Tea culture in China has a long and storied history, spanning thousands of years. As the saying goes, "It's better to go three days without meat than a day without tea." This is especially true for the elderly, who are fond of drinking tea. Traditional Chinese Medicine points out that tea can clear the mind, awaken from sleep, and relieve restlessness; it can cool the liver and gallbladder, cleanse heat, and resolve phlegm; it can benefit the lungs and stomach, improve vision, and dispel plagues. Drinking tea in the autumn and winter seasons can have the effects of strengthening the body and promoting longevity. Below, we will introduce eight types of health-preserving teas:
Drink clear tea in autumn, and black tea in winter
Autumn is the season for clear tea. Oolong tea (commonly known as such) combines the benefits of both black and green teas. It has the color and aroma of black tea and the refreshing taste of green tea, but without the bitterness of green tea or the astringency of black tea. The tea flavor is mild, smooth, and less stimulating. For instance, Tieguanyin has an aroma like orchids in a secluded valley, which is elegant, enduring, and wonderfully fresh. Its liquor is a rich, clear color with a mellow, sweet, and fresh taste, featuring a honeyed sweetness and an endless aftertaste. Its "autumn fragrance" quality makes it particularly suitable for drinking in the autumn and winter.
Winter is the season for black tea. Black tea is a fermented tea that develops its unique color, aroma, and flavor characteristics through a special processing method. Black tea is rich in caffeine and has effects such as refreshing the mind and promoting urination; it aids gastrointestinal digestion, stimulates appetite, reduces edema, strengthens the heart muscle, and helps prevent skin cancer caused by radiation. Black tea is mild and less stimulating, characterized by its red leaves and red liquor, giving a sense of warmth. Drinking it in winter has the effect of harmonizing the stomach and warming the body.
Eight recommended health-preserving teas for autumn and winter:
1. Radish Tea
100g of white radish, 5g of tea, and a small amount of salt. First, wash and slice the white radish, then cook it until tender. Season lightly with salt (do not add MSG). Next, brew the tea for 5 minutes and pour the tea infusion into the radish soup to drink. Take twice daily, anytime. This tea has the effects of clearing heat, resolving phlegm, regulating qi, and stimulating appetite. It is suitable for conditions such as cough with excessive phlegm and poor appetite.
White radish is nutritious, contains calcium, and has medicinal value. It can clear heat and resolve phlegm. Paired with tea, it can clear lung heat and resolve phlegm-dampness. A small amount of salt not only seasons but also helps to clear the lungs and reduce inflammation.
2. Tangerine Peel and Black Tea
3-6g of dried tangerine peel, 5g of green tea. Brew with boiling water, then place the cup in a pot and steam over water for 20 minutes before drinking. Take one dose daily, to be consumed at any time. This tea has the effects of moistening the lungs, resolving phlegm, regulating qi, and stopping coughs. It is suitable for autumn coughs with excessive, sticky phlegm that is difficult to expel.
3. Ginger and Perilla Tea
3g of ginger, 3g of perilla leaf. Shred the ginger and wash the perilla leaves. Brew with boiling water for 10 minutes and drink as tea. Take two doses daily, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, served warm. This tea has the effects of dispelling wind and cold, regulating qi, and harmonizing the stomach. It is suitable for colds with symptoms of stomach pain, bloating, and other gastrointestinal discomforts. This formula replaces medicine with tea, using few but precise ingredients, and is practical and simple.
4. Tremella Tea
20g of tremella mushroom, 5g of tea, 20g of rock sugar. First, wash the tremella and stew it with water and rock sugar (do not use soft white sugar) until tender. Then, brew the tea for 5 minutes, take the infusion, and mix it into the tremella soup to drink. This tea has the effects of nourishing yin, reducing fire, moistening the lungs, and stopping coughs. It is suitable for yin-deficiency coughs. Tremella is a fine medicinal and edible tonic, containing about 10% protein, 65% carbohydrates, and 4% inorganic salts. It also contains vitamin E and minerals such as phosphorus, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Its medicinal effects include nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, and nourishing the stomach and promoting the production of body fluids.
Tremella paired with rock sugar enhances its ability to nourish and moisten the lungs, stop coughs, and resolve phlegm. Paired with tea, it helps to clear phlegm-heat and promote diuresis, while also having anti-inflammatory effects.
5. Licorice Tea
10g of licorice, 5g of tea, 8g of salt, with 1000ml of water. According to this ratio, first bring the water to a boil, then add the licorice, tea, and salt and boil for about 10 minutes before drinking.
It can treat ailments such as toothache from wind-fire, inflamed eyes, and colds with coughs.
6. Rhubarb Tea
Take 3-9g of raw rhubarb and place it in a cup. Brew with boiling water, cover, and let it steep for 10 minutes before drinking. Long-term consumption of rhubarb tea can keep bowel movements regular and reduce the reabsorption of toxic and harmful substances in the intestines.
It has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, and purging the bowels. Drinking a small amount daily can strengthen the stomach, aid digestion, reduce stomach heat, increase appetite, harmonize qi and blood, strengthen the body, prevent and treat diseases, and fight aging. It is used for constipation, abdominal pain, red eyes, sore throat, and styes.
7. Water Chestnut and Imperata Cylindrica Tea
100g of fresh water chestnuts, washed and chopped; 100g of fresh imperata cylindrica (cogon grass root), with 1000ml of water. According to this ratio, first bring the water to a boil, add the water chestnuts and imperata cylindrica, and boil for about 20 minutes. Strain out the dregs, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and drink.
It can clear heat and resolve phlegm, promote the production of body fluids to quench thirst, lower blood pressure, and promote urination.
8. Lotus Leaf and Licorice Tea
100g of fresh lotus leaves, 5g of licorice, with 1000ml of water. According to this ratio, first wash and chop the lotus leaves. Bring the water to a boil, then add the licorice and lotus leaves and boil for over 10 minutes. Strain out the lotus leaf dregs, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and drink.
It has the health-preserving functions of clearing summer heat, promoting urination, and quenching thirst.