Herbal Tea Preparation

The preparation of herbal tea is a traditional dietary therapy that grew from the hot, damp climate of Lingnan, in which compound recipes of medicinal herbs are weighed and simmered; Hong Kong and Macau tea shops preserve old formulas in dozens of varieties such as twenty-four-flavour and five-flower teas. In 2006 herbal-tea preparation, jointly declared by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, entered the first national ICH list under traditional skills.

Its preparation prizes choosing herbs by condition, composing formulas for the season and the body, and simmering slowly in clay or copper pots for hours with exacting control of heat and number of boilings; the result is drunk hot or bottled chilled, varying from bitter to sweet, embodying the Chinese-medicine principle of food as medicine and Lingnan's wellness wisdom.

Herbal tea is a shared Lingnan remedy of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, carrying Chinese-medicine knowledge, herb-identification skill and the folk tradition of wellness, a way of life by which South China meets its climate, with real cultural and medical value.