Shaxi Herbal Tea

Shaxi herbal tea is a century-old traditional brew from Shaxi in Zhongshan, decocted from five Chinese herbs—gangmei, jinniukou, putao, choumoli and yedianqie—dark in colour and bitter with a sweet aftertaste, prized for seasonal colds, hidden heat, inward-travelling chills, alternating fever and chills, aching limbs and chest fullness, an over-the-counter household standby across Lingnan.

The tea descends from the late-Qing "Huanghui Herbal Tea" of the "Huang Chao Shan Tang," said to have been worked out by a sedan-chair bearer from folk prescriptions gathered on his rounds; it was later carried on by Guangdong Yihe Tang Pharmaceutical and named "Shaxi Herbal Tea." In 2006 its traditional making craft entered the first national ICH list under traditional skills.

Shaxi herbal tea may be drunk warm as a decoction or brewed from granules, most often taken at the onset of a cold, with aching limbs or in muggy summer weariness; bitter with a sweet finish, it is eased with preserved fruit or sugar, an everyday tonic for the Lingnan seasons.

Its unique five-herb formula, the bittersweet finish and the folk renown of a century-old cold remedy are the marks of Shaxi herbal tea.