Those who come to Guangdong province of China for the first time will surely be attracted by many small herbal tea shops that stand in the streets.
There are some medicine pots in the herbal tea shop. The functions and names written by each person can be purchased as needed. If you drink it in the store, the seller will use paper cups or bowls. If you take it home to drink, you can install it in a small jar. These small herbal tea shops have become a unique landscape in Guangdong province.
Bagged herbal tea can be seen everywhere in the pharmacy. It can be brewed directly with hot water, eliminating the process of boiling water, but the effect will be different.
Herbal tea is based on the local climate, water, and soil characteristics, in the process of the long-term prevention of disease and health care, guided by the theory of TCM health, using Chinese herbal medicine as raw material, edible, summed up a kind of detoxification, thirst, bonfire Beverages such as dehumidification. It can eliminate summer heat and moisture in the human body, and can also treat sore throat, wind and cold, and other diseases. In each pharmacy in Guangdong, there are also bags of herbal tea sold, which can be brewed.
Herbal tea is an essential daily drink for Cantonese. Different teas throughout the year have different health benefits. Although it is called herbal tea, it is neither a cold drink nor a tea. It is a medicinal soup made from Chinese medicine. The taste is bitter. Also, the seller from the herbal tea shop will give you a few slices of dried tangerine peel to dilute the bitterness of herbal tea when you finish drinking herbal tea.
The bottled herbal tea sold in the supermarket has no bitterness because it has too much sugar. This kind of herbal tea, although it also has the effect of clearing away heat, can’t be compared with the herbal tea in the herbal tea shop.
In the history of China, the herbal tea inventor was the first Emperor Shang Tang of the Shang Dynasty. He smashed 13 Chinese medicine into a medicine soup and gave it to the soldiers in the army. He used the soup to replace the wine and prevent it before the illness to express his concern for the soldiers.
In 306 AD, the Eastern Jin Dynasty medicinal scientist Ge Hongnan came to Lingnan. Due to the prevalence of infectious tropical diseases at that time, he carefully studied various medicines in Lingnan. Ge Hong’s medical monographs and the later generations of Lingnan Wen’s medical doctors summed up the rich experience of the working people in the long-term prevention and treatment of diseases and formed a profound herbal tea with Lingnan culture. Its formula and terminology are passed down from generation to generation.
The unique and profound cultural connotation of herbal tea is unmatched by any beverage in the world. On May 20, 2006, Herbal tea was approved by the State Council of China to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. China has Lingnan Medicine Valley, Heqizheng, Guangbei, Wong Lo Kat, Shangqing Drink, Anfang, Health Hall, Deng Lao, Baiyunshan, Huang Zhenlong, Jinsai, Xu Qixiu, Chunhetang, Baoqing Hall, etc. 22 herbal tea brands and 54 formulas.
According to the different effects of herbal tea, herbal tea can be divided into four categories.
1. Clearing away heat and detoxifying tea
Mainly suitable for people with internal heat and heavy fire. Representative medicines include silver flower, chrysanthemum, mountain branch, and Scutellaria. Drink in spring, summer,and autumn.
2. Cold tea
Mainly treats external wind and heat, four colds, and flu. Representative medicine has Banlangen. This tea is suitable for all seasons.
3. Cleaning away heat and moisturizing dry tea
This type of herbal tea is especially suitable for drinking in the autumn. It has good medicinal effects on dry mouth, dry tongue, and cough. Representative herbs include ginseng and jade bamboo, dragon pear leaves, winter wheat, and snow fungus.
4. Heat-clearing and moving wet tea
It is suitable for people who drink damp, heat, gas, and yellow complexion. Representative medicines include silver flower, chrysanthemum, cotton wormwood, soil sputum, etc., suitable for drinking in summer.
