Brilliant blend of Eastern and Western modalities. They shine in their homemade tinctures. Their Adaptogen Blend: Ashwagandha, Holy Basil, Rhodiola, Schisandra, Licorice, Eleuthero & Milky Oat. Named Sustainable Energy, this organic-based blend will balance out many constitutions. Full Moon Blend supports cycles. Spleen tincture for especially demanding times. I was guided to exchange another tincture I'd purchased for pick-up, and I have to say, the second one she invited me to try was not only pendulum-confirmed by my body - such a positive read it was bouncing off my solar-plexus - it nourished my Spleen in profound ways. The Spleen formula she said was for students, and as I was finishing up my graduate thesis, this seriously helped. Thank you, thank you. She herself got her graduate degree in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and said this tincture helped her through her studies. (Wish I could give her credit by naming her, but will add it if I see her there, again. Very helpful.) She translated a wealth of information to me in succinct, kind and clear ways. I also appreciated that rather than have me get what I thought would serve me, she stepped up to confirm which choices were good and guided me to a choice that was better. This reflected proactive care. Each person here has an intuitive way of letting you do your thing while stepping in to assist at the right moment. I appreciate this. I used to frequent Scarlet Sage & Herb Co. in San Francisco before and after they changed hands and this is the closest I've found to that store's original conception. They have a deep respect for plant-medicine, here. They also have a down-to-earth vibe while consciously relating to and working with community in support of other locally-based people, businesses and products. Their tinctures are now spread out throughout the bay. I'd recommend going in person, however, as they have many additional tinctures that are either unavailable or sold-out online. Sanitizer right at the door. Social distancing practiced. Clear walls at the register. Clearly marked footprints on the ground as reminders. Got a solid Clary Sage here, too. Keep those dreams alive! read more

Five Flavors Herbs - Traditional Chinese Medicine Near Me - Grass Valley, California

See all

I tested positive for Covid on Tuesday May 3rd, 2022. My case was mild and felt like a cold, heavily blocked sinuses made sleeping nearly impossible. I browsed on the website and definitely wanted Strong Lung Syrup, so I called to see if I could do a curbside pick up. Lucy answered, she was very kind and extremely knowledgeable, she also recommended Respiratory Recoup and N-Acetyl L-Cysteine as well as the lung syrup. She ran my credit card over the phone and shortly after our call I scrambled down to Five Flavor Herbs where she brought the items out to me in a bag with my name on it. I am feeling so much better now and breathing through my nose again! I am so grateful for Lucy's kindness towards me when I sounded audibly sick on the phone with a very hoarse voice. From the bottom of my heart thank you Lucy for all of your help and the kindness you extended to me when I was in a time of need. read more

Had a fantastic consult with Ben. I called needing herbal support for upcoming difficult treatments. Molly kindly sent Ben a message and scheduled me for that afternoon. Ben listened to what I needed. He asked questions, reviewed my history and made a custom herb mix for me and suggested other products. He was both kind and professional. I'm also happy to know that they test all of their products in their own lab. Very glad to have found this place. read more

See all

I love Five Flavors Herbs. I started going here postpartum when I needed teas and tinctures to assist with mood and lactation. The staff is very helpful here & will answer any questions you have. I also love the self-serve station because it allows time for me to look at all the herbs, and decide if I want something new until I make a decision. Check this place out, you won't regret it. read more

Love the self serve herb and tea selection. Excellent quality at an unbeatable price.

Super cute, knew my obscure herb request in English, Latin and Chinese and had it in stock. Plenty of things you'd expect to find and a strong teaching edge for cool stuff you didn't know about that you'd love to have. Clean and organized. Brainiated staff. read more

I'm just going to get straight to it. The place has almost every herb you need, their selection is vast and the quality is top tier. The employees were super kind, patient ( we bought about 60 oz of herbs at once), and they knew their stuff. They even offered insight into when herbs can help balance out our complement the ones we were buying. The place is great for information as well, lots of books to check out if your dipping your toes into organic/ herbal life. They also have a pharmacy for those who need the herbs in a more potent way for a variety of reasons. Their tinctures looked amazing, they weren't super thick, you can tell they take time and effort in making their medicine the best quality for their clients!! Also while I was there, I noticed a lot of collaboration of black and brown and queer medicine people, alternative healing, etc. Which is awesome because typically when you look or research medicine you're most likely going to see white guys. So it's nice to see them actually make available multiple perspectives on healing for all types of people. We will be back in a month and I can't wait to talk to the employees to let them know what worked and what Didn't just to pick their brains and continue to hone my own craft!!! Thank you Soooo Much!!!!! read more

I don't know how I missed this place for the last three years. Every time I walk in to Five Flavors, I learn something new! The staff is so helpful, knowledgeable about herbs, teas, essential oils, ancient and western remedies. I seriously could stay at Five Flavors for a couple of hours... it would make a great zen/tea shop if they had couches too! Thanks for all your amazing insight and knowledge! Get your car washed across the street, and visit Five Flavors while you wait! ;) read more

Thank 5 Flavors for always supporting our health with incredible top shelf herbs! This place is a gem! Go visit & get your herbal remedies :) read more

I've been ordering herbs from Five Flavors Herbs for a long time. Finally getting around to posting a review. They are a great resource. They do good work, with integrity and lots of expertise. I've never seen products come from them that weren't of great quality and they have been happy to help me with special requests and custom items. read more

This place is amazing. I searched on yelp looking for an herbal place and decided to try this place out and it was the best decision I made. The shop is very organized great smells walking in and makes you feel welcome. Sarah was the one who assisted myself and my husband and we felt very comfortable and at ease sharing our concerns and leaving out I felt very strongly about the items purchased. I am excited for my journey and will be recommending and continuing to order. read more

Staff are really nice and knowledgeable. They have a broad selection of bulk dried herbs and tinctures.

tldr, Old time customer, called about a policy change, new employee didn't know the answer so yelled, laughed at me and hung up on me; manager called back and defended her in the name of healing, gaslighting me, rather than being accountable and simply saying it was wrong yell and laugh at and hang up on customers especially since it's normal if a customer may be frustrated. I am just a customer here but I think there is a difference between a retail business where an employee can make occasional outbursts at customers and those customers can just not return, and a business that labels itself a pharmacy for patients who rely on it for their health. In the latter case I don't think there's any case where it's defendable to get angry and yell, laugh, and hang up on a patient or make any equivocation about that being inappropriate. I used to love this place and rely on their services. I looked back at my records and saw that previously I had not had to meet with a practitioner for my formulas so I called to clarify the policy. Easy, right? So I spoke with Myrna explaining the history. She didn't seem to be listening and responded by saying that she didn't know enough being new. Normal enough. I then heard her get agitated, start yelling, blaming, laughing at me, and ultimately hanging up on me saying she was "done" all in just a 5 minute conversation. She started saying saying "You're the one who is upset! You're the one who xyz!" I requested to just speak with someone else when she got upset so quickly and she said that no one else was there so instead hung up on me. Let me tell you, a very healing experience. I think patience on the phone is a basic customer service skill and not too much to ask. The conversation was only 5 minutes and in that time she was able to get very angry in what seemed personal. She told me nobody else was there in the store so I can understand that handling a complicated problem and customers can be challenging, I've worked in customer service myself! Update if you've gotten this far: I spoke to the manager. She had a lot to say. I was told by her that on the call with Myrna that I was frustrated from the beginning, she also described that lots of customers call in frustrated. So I would have preferred a simple flat acknowledgement that if I had been frustrated therefore Myrna should have been able to handle the call with patience and never yelled and hung up on me for what they say is common. It seems simple to me, but I get the impression that they kind of brush off simple customer service. read more

This is a GEM of a shop; excellent staff with diverse knowledge of both eastern and western herbs & healing modalities. Great local products, the best place to find thoughtful gifts and natural medicine in the east bay! Reasonable prices for reliable quality. Support local..! I love buying things here that may be 'more convenient' to get online but so much better purchased from here instead. Plus they have a rewards program! Thank you five flavors for keeping me well & healthy :)) read more

Love this place !!!! They are so knowledgeable and can give alternative to everything. Best quality and prices are solid. The education that they disseminate is one of a kind I will definitely be back read more

So happy I found this gem! Picked up some herbs for a pregnancy issue I am having and grabbed some teas from their bulk section. I found their prices to be fair and not overpriced, especially their teas! Will be my go to spot for all things herbs. read more

Five Flavors Herbs - Traditional Chinese Medicine Near Me - Grass Valley, California

Ben is amazing, an earthly angel. We as a family, about 1 year ago found out that a close family member was experiencing schizophrenia. It did send us all out for a really bad spin, I think out of my whole life experiences I have had. Including what I though it was a really bad and hard moment this was the worst we have yet experienced as a familly. At first because this person happened to be 15 almost 16 years old, we assumed the normal. He is just being a trouble teenager, he went from the nice kid, trying to survive school to disrespectful, not showing up to class, completely out of control and unmanageable. Driving everyone around him crazy, I really mean crazy. The last thing we suspected was that if you have schizophrenia in your DNA and you smoke a lot of weed it develops it from the teen just been a teen to psychosis and or schizophrenia. So, if you have parents, grandparents or even grandparents that has experience this symptom. DO NOT DO DRUGS, please :) Once he reached the top, talking about aliens chasing him, and lots of insane thoughts and just completely out there. The next step: People in the family start to take blame, and you feel horrible. You don't know what to do. Next step: You assumed, this person has lost it and than you go to the psychiatrist and if you don't have insurance. You will be lost in our wonderful health care system and it will drive you even more nuts! Next step: just take about $395.00 bucks out of your pocket for an hour, Yelp the best Psychiatrist in your area and take them there. And ask to use samples if possible so it's not hard on your pocket. After that they should go at least three more times for follow up for 30 mins and it's half the price. And the family needs to all come together and be very supported even if there is 2 or 10 in your family. The medicine they prescribed, was call Latuna, it worked but if mix with smoking weed it just puts the person in bed not able to function. So it good to take something in this situation to bring the person back to earth when it's that bad, but it's not a long term good idea for us. Don't be afraid or ashamed of it the more you talk about it to your boss and family you will need a team! The only way to get through it, it's to know that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. We were told that he will suffer under this conditions for years! how scary it's to be told that, and don't worry he can claim disability and get a little money for the rest of his life (this is our health care system) it discuses me! Another resource we found it's this wonderful program called PREP for people up to the age of 25 I believe. That's a different review and they will work with Ben so check it out, please. This is when Ben comes into the picture, I happened to be parked out side their shop in Oakland, waiting for my family member to be done with his appointment. And I notice this little shop, the sign read something about tea and herbs, I said to my self umm I should get some tea. I walked in it smelled so good, I could almost smell peacefulness and calm if it had a smell. I talked to Sage a very sweet, gentle girl behind the counter. After just asking some questions, the light hit. I told her what we have been going through for almost a year and how thing were a little better, but we have found a good ground to stand on so we can all back to our life's. We made an appoint for consultation, I think is $25.00 for 15 min. it may sound like a lot. But if you spend $100.00 for an hour it's worth every penny. After talking to this angel kind of man, it's calming, clever and can find without even putting a finger on you what to do, to bring back you love one. So he made some tinctures, and gave him a little bottle of herb pebbles and we got tinctures and teas for the family. Our home work to Gluten free for a week, a little scary. we all were vegan at one point for years and now we eat healthy. At this point if we have to give up bread, pizza or anything with wheat is ok. After the first 3 days of him taking this things and been gluten free, he was slowly coming back the person we once new, loving, respectful, caring, he gave up smoking weed for good a couple of weeks before that. So it all just tied together When you are diagnosed you need to be on medication for the rest of your life and so we are told. So to finalize this story, he thanks to Ben now is fully back after taking just herbals for about a month and the PREP program. We have our amazing family member functioning at his full 17 year capacity, he can be a teenage pain here and there but it's all normal. He got rid off all his bad friends, talks about working hard to make the extra credits he lost and will graduate high school with his class. Works out everyday, before this craziness he wanted to be a lawyer, he is now focus on becoming a stock broker. Thank you Ben from the bottoms of our hearts. Forever grateful! I highly recommend him. read more

I was having some lung issues so I stopped in to get some Mullen. I left with a chicken shaped beeswax candle, a bag full of Mullen, and a shop made tincture for respiratory support. The staff is super knowledgeable and this is a great resource for the whole community. They offer a lot of different services. read more

Have to write another review to give these folks the recognition they deserve. I came in again, this time with a severe flu I couldn't shake for over a week. After coming from the Dr. (saying there's nothing to do but rest) I remembered this place exists and kicked myself for not coming sooner. The woman working that day was kind and helpful, after 2 days of her recommendations I had regained my health. I trust their recommendations and what they sell. read more

I'm sure this place is great. -1 Star for showing up on Yelp when searching for Kratom (they don't stock any)

Beautiful shop, great selection of organic herbs and unique supplements. And the staff seemed very friendly which I definitely appreciated! Would certainly recommend. read more

My acupuncturist gave me the name of this shop to fill a suggested Chinese tincture. Very high quality products and very knowledgeable staff. All the parking meters out front are broken, so be mindful of the time you are shopping. read more

Amazing customer service and products! I've come to the store as a layman looking for medicine to boost my immune system to get over a cold and later as a customer receiving herbal formulas in the mail that were called in by my acupuncturist. I'm continually impressed by their knowledge and the ease in getting custom products shipped to me. I can't recommend them enough. read more

Really great herb shop and herbal pharmacy. I pickup my herbs here from my acupuncturist. Never had any issues. Very smooth operation between my practitioner and this pharmacy. read more

Five Flavor Herbs is one of the best herbal pharmacies in the country. As an herbalist for over 20 years and owner of an integrative medical clinic in San Francisco, we have been using their products since 2012 and have been utterly impressed by the results we achieve using their formulas and their deep understanding of plant medicine. The brain trust of Ben (master herbalist) and Ingrid (MD and master herbalist) are a dynamic duo that blend a practical and local philosophy to prescribing herbs in a modern setting. Besides supplying many practitioners with herbal formulas their shop is a vibrant, happening destination in the Bay Area. If you are a health care provider or patient looking for herbal solutions call them now--you won't be disappointed! read more

I am so thrilled about Five Flavors in Oakland! I have been praying and crossing my fingers that a place like this would open up in such a convenient location and my dreams came true! Aside from it being so ideal for my patients, the staff is super knowledgeable and helpful. The space is beautiful, and they offer all of the herbs, formulas, supplements, and services that I need. Ben and Ingrid are incredible herbalists, and work hard to provide top quality products. This is an amazing addition to the East Bay, one that is so very needed! Yay! read more

Dig this place. They're always friendly, are well informed, and I've consistently seen them give each customer their full attention and the time they need. I never feel rushed here! read more

I have been going to see Ben at his San Francisco location for over 2 years now, his commitment to the comunity, excellent care, and fantastic herbal medicine is a wonderful asset to me and my health. Ben is always there when I need him, and is always thinking proactively about his patients. How many other people do you know that upon hearing that a patient had issues with Kidney stones, went to a weekend of educational seminars and spent hours researching just to be able to provide better service, and give advice on diet as well as herbal remedies for a client? Ben did that for me, and I have not had any issues since, simply following his advice and getting treatments from him has gone a long way in sustaining my helth and well being. Oakland is very lucky to have Five Flavor Herbs in the community! read more

Great herbal products, fair price, beautiful store, friendly staff. No parking lot, but street parking is not too hard to find depending on day/time. I'm really grateful this place is here for me to use myself and recommend to my clients. Classes look good, too, although I have never tried them. read more

So very grateful to have Five Flavors Herbs in the community. The shop is beautiful, the staff is knowledgeable and patient, and they have an impressive selection of Western and Chinese herbs, all from sources I feel safe trusting with my health. They make the single herb tinctures and blends in the shop, and I swear you can taste the love and attention put into them. In particular, I HIGHLY recommend the Full Moon tincture to any woman who experiences cramps with menstruation. I came into the shop one day with mind-bending cramps - Ibuprofren and the other herbal medicines I like to use having done next to nothing - and decided to try the Full Moon tincture. I opened the bottle up as soon as I left the shop. Within 2 minutes of taking a couple droppers, the cramps were completely gone - I felt the muscles in my abdomen releasing. I woke up in the middle of that night, about 6 hours later, to returning cramps, took a few more droppers, and again experienced complete, almost instant relief. I've tried plenty of herbs and natural remedies for cramps, and have never experienced anything near this helpful. Perhaps it's the combination of Chinese and Western herbs that they use in the blends. You can purchase these blends on their website, too: http://fiveflavorsherbs.com/store/internal-herbal-remedies/full-moon/ Five Flavors also offers tons of classes with herbalists and alternative health care practitioners. I attended an Herbal Salon on Women's Health recently, and learned more in that two hour period of time about women's herbs than I have with several years of personal research. Thank you to Ben & Ingrid, the owners, for creating this nexus of healing in Oakland. Five Flavors is so good, and so necessary. read more

Friendly staff, affordable prices, quality sourced local herbs!

Ben, Ingrid, Brian and the staff at Five Flavors are shining examples of compassion and insight. I frequent this shop for a variety of treatments and have always felt listened to and cared for. I love the relaxed approach they take with healing and their patients and customers. Seriously, where else can you sample your practitioner's immaculate vinyl collection after your acupuncture and/or herbal consult? read more

This place is so nice and right in the neighborhood! I love going in and smelling all the medicinal smells :) Happy to have them in Oakland! They have a lot of inventory, and should have whatever you need to heal what ails you... read more

Super friendly and helpful healers here!! Grand selection of herbs and apothecary remedies. I'll be back for more! Thank you.

Oakland is incredibly lucky to have Five Flavors opening a storefront location! The public will now be able to walk in off the street and buy herbal products of a quality usually reserved for licensed health care practitioners. And it sounds like that's just the beginning... Gotta check this place out! And then keep checking back. read more

This is a rare find and a special treasure for bay area health conscious consumers.. the customer service and quality of herbs and formulas available here is truly remarkable. Ben Zappin, LAc the resident acupuncturist and herbalist and his wife Ingrid Bauer, another herbal wizard and MD in training, provide a thorough and ethical knowledge base for creating custom formulas for individual needs or they have a really groovy and most effective range of formulas for common imbalances, ready to use of the shelf. I am fond of "Pain in the..." formula for any kind of musculo skeletal pain or sore muscles and also a big proponent of their "Sweet Dreams" formula with California Poppy in it to help one de-stress and get to sleep soundly... we are all too stressed, too often and a little herbal remedy can night time make it a lot sweeter! Plus, they are so friendly and kind, and enjoy a good conversation and off the cuff advice if you just stop by to say hello and peruse the selection. read more

The herb shop is nice a little limited but needed, there are not many herb stores around. However Ben is not very good with people, he comes across as arrogant, condescending, offensive and a little too self serving. I will buy my herbs elsewhere, even pay double because a visit to the store and having to encounter such a forced guru attitude is not worth it. I also do not appreciate when you buy something and he openly states the reason he thinks, talk about no privacy and making the customer feel awkward. Will not be back. read more

i like this place. they have a nice selection of herbs and the people who work there are pretty knowledgeable. there's only two people working there and they really take their time so don't do in if you don't have some time to spend. read more

I've been using herbs from Five Flavors for about 5 years now in my practice (I'm a Naturopathic Doctor). I find the quality of the herbs to be superb and also appreciate how many of them are grown and/or harvested locally. Ben & Ingrid are also super knowledgable herbalists and always happy to take the time to provide me with answers when I have questions. I highly recommend their products & am grateful to be able to offer such high quality herbs to my patients. read more