Besides, herbal tea also absorbs the essence of the herbs.

Five-flower tea is made from the pistils of five fragrant flowers: chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, flower of the kudzuvine, flower of the Chinese scholar-tree, and kapok. Herbal tea made from these five flowers is effective in reducing the body heat. Mothers often make five-flower tea for their children.

With the bitterness replaced by sweetness, the herbal tea becomes a popular health drink.

Many people are put off by the bitterness of coffee. With sugar or milk added, the coffee is easier to drink. Herbal tea can be modified in a similar way. But this runs counter to a long-established principle in preparing herbal teas; that they must be free from chemical additives. All the ingredients should be natural. So only herbs can be used to alter the flavour.

“Sour plum syrup”, which is free of sugar additives, is popular among young people in Hong Kong. The natural sweetness comes from the plum itself.

Inspired by the plum syrup, the makers of Hung Fook Tong herbal tea add dried orange peel, liquorice, luo han kuo and fruits containing natural sugars. Sugar-bearing plants leave herbal tea drinkers with a pleasant aftertaste which is sweet but does not obscure the fragrance of the tea. The sugar in herbal tea does not add to the blood sugar, and is also good for the human health.

Herbal teas today have three basic tastes: bitter, sweet and bland. These different tastes satisfy modern people’s particular preferences.

In ancient times, the Lingnan people created herbal tea to help them resist the adverse natural conditions and improve their health. Today, herbal tea is the embodiment of their pursuit of health and longevity.

Herbal tea, which has been popular in Southern China for 200 years, is, in its sweetened form, extending its popularity across the country. The herbal tea philosophy of the Lingnan people is even spreading to other parts of the world.

Traditionally, herbal tea was sold in large bowls covered by a larger, round piece of glass. The vapour drops on the glass proved that the tea was fresh. However, the bowls, because they were difficult to handle, threatened to impede the spread of the herbal tea around the world.

The Lingnan people’s thoughts turned to widely-applied technologies, such as plastic bottles. However, they decided they wanted some special packaging.

Unlike most bottled drinks, which are a mixture of water and gas, herbal teas are rich in chemicals. A chemical reaction can easily occur with the container, with an adverse effect on the nutrients.

The best choice for keeping herbal tea, is earthen pots. Not only will an earthen pot not react with the tea, it is also a good heat conductor, which means the tea will cool very quickly. However, earthen pots are expensive and fragile. Besides, they are not transparent, so it’s not possible to see the herbal tea inside.

Glass bottles are transparent, but they are also thick and heavy.

Another suggestion was to use maletas, the traditional wine jars of Mongolia. However, all the alternatives were rejected, one after another.

Eventually, a series of experiments were conducted, to determine the ideal conditions for keeping the herbal tea. Tests were done at different temperatures and in different conditions, to assess how long the herbal tea would keep. Various means of packaging were then tried, to find the best packaging that would guarantee the period the tea could be preserved.

Previously, it was difficult to control the duration of the boiling when herbal tea was made. Today, when herbal tea is produced in modern workshops, the flavour and nutritional content can be maximized. And vacuum packaging can lengthen the time the tea lasts.

Today, herbal tea is a common sight in gyms and convenience stores.

Hung Fook Tong herbal tea, kept in plastic bottles and cans, stands beside Coca Cola and other modern drinks on supermarket shelves.

To guarantee the quality of their herbal tea, the Lingnan people plant herbs in special nurseries deep in the forests of Lingnan, where the environment is primitive and the air is fresh. The Lingnan people hope to make traditional Chinese herb culture into a natural guardian of human health.

A small cup of herbal tea brims with the wisdom of Lingnan people. It also embodies China’s 200-year-old herbal tea culture and 5,000-year-old civilization.

At Hong Kong International Airport, there is a 24-hour Hung Fook Tong herbal tea shop, selling fresh herbal tea, Hong Kong-style sweet water and desserts. Many foreigners arriving for the first time, are attracted by its Chinese style. It’s also a place where they can surf the internet, listen to music and read books and magazines.

Herbal teas are now also available in Canada, the US, and Australia. Hung Fook Tong tea shops are furnished like a Chinese home of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: gilded plates, tables and chairs made of mahogany, bronze tea pots…the whole shop is filled with an antique flavor and the unique fragrance of the herbs.

Throughout the course of many centuries, the Lingnan people have created herbal tea that is good for the human health. Their herbal tea embodies the wisdom of the Lingnan people. Their herbal tea culture also enriches the Chinese food and drink culture. Cantonese herbal teas are not only a valuable intangible cultural heritage of China, but also a marvel of human creativity in the realm of botany and medicine.

Editor:Yang