There is a bewildering array of ways to eat, drink or take ginseng, to the point where it can be difficult for a beginner to even know where to start.
The simplest way to take ginseng is to simply eat the leaves from the plant. Unfortunately, unless youre used to it, ginseng has a distinctly odd taste, which makes the experience a little unpleasant. Also, fresh, unprepared leaves will not last very long, which is makes fresh ginseng impractical if you dont live in a ginseng-producing country.
The most common way to consume ginseng is to make it into a ginseng tea, by slicing up the leaves and then soaking it them in hot water. Dried, red ginseng can also be used for this, if it is put inside a teabag or similar device to keep the small dried leaf pieces from falling into the liquid.
There are also some more unusual ways to take ginseng. A popular preparation method in China is to take some ginseng leaves and some chicken, steam them together twice, and then serve it as a soup it tastes mainly of chicken, but has all the health benefits of ginseng.
Ginseng in health food shops is often also available in more medicinal forms, such as pills, tablets...