Cloud tea is like life; life is learning, wisdom is cultivation.
Great Heat: unbearably hot. You break out in a sweat the moment you get up in the morning, and you still have to rush to work. Many people reach for iced drinks to perk up, but my choice is a pot of black tea. You may say: “Black tea in Great Heat? Won’t that make you hotter?” But I can tell you with confidence: the stomach-warming effect of black tea is actually even more pronounced during Great Heat. It sounds contradictory, but this is where traditional Chinese wellness wisdom lies. After decades of drinking tea, I have truly come to understand this principle.
Why drink black tea during Great Heat? Because in summer, the body’s yang energy floats near the surface, leaving the interior relatively cold and weak. Many people lose their appetite, suffer diarrhea, or have cold hands and feet in summer: all signs of internal cold. Black tea is warming in nature. It gently warms the spleen and stomach, aiding digestion. Every Great Heat, I drink Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea). After a pot, my whole stomach feels warm and comfortable, and my work energy improves. I have kept this habit for over a decade, and the results are clear. Even the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner told me my spleen and stomach are in excellent condition.
Today I am brewing Fengqing Dian Hong. The liquor is bright orange-red. It enters the mouth with honeyed sweetness and a subtle hint of sweet potato. This is not the sweetness of added sugar but the natural sweetness of the leaf. Fengqing black tea is famous for its honey sweetness; after drinking, the whole mouth is filled with honeyed fragrance. I brew a pot every morning, transfer it to a thermos, and bring it to work. It stays warm all day. Colleagues see me drinking hot black tea in Great Heat and think I am odd, but they do not understand the principle. A few of them eventually tried it and now follow my lead.
From a traditional wellness perspective, the thearubigins in black tea are traditionally believed to have a protective effect on the stomach lining. In summer, with irregular eating and excessive cold drinks and ice cream, the stomach lining can become damaged. A daily pot of black tea is thought to help restore the stomach lining and reduce the likelihood of stomach pain. Additionally, black tea’s moderate caffeine content provides alertness without overstimulation. Drinking black tea at work keeps you sharp but not tense, naturally improving efficiency. These are real effects I have experienced personally. The polyphenols in black tea are also traditionally associated with antioxidant properties that benefit skin health.
Tea has grades; all may enjoy it regardless of status.
There is a small trick to drinking black tea during Great Heat: do not brew it too strong. Light black tea tastes cleaner and is more suitable for summer. You can also let it cool to room temperature before drinking; it need not be piping hot. Sometimes I brew black tea, let it cool, and add a few ice cubes. It tastes wonderful. But take care: do not add too much ice. Excessive cold damages the spleen and stomach. Slightly cool is enough; do not overdo it. The honey sweetness of Dian Hong becomes even more pronounced when cooled. It is worth trying.
Great Heat: a pot of black tea to warm the stomach on the way to work. This is my summer wellness method. Many people say you should not drink warming things in summer, but actually summer is when you most need gentle warming. Just as in winter you eat radish to clear heat, this is the wisdom of Chinese traditional wellness. Do not fight nature; follow it. Drinking black tea in summer is the way of wellness that follows nature. It took me decades of tea drinking to truly understand this. I hope you will try it too.
Make friends through tea, please enjoy a cup.
Author: Old Tea Head · Lin Shen (LamSam)
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