On a tour of Oakland Chinatown we visited Hoan Cau Co briefly. We were able to see the many supplies to help various symptoms. We were given a generous sample bag to try . an interesting exposure. Thank you so much. Thinking of returning someday. Mary M read more

Free doctor consultation every time. You pay for the herbs or medicines he prescribes. He speaks English, Cantonese, and Vietnamese. I am so blessed to find this herbal store. I was shocked when the staff said "the doctor's diagnose is free. You pay for the medicine." They have been operating like this for 30+ years. I have been trying to find an experienced Chinese medicine doctor for my mother in law for more than 5 years. She has stomach imbalance which affected her high blood pressure, diarrhea, sweating, dry throat and a whole list of symptoms due to her imbalance. Previous doctors charged per visit for consultation and charge additional for herbs. It's quite expensive. Not only did I find a knowledgeable doctor, he gives his service for free! This doctor is the real deal. He is very knowledgeable and no bs. The best thing I appreciate the most is, if the herbs has an unintended reaction, I bring it back to him. He can identify which herbs caused the reaction and switch out the herbs to suit your body. Traditional Chinese medicine is a very slow progress treatment. It's really tailored to each person and their reaction to herbs. So if you choose this path. You must be patient. This shop can be super busy at times. During patient's consultation, he does run out to help with cashier or pick medicine for customers in the front of the house. Please be patient with him, he listens to you even though he look's distracted. Some times he is starving before he stops to eat. This whole store is very valuable to the community. I cannot express how grateful I am to find this store. I hope people who wants to seek help using traditional Chinese medicine will find this store and enjoy good health and reasonable cost of herbal medicine. Good Karma. read more

I usually don't write reviews but I felt so uncomfortable in my experience here as a black woman. The doctor acted like he didn't even want to invite me into the office to ask what was wrong and he didn't seem to care too much. He ended up suggesting these pills to me and I bought them mainly because I felt they assumed i wasn't going to buy anything. If you're White or Asian you will probably have a positive experience as I saw how the other customers were treated vs how I was. I was so excited too to try out Chinese Herbal Medicine. Not a welcoming place for black people. read more

Charlie's shop came via word of mouth of course. He helped my friend with bile duct / liver cancer control his bilirubin levels after western medicine failed. At the same time Charlie's potions maintains his general health and keeps him strong though the chemo rounds. This has been going on for well over a year now, after the Oncologist gave him only months. Literally a life saver. I make the drive up to Oakland for a woman that has been suffering from mysterious un-diagnosable ailments (that recently are rapidly becoming much worse) ranging from bizarre random allergic reactions, GI pain, migraines, dizzyness, overall fatigue just to name a few. Charlie crafted a plan for her and after only 1.5 weeks she can tell she's feeling better. I'll update later to report progress, but she is hopeful that this is a solution that took her 6 years to find. The service is fast, the prices are extremely reasonable, and Charlie is very kind. A casual observation is that his shop has a very steady stream of business. Sometimes down right busy. Much more than the other chinese medicine shops around china town. Not sure if is because he just has more stuff to sell- like a chinese walmart- that attracts more customers. But i Like to see this because my intuition says that means the herbs are fresh since they are moving such large quantities. read more

Hoan Cau Company is like any typical chinese herb store. except Hoan cau hails from vietnam so there's a variant or extras. typically a chinese herbalist has someone available to prosribe herb remedies for common every day ailments based on certain symptons. (have no idea what these signs are.) Came here for a "refill" of tien ta yao. usually got the hong kong :five photo brand" first aid antiseptic" but they gave me "victor brand" ... made in china. got it and gone. was on the meter.... turns out victor brand is made from rice wine. grandpa used to made this stuff in one gallon jars from distilled spirits. wondered if was the same. nope. the odor was different. not so pungent. and the "medicine didn't do anything to ease the pain. remedy? avoid medications made in china. not effective at all. -came with the pump spray. read more

I heard about Chinese medicine works for psoriasis, so I went there. I tried the herbal medicine that the dr. fixed for me and it worked great. The supply is a little expensive, which is about $170 for 2 weeks. Also I need to cook it home about 90 minutes, but then there is anything els works better for my skin. I think it worth it. read more

Hoan Cau Company - Traditional Chinese Medicine Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

I came here in search of Chinese herbs & seasoning for slow-cooked chicken stock......Whoah: This is the right place! While several reviewers remarked that the service or treatment might not have been fully amenable to American courtesy standards, what I have found to be totally true throughout any ethnic business encounters (meaning any ethnicity that is not yours), is that being polite and courteous (accompanied with a smile) goes a loooong way to get what you came in for. There was only the gentleman in the rear of the store that spoke English. All others scurried away b/c of their fear of being asked a question that they were unable to answer in my language. He directed me to the exact packet of herbs and spices for the slow cooked chicken stock recipe I was searching for. And man, DID I FIND IT. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! $6.00 to be exact for the same herbs sold online for $14.00. Such a deal. I am sure, that if I am ever caught coughing up a lung or anything else, I am sure that this will also be the correct choice to go to to get my Chinese Medicinal Herb Fix on! Yeowza! read more

Thanks for being open. And thank you for your expertise in finding a remedy for my digestive imbalance.

Very effective Chinese herbal medicine tea for flu and cough. Almost everytime I am down with a severe cold and cough, this doctor always make me feel better with one or two times visits. Highly recommend and affordable. My whole family will see him if we are sick! Omg Dr Charlie is the beat doctor! I hurt my muscles on my back and my sciatic nerve on my left leg was felt numb and pinching pain for 3 weeks and can hardly bend down and I should have seen him earlier instead of going to my chiropractor. He gave me some herbal and did acupuncture on my back and leg ! I felt immediate better ! So Thankful yo have found him and I can use my HSA Visa card to make payment! Awesome definitely will recommend friends and family to see him! read more

RESPECT THE CHINESE HERBS, Y'ALL. My mom has had the worst chronic wet cough for the last 4 months and she's been to the doctor like 6 times trying a HUGE variety of Western medicine. Nothing has worked and she has been progressively getting weaker and we've all been worried. I've been online trying to research what it could be to no avail. An ancient-ish Chinese friend of hers was all, "Dude, just get some of that Chinese Herbs and you'll be rollin' in your own Boost Mobile commercial soon, cough-free!" So I escort my moms to Hoan Cau and the first thing that hits you is the pungent, bitter, acrid stench of old China. And then you hear all the Chinese people hollerin' at each other in 9 different dialects (even though there are only 6 of them in the store...) My mom goes up to some guy behind the register, and she's like, "I have a cou-" and the dude interrupts her and in his clipped Engrish is all, "Yeah, I knowed! You go to back and talking to doctor!" And so we do. The "doctor" in his little 5x5 room - nay, closet (for brooms, too, I swear, not linen or anything) - basically yells at my mom the whole time. You have to know, this is their way of talking. They just always sound like they are sick and tired of listening to your stupid voice and that they are the end all for knowledge and understanding. But they don't really mean it except sometimes. They just sound belligerent and hostile. He then listens to her pulse for what about 6 minutes per wrist, so multiply that by 5 when you are standing there in silence watching your mom getting her pulse taken by this "doctor." Yeah. And then he's all, "You have to much Cold in your body. Stop eating fruits, no green vegetables, no cold water. You need to balance out with the Hot in your body." It was all so mystical and exotified forrealthough! And my mom was like, "But what about orange ju-" "NO" "What about bok-ch-" "NO" "But can't I have banan-" "NO" "Oh." Schnapp! And then he starts writing like crazy. His hand is like a mad black woman speaking in tongues; these strange words just start flowing on the yellow legal pad and even if I wasn't trying to read it upside down, I doubt I would have been able to decipher the strange markings. She's prescribed 5 packets of a huge assortment of herbs and whatever elses - it looks like a bundle of petrified organisms getting ready to be delivered to a specialty museum in the Congos - and she's also persuaded to buy this ancient looking clay teapot to boil it all in (because metal is not good to use, I guess it's part of the "Cold" camp) Literally, my mom is at these crazy Chinese Herb people's hands, and she just goes with the flow. But here's the thing of it: 5 DAYS LATER, HER COUGH IS COMPLETELY GONE. What has eluded the "white man medicine" (his words, and mine, now) has been cured by 5 nights of taking the nastiest, most bitter and grossest concoction ever. BUT IT WORKED. So in conclusion, FEAR THE CHINESE HERBS. FEAR IT!!! THEY WILL OWN US ALL ONE DAY. read more

I really can't improve much on Joshua L.'s review, but I just wanted Hoan Cau Company's page to have more people talking about how awesome it is. I've been in a few times now, and have yet to be disappointed. It is true that you kinda have to like his blunt communication style...Which I do. Keep it in list form, basically. This last time I was in, I managed to make him laugh, which I think might be why he gave me loquat candies to make the concoctions go down easier. My manpanion got a really nasty cough from working in the spray booth at his job with a loose respirator, so I went in... He starts reaching into drawers and weighing out things that I've never seen in my life with incredible speed, divvying them up on two squares of butcher paper. He hands me two paper packages and tells me how to boil them down for 30 min and strain them out for him. Two nights of that, and manpanion was completely better. Last time I started getting a cold, I stopped in for some yin chiao (it's awesome for staving off cooties), and I talked to the Doc again. I gave him a quick rundown, and since I expect that's what everyone else in town had, he handed me two pre-made bigger packages and two smaller packages. Boil down the herbs for 1 hr, then add the smaller packet for the last 20 minutes. Did it. Felt better immediately. This time, I had a really weird persistent dry cough WITH sinus congestion. No fever. No energy. No concentration, headaches, morning sore throats and sneezing, plus I sounded like a hoarse teenaged boy. He took me into his office, asked me a bunch of questions, took my pulse in a forever, meditative kind of way and then he starts writing. A whole yellow legal pad of ingredients. Two guys carefully assemble the various roots, mushrooms, grains, sticks, bushes, leaves, etc.. He tells me what I should and shouldn't be eating while I'm undertaking the treatment. I pay (these are DEFINITIVELY NOT western doctor prices) the painless $20 bucks and go home. I'm on night three now, and feeling SO much better. Check him out next time you have cooties. Can't recommend this cantankerous ol' dude enough. Rx, D read more

The store isn't fancy, prices are extremely affordable, it could use some dusting, but hey, I'm not complaining, and you'll read why momentarily. I had no idea that this place existed, and this is one of those times that I'm truly glad & thankful to the other previous reviewers for making me aware of Hoan Cau and the herbal prescription service offered by licensed acupuncturist Charlie. Much has been said about the communication style of the people in the shop, and I also like it too. Course, if you've read my profile (which you probably haven't because it's unlikely that I'm reading yours either) you'll know that I have a crush on Walter Matthau which should explain a lot. So it costs $25.00 to get a herbal recommendation **UNLESS*** you buy the raw herbs, so that fee gets waived, and you can use your credit card to pay, otherwise it's cash only. You will have to cook the herbs in a non-aluminum pot and depending on your ailment and the remedy, it will taste like bad coffee or tire juice. But ask yourself, how badly do you want to get better and not miss out on work, play, life, etc? Be aware that the last client is seen at 5:45 pm. Charlie knows his stuff, and you can't go wrong. I went to see him when I had a nasty cold, and my usual herbal remedies weren't working. I kick myself for not going sooner as I would spared myself the misery that comes from whooping cough, and lost work hours & sleep. I strongly wished that more people would give places like this a chance rather than the usual antibiotics offered by allopathic western medicine-it's certainly more efficient and cost effective. For the cost of your office copay to a doctor that you may not even be able to get an appointment with immediately, & with a potential of a long wait time, give this a go. I would even suggest this in place of going to say, Whole Foods (which obviously will be far more expensive) & losing time trying out various natural remedies that may not be strong enough for what ails you. read more

Hoan Cau Company - Hoan Cau - Traditional Chinese Medicine Near Me - Oakland, California

Love this place! Came in looking for an herb that's hard to find and wasn't available at my usual sources - not only did they have it, the price was really reasonable. The people in the shop were very helpful and available to answer questions. All in all, a great place to find a wide variety of Chinese traditional medicines and foods. read more

I explain my health issues (autoimmune related). Doctor does not look me in the eye as he watches someone across the room. I continue to explain my health issues. Doctor starts yelling across the room. I pause. Doctor goes to the other side of the store to show another customer something. The Doctor was uninterested in my symptoms. read more

First time here. The lady immediately answer my question and direct to the herbs that I need. Really helpful. Will come back again. read more

Hoan Cau Company - Traditional Chinese Medicine Near Me - Oakland, California

DO NOT SHOP AT THIS PLACE! Items are priced. However the price will be jacked up by a female owner. See below for details. Items are priced per pound clearly throughout the store. There is no other posted "rule" or "fine prints" anywhere that is noticeable for the customers which you will think that is a normal way of doing business. However, "surprise" follows. I was quoted the price based on the display value by one of the cashiers, but right after when the owner noticed what we bought, she took over and jacked up the price per pound because "it is less than a pound"! This "rule" isn't disclosed anywhere in the store, nor do the employees are acknowledged about it and being told to the customers. ***DO NOT SHOP AT THIS PLACE!**** read more

Dr Charlie is the Best! He takes time with you and truly cares about healing the whole body!

Was looking for the best cream for insect bites! They have the best medicines! Very affordable and workers are very helpful

Non-responsive people behind the counters! Unless you're Chinese, you won't get quick service.

Dr. Quach and this place have made such a difference in my life, it's unbelievable. His genuine concern about your health and his highly effective treatment will keep you in good shape. Everyone at this place is really caring. read more

Traditional real deal Chinese medicine. I absolutely love this place. Excellent doctor who really knows his stuff and all the herbs you may need on sight. I tried my luck with a more western doctor with some training in Chinese herbs (who also had excellent Yelp ratings) elsewhere in Oakland and my problem was not solved. But three days into my herb treatment from here and I was good as new. read more