When 24-year-old Chu Junpeng takes a stroll through the old neighborhoods of his hometown of Huizhou, Guangdong province, each morning, he passes a herbal tea shop or two on every block.
Chu often notices them not by sight, but by smell. An earthy herbal fragrance drifts from the open storefront, where a long counter is lined with eight or 10 large stainless steel kettles. Small signs hanging in front of them bear the names of various brews and their traditional uses, from relieving the body of "internal heat" to dispelling "dampness". Ordering a cup may begin with a few questions for customers. "The shop owner will ask whether you've been sleeping well or if your throat feels scratchy," Chu said. "Some might take a look at your tongue, and in more traditional shops, they may even check your pulse before recommending a beverage."
For less than 10 yuan ($1.4), a dark herbal brew is poured into a small paper cup and passed across the counter. Steam rises from the kettle, carrying the grassy aroma of leaves, roots and herbs bubbling inside.
"It's hot, and it can be really bitter," Chu said. "It might not taste particularly appealing, but drinking it is simply a habit for people here."
This is liangcha, literally "cooling tea" in Chinese. Despite the name, the drink is often served piping hot.
"Cooling" refers instead to properties attributed to its herbal ingredients associated with traditional Chinese medicine, which can include honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, kapok flower and monk fruit.
For generations, herbal teas have been consumed year-round in Lingnan, a broad geographic region in southern China covering Guangdong, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Hainan province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
Its development is closely tied to the region's hot and humid climate. In traditional Chinese health practices, people have long consumed herbal brews to dissipate heat, quench thirst and dispel dampness.
Behind the practice is a broader idea deeply rooted in Chinese dietary culture — yaoshi tongyuan, or "medicine and food share the same origin".
The tradition stretches back centuries. Ancient scholar and physician Ge Hong (283-343) studied local herbs and treatments in Lingnan at a time when diseases associated with the region's sticky climate were prevalent. Over generations, knowledge accumulated by physicians and locals contributed to a distinctive tradition of using plants for health and healing.
That knowledge did not remain confined to medicine. Herbs found their way into cups of tea and pots of soup, gradually becoming part of what people ate, drank and cooked in their everyday lives.
For Chu, that tradition still lives around the family dining table.
"When we make soup, it isn't just about whether it tastes good," he said. "People also want it to have some health-preserving qualities."
Passed down for generations, herbal drinks have become intertwined with childhood memories.
"When we lived in the countryside, we could walk outside and find herbs everywhere," said Weng Lisha, a native of Fujian province. "So many kinds of plants growing along the roadside could be used to make herbal teas."
In a sentimental search for those childhood flavors, Weng opened her own herbal tea shop in Putian, Fujian, last summer. Rather than simply re-creating the drinks she remembers, she is adapting them for a new generation.
Alongside traditional brews, Weng makes winter melon tea with winter melon jelly, water chestnut-based toppings and other additions popular with younger consumers.
Yet even as the flavors and presentation change, some parts of the preparation still take time.
Weng washes the herbs several times before putting them into the pot, and most brews simmer for about an hour. Some ingredients, such as Chinese mesona, take even longer. "The herbs have to be thoroughly cleaned," she said. "The cleaner they are, the more clearly their natural fragrance comes through after brewing."
But for Chu, the enduring appeal of herbal teas lies in their place in everyday life. Bitter or not, drinking such healthy beverages is "simply a habit".
