Di Tao is a concept in Traditional Chinese medicine meaning ‘Earth Tao’, ‘The Way of the Earth’, ‘True Authentic Source’. It is the notion that sourcing and consuming herbs from their spiritual homeland are superior in their taste, potency and overall life force/Jing/Qi, compared to other geographical locations.
The concept of Di Tao applies not only to the cultivation of the herb from its soil/land, but also to the process of harvesting, processing, extracting and consumption. The Daoist concept regards Di Tao herbs to be more quality dense herbs and have an increased therapeutic capacity.
In the Chinese dictionary, Di Tao is translated as:
From the place noted for the product ~ genuine, authentic, and not from an inferior or counterfeit source.
Every plant has its perfect habitat, where the constitution of the atmosphere and soil allow the herb to flourish, producing the most phytochemically rich and balanced herb or food. Although this concept has been known for thousands of years within China and Daoist philosophy, it is overlooked in the west and majority of herbal supplements on the market are sourced from non-Di Tao locations.
