Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries, the only Goji berries that are snack-grade delicious™
Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries are plump, juicy, naturally sweet, and absolutely delicious. Unlike other Gojis on the market, Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries are sweeter, fleshier and have less seeds. They have a much higher moisture level which contributes to their texture as plump and juicy.
Most Gojis on the market are rock hard. This is not without a reason. All the Gojis sold in the US come from China, whether they are labeled as Himalayan, Tibetan, or Wild. That translates to a very long transit time from the growing regions to the hands of the consumers. Typically, the berries reach the consumers at least 4-6 months after they are harvested. To stay shelf stable, most Goji farmers dry their Goji until the berries are very bone dry and very hard.
After years of research and development, Dragon Herbs has developed a special handling process and a custom designed packaging that allows the berries’ natural moisture level to be retained while satisfying the shelf stability required in commercial trade nowadays.
In a test conducted by an independent lab, Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries are shown to be twice as juicy as a competitor’s.
Left: Plump and juicy ripe Goji berries in one of the bushes at Heaven Mountain. Right: Our goji berries are the juiciest among the rest in the market.
What makes Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries so special?
Simply put, Heaven Mountain. Heaven Mountain is a remote mountain range in the northern region of Xin Jiang Province, China. In a more sophisticated way, the concept of Di Dao used in the world of herbalism can best describe the relationship between the geographical and geological features of the region and the phyto chemical profile of Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries.
The “Di Tao” of Herbs
There’s a great concept in China known as Di Tao. The literal translation of Di Tao is “Earth Tao,” or “the Way of the Earth.” The Chinese dictionary definition of Di Tao is “from the place noted for the product ~ genuine, authentic, not from an inferior or counterfeit source.” According to the regulations of the Chinese Pharmacopeia, all herbal products manufactured and sold in China must utilize herbs that are Di Tao - that is, the herbs must come from a source that is considered legitimate and genuine.
Soil
The virgin land of the Gobi Desert has little vegetation. It has a very high content of alkaline minerals. The pH level of the soil can be as high as 8.7 (50 times more alkaline than neutral) and the soil salt content can reach 1%. Few plants can survive in this kind of harsh environment. Goji, however, being an extremely adaptable plant, thrives here.
Daylight Duration
Xin Jiang province has the longest daylight duration among all provinces in China (Tibet included). It averages 2550 to 3300 hours of sunshine per year. The intensive sun light allows for much more productive photosynthesis in the Goji plants, leading to more flesh, sweeter taste, and naturally, higher content of active ingredients such as Lycium Polysaccharides (LBP).
Precipitous Daily Temperature Fluctuation
Another unique weather characteristic of Xin Jiang is the precipitous temperature fluctuation between day and night, usually as much as 36 to 45 °F within a single day. The locals joke that in Xin Jiang, no traveling is necessary in order to experience the four seasons within one day. It is quite common that you start the day with a winter jacket, strip down to a silk shirt at noon, then at night, you can enjoy their famous watermelons, next to a bonfire, that is.
It is Heaven Mountain Goji’s superb adaptability that makes it a highly revered adaptogenic, stressfighting tonic herb.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China has officially certified Heaven Mountain goji berries as Di Tao.
All plants are the product of their growing environment and conditions. Different regions have their distinctive make-up of water, soil, sunshine, climate, and biological distribution. The varying methodologies adopted by different regions in their cultivation, collection, and final preparation of the herbs further differentiate the herbs from different sources. The Di Tao source of an herb is gradually established through the historical use of the herbs. By documenting how herbs from different origins differ in their pharmacological effects on the human body, the regions or sources that produce the most desired results have slowly come to be recognized as the authentic genuine source, Di Tao, both by common knowledge among the practicing herbalists as well as by government supported official recognition in the materia medica.
Heaven Mountain® Goji Berries is one such example. The water, the soil, the sunshine and the weather have the precise qualities necessary for producing the best, richest, tastiest, most potent Goji berries on Earth. As a result, they have an extraordinary and balanced phyto-nutrient profile.
Left: Ron picking Heaven Mountain Goji Berries at the Farm. Right: The road to the Goji fields with the spring water flowing from the Heaven Mountain
Water
As part of the enormous Gobi Desert that covers southern Mongolia and northern China, Xin Jiang receives little to no rain each year. Every drop of water in the growing fields is derived from the melted snow and glacial runoff from the pristine Heaven Mountain. This water is pure and structured – it is nature’s ultimate irrigation system.