Cloud tea is like life; life is learning, wisdom is cultivation.
Dog Days: hot enough to melt a person. Five minutes outside means two hours of sweating. Many people gulp down cold drinks at times like these, but for me, the best way to beat the heat is a pot of raw Pu-erh tea. You may find it strange: drinking hot tea in the heat? But once you try it, you will understand: the returning sweetness of raw tea beats the air conditioning. It took me over a decade to grasp this principle. Since then, I spend every Dog Days drinking raw tea.
Today I am brewing the 2023 Jingmai ancient-tree raw tea. The liquor is bright golden. The first taste is slightly bitter, then the returning sweetness surges forth like a spring. After drinking, the whole person feels cooled. Not cooled in the body, but cooled in the throat. This cooling sensation is unique to raw tea; it is called “throat rhyme.” A good raw tea, after drinking, produces a cooling sensation deep in the throat that lasts a long time. It is far more comfortable than drinking something cold, because it is a coolness that radiates from within. Jingmai Mountain’s raw tea has a rich floral aroma, making it especially suitable for summer.
There are several benefits to drinking raw tea during Dog Days. First, the tea polyphenols help the body dissipate heat. It is not that you feel instantly cooler; rather, after drinking, the body’s perspiration function improves, and natural coolness follows. Second, raw tea aids digestion. In summer, people tend to overindulge: ice cream, barbecue, beer, everything at once. The stomach and intestines are under heavy burden. A cup of raw tea and the digestive function improves immediately. Third, raw tea’s caffeine provides alertness without the racing heartbeat that coffee can cause. These three benefits combined are why I cannot go through Dog Days without raw tea every year.
From a tea-science perspective, there are a few things to note when drinking raw tea in summer. First, do not use water that is too hot: around 90 degrees Celsius is sufficient. Too-hot water makes the liquor bitter and astringent, which is unpleasant in summer. Second, do not drink on an empty stomach. In summer, gastric acid secretion is already high; drinking raw tea on an empty stomach irritates the stomach lining. Third, keep it light. In summer you sweat a lot and need to replenish fluids. Light tea is more suitable than strong tea. In summer I usually brew my raw tea quite lightly; one infusion lasts the whole afternoon.
Tea has grades; all may enjoy it regardless of status.
Jingmai Mountain’s raw tea is especially well suited for summer because of its rich floral aroma and clean mouthfeel, without excessive bitterness. After drinking, the mouth is filled with floral fragrance, as if you were standing in a garden. Every summer I keep several cakes of Jingmai tea specifically for beating the heat. When friends visit, I serve them Jingmai raw tea. They always say: “So drinking hot tea in the heat feels this good!” The returning sweetness of raw tea stimulates saliva production, keeping the mouth moist, which is especially pleasant in summer.
Dog Days and raw tea: the returning sweetness beats the air conditioning. This may sound exaggerated, but it is true. Cold drinks only cool you temporarily; afterward, the body actually feels hotter. But the coolness from raw tea radiates from within. After drinking, the whole person feels comfortable. This is the wisdom of thousands of years of Chinese tradition: follow nature, do not fight it. Summer is the season to sweat, to dissipate heat. Raw tea helps you do exactly that. This is the true way of wellness.
Make friends through tea, please enjoy a cup.
Author: Old Tea Head · Lin Shen (LamSam)
Zen Tea Manor ZENTEA MANOR
Tianying Supply Chain Company
www.zentea-shop.com
