Have Heard Of — But Might Want To Try This Fall

Jamu is the herbal-medicine tradition of the Indonesian archipelago, our cornerstone of healing and healthy living. Emerging from a millennium of experience using this tropical land's abundant botanicals for healing, and enriched with knowledge from throughout the globe, jamu is a story of community, wellness, and self-care.

The term "jamu" specifically refers to natural herbal tonics that people take to maintain good health, prevent illness, and treat ailments. Most Indonesians believe that one should drink jamu daily to stay healthy. And if illness does strike, healers can draw on generations of knowledge and experience to fashion jamu recipes that alleviate symptoms and help the body to fight overall unwellness.

But the idea of jamu encompasses more than healing potions. The jamu tradition states that robust good health is best achieved and maintained by addressing a person's needs as a whole. This includes what you put in yourself, what you put on yourself, how you listen to yourself, and how you seek support and comfort through close connection to a larger community.