Why are we Cantonese used to drinking herbal tea?

There is a folk saying: "Guangdong's three treasures: roasted goose, litchi and herbal tea shop". Regarding the long-standing word "herbal tea", if you are from Guangdong, don't say that you haven't drunk herbal tea. Some people may ask, "Where does herbal tea come from?" Next, let me tell you.

According to legend, in 306 AD, Ge Hong, a Taoist priest from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, came to Lingnan and felt that the climate in Lingnan was hot and humid and leprosy was prevalent. So he carefully studied all kinds of wet medicines in Lingnan, leaving a large number of medical monographs on the climate characteristics of Lingnan. According to Ge Hong's medical theory and people's long-term rich experience in preventing and treating diseases, Lingnan people boiled water with cool, heat-clearing and disinfection Chinese herbal medicines, forming herbal tea with profound Lingnan cultural heritage.

In the first year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty (1796), there was a doctor named Wang Zebang (nicknamed Aji) in Guangzhou. When he was seeing a doctor, he found that many people were sick because of the hot weather. So, he and his son went to Baiyun Mountain to collect herbs, studied them carefully, chose a herbal tea prescription, and cooked it in the shop for patients to drink. The effect is very effective. One year, there was a flu in Nanyang Islands, and there were many patients. After Aji knew it, he prescribed herbal tea for himself, which restored many patients to health. In memory of Aji, people call this herbal tea "Wang Lao Ji". This is the origin of the earliest herbal tea brand "Wang Lao Ji".

Guangdong herbal tea has a long history and a wide variety. Besides Wang Laoji herbal tea, there are also famous brands such as Xiasangju tea, Deng Lao herbal tea, Baiyun Mountain herbal tea, Dashenggong herbal tea, 24-flavor herbal tea, Shi Qi herbal tea, Sanhutang herbal tea and Huang Zhenlong herbal tea. Most of these herbal teas are centuries-old brands or ancestral secret recipes, which have won the love of ordinary people with their profound history, culture and unique efficacy. Especially in 2003, due to SARS, the value of traditional Chinese medicine was magically revealed. Guangdong herbal tea, as a masterpiece of concentrated medicine, became a "national drink", which quickly expanded outside the province and occupied the largest share of the domestic market. Nowadays, with Qian Qian's "Laoguang" crossing the ocean, Guangdong Herbal Tea has begun its journey to five continents, which is deeply loved by Chinese people all over the world and enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad.

Herbal tea is really a treasure. Spring can dispel dampness, summer can relieve heat, autumn can reduce fire, and winter can prevent colds. If you are sick, you can cure the disease, but if you are not sick, you can keep healthy, and the cost is low, which is much cheaper than the current medicine. Herbal tea is a unique scenery in Guangdong. Guangzhou people like to drink herbal tea, a bowl of herbal tea that tastes bitter first and then sweet, and suddenly produce saliva to quench thirst, relieve summer heat, eliminate dampness and clear heat. Many families will tell their children that they go to the street herbal tea shop to drink a bowl of herbal tea from time to time on weekdays, or buy some herbal tea bags to keep them safe at home. Some overseas Chinese even go home to visit relatives and buy some herbal tea bags to take abroad, so that relatives and friends who have lived overseas for a long time can also drink authentic herbal tea in their hometown. Facing the guests, Cantonese people often boast that they "grew up drinking herbal tea".

Guangdong people have a long history of drinking herbal tea, which has been passed down from generation to generation. Coupled with Cantonese opera and Cantonese, it embodies the unique Lingnan culture. Today, herbal tea is still an indispensable element in Guangzhou people's daily life. This is a special taste of life.