Cool Down With Hot Tea

This summer has been hotter than hot – so why not forget the A/C and just brew a steaming cup of kuding cha (苦丁茶), or “bitter nail tea”? It may seem masochistic to drink a hot herbal concoction famed for its unfathomable bitterness, but a heat wave just might be the best time to do so. Let me explain why.

As traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) dictates, hot drinks brewed from the right herbs cool you down internally. Though counterintuitive, it is perfectly logical in TCM and ancient wellness wisdom. The Chinese have long prized bitter foods for their heat dispersion (quhuo 去火) properties. For over a thousand years, kuding cha has been used to disperse wind-heat ailments (e.g. heat stroke-related symptoms as well as sore throats and headaches), to promote blood circulation, and to lower blood pressure. Though technically an herbal tisane rather than a proper tea, kuding cha is widely available at tea shops.

Be warned: No tea will ever taste as murderously bitter as kuding cha. However, after the initial taste assault, the taste oddly grows on you and the underlying notes linger pleasantly in the mouth when the bitterness is all but forgotten (though that may take a while). It’s an acquired taste, after which you can declare with complete and literal sincerity that you’ve mastered the Chinese art of learning how to “eat bitterness” (chi ku 吃苦).

For those who’d rather please the taste buds, Moroccan mint tea is a delightful cooling drink savored around the world. Moroccan mint tea, as enjoyed in many North African and Middle Eastern countries, is in fact a simple blend of Chinese gunpowder green tea, peppermint leaves and sugar.

For less than RMB 10, you can buy a large amount of gunpowder green tea, or “pearl tea” (zhu cha 珠茶), at any tea shop. That the tiny tea pellets resembled pearls to the Chinese but gunpowder to Western traders is … culturally illuminating. But I digress.

To cool down fast, brew enough tea for a big pot and remove the tea leaves after steeping. Next, add tons of sugar, mix well and bring the mixture to boil. After taking the sweetened green tea off the heat, cram as much mint as possible into the teapot, pour and drink your fill. Nothing is quite so cooling even when hot. And when served cold, the refreshment factor of iced mint tea is guaranteed to save any summer day.

Charlene Wang is the founder of Tranquil Tuesdays, a social enterprise based in Beijing. Contact her at charlene@tranquiltuesdays.com.