The Magic of Longjing Tea: A Cup of Spring Essence

Qingming has not arrived yet, but the Longjing tea from West Lake has already been harvested. In a few days, people will be able to taste this year's new tea.

In the TV series "Chinese Materia Medica", there are many precious teas mentioned, such as Lingzhi tea, Du Zhong tea, and Dragon's Blood Tree Leaf tea, which are made by replacing tea leaves with Du Zhong leaves, Lingzhi mushrooms, and Dragon's Blood Tree leaves respectively. There are also tea products like Yuanjilin Ganhe Tea, which is made from various Chinese medicinal herbs like Su Ye, Qing Hao, Xiang Ru, and Bo He. However, none of these can replace the status of Longjing tea in people's hearts. Its delicate shape, emerald green color, strong aroma, and mellow taste make it a cup that captures the essence of spring, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips.

In Su Dongpo's poem "Looking South", he wrote the famous line "With new fire, try new tea; with poetry and wine, seize the time". Inspired by this, chefs in Hangzhou created the famous dish Longjing Shrimp, which combines fresh river shrimp with new Longjing tea leaves. In 1972, Premier Zhou hosted a banquet in Hangzhou to entertain US President Nixon, and this dish was included in the menu. Last October, during the G20 Summit held in Hangzhou, President Xi hosted a dinner for the guests, and this dish was also served.

Longjing tea is one of the best green teas. Green tea is made without fermentation, preserving the natural substances of the fresh leaves and containing a large amount of nutrients such as tea polyphenols and catechins. Green tea is cool in nature and has various health benefits, including refreshing the mind, aiding digestion, reducing sputum, and promoting weight loss.

Qianlong Emperor Pleasing His Mother with a Cup of Longjing Tea

Longjing tea, known for its "green color, fragrant aroma, sweet taste, and beautiful shape", has left behind many magical legends in history.

When Emperor Qianlong traveled to the south, he arrived at Shifeng Mountain in Longjing Village, Hangzhou. The elder monk at Hugong Temple presented him with a precious Longjing tea called Shifeng Longjing. The emperor was asked to enjoy the tea while strolling and admiring the scenery. Along the way, Qianlong saw several village women picking tea leaves from the tea trees in front of the temple. Impulsively, he walked into the tea garden and started picking the tea himself. After picking for a while, a eunuch came to report that the Empress Dowager was ill and asked the emperor to return to the capital immediately. Qianlong rushed back and put the tea leaves he had picked into his sleeve pocket without thinking.

The Empress Dowager's illness was caused by liver fire, which resulted in red and swollen eyes and discomfort in the stomach. When she saw Qianlong returning, her mood improved significantly. At this moment, a refreshing scent wafted through the air, and she asked eagerly, "What good thing did you bring back from Hangzhou, my son? It smells so fragrant." Qianlong suddenly remembered the tea leaves he had picked in front of the temple and put in his pocket. The tender leaves had already withered after a few days, emitting a strong aroma. Qianlong smiled and told the Empress Dowager about his experience of picking tea in Hangzhou, and he had the palace maids make tea for them. Indeed, the tea had a refreshing aroma, a mouthwatering taste, and a lingering aftertaste. After drinking three cups, the Empress Dowager's eye swelling disappeared, and her stomach felt much better. She praised that this Longjing tea was truly a miraculous elixir. Qianlong immediately decreed that the eighteen tea trees he personally picked in front of Hugong Temple at the foot of Shifeng Mountain be designated as imperial tea and offered to the Empress Dowager every year.

After that, Qianlong visited the Longjing tea area in West Lake four times during his six trips to the south, witnessing the tea picking and tea making process, and composing poems while enjoying the tea. The fame of Longjing tea continued to grow, and the "Imperial Tea Garden" with the eighteen imperial tea trees has been preserved to this day.

Pu Fu Zhou Cures a Severe Illness with a Bowl of Longjing Tea

Whether the Empress Dowager's illness was truly cured by a cup of tea is not to be investigated, but the renowned physician Pu Fu Zhou did indeed cure a critically ill patient with Longjing tea.

The patient had developed sores after a fever, and although his condition had improved after long-term medication, he still felt restless, had trouble sleeping, and had no appetite. He vomited severely, even vomiting after eating, drinking, or taking medicine for three consecutive days. The patient was elderly, and his children were extremely worried, so they sought help from Pu Fu Zhou. After careful analysis of the patient's condition, Pu Fu Zhou concluded that the patient's qi was severely deficient, and his stomach qi was extremely weak due to excessive medication, making it difficult to withstand the effects of the medicine, leading to continuous vomiting. In such a situation, if a dietary therapy was used flexibly, it could stabilize the stomach qi, resolve the crisis, and lay the foundation for further treatment. Upon learning that the patient loved drinking tea, Pu Fu Zhou instructed the patient's children to take two qian (approximately 6 grams) of West Lake Longjing tea, boil it in 150 milliliters of water for two minutes, and let the patient drink it. The next day, good news came. As soon as the tea was brewed, the patient smelled the fragrance and voluntarily asked for tea. He drank two sips without vomiting, and then drank two small bowls. Not only did he not vomit, but he also felt very comfortable, with rumbling in his abdomen and the ability to sleep soundly that night. When he woke up the next day, he felt hungry and actually wanted to eat. The family was at a loss, so they came to consult Pu Fu Zhou again. Considering that the patient had been ill for a long time and his stomach qi had just recovered, Pu Fu Zhou advised the family to cook a very thin rice porridge and give him a little bit to nourish the stomach yin and stomach qi. After a month of such conditioning, the patient miraculously recovered without medication.

Finally, when analyzing the patient's condition, Pu Fu Zhou pointed out that the patient had a deficiency of righteous qi and only a thread of stomach qi remaining. Although there was internal heat, it was not suitable to use bitter cold medicine to purge, as it would further weaken the stomach qi. Tea leaves are slightly bitter, slightly sweet, and slightly cold, with aromatic and spicy properties. They can clear heat without damaging yang, and open up without hurting yin. The aromatic and slightly sweet taste can awaken the spleen and please the stomach. The rumbling in the abdomen after drinking the tea indicated that the spleen and stomach qi had been invigorated. The ability to fall asleep that night and the desire to eat after waking up the next day indicated that yin and yang had been harmonized. Facing a critically ill patient, Pu Fu Zhou remained calm and used tea leaves ingeniously. He truly deserved the title of a master physician.

What's the Best for Relieving Heat? It's Hot Tea

Tea has excellent health benefits, including refreshing the mind, relieving heat, stimulating appetite, aiding digestion, promoting weight loss, reducing cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, sobering up, improving brain function, and prolonging life. For five thousand years of Chinese civilization, tea has guarded the health of the people.

Relieving heat: In the hot summer, sweating is common, and it is necessary to replenish fluids. Drinking tea at this time can clear heat, promote diuresis, cool the heart, clear heat, detoxify, and quench thirst. A research center in the UK conducted a heat relief experiment on a 40°C hot day. Various beverages were used as test materials to verify whether tea could relieve heat through comparative experiments. The results showed that those who drank cold carbonated drinks, cold beer, and ice cream quickly made the skin around their lips cool and their gastrointestinal tracts seemed to have cooled down, but the temperature drop was not significant, at most only 0.5°C. In contrast, those who drank cool tea had a temperature drop of 0.8°C, those who drank warm tea had a temperature drop of 1-1.2°C, and those who drank hot tea had a temperature drop of 1.5-2.0°C. Although those who drank hot tea did not initially feel cool, they felt comfortable and refreshed after a while. In terms of sustained effects, the cooling time for the cold drink group was about 5 minutes, while the hot tea group could maintain a temperature drop for more than 15 minutes. Therefore, the conclusion was drawn that "what's the best for relieving heat? It's hot tea."

Cancer prevention: Research has shown that tea possesses antioxidant properties and has the ability to inhibit carcinogenic substances. Tea leaves contain a large amount of vitamin C, with 180 milligrams per 100 grams, and vitamin C can prevent the synthesis of carcinogenic nitrite with an inhibition rate of 95.7%. The Institute of Food Hygiene at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine found that brewing 1 gram of tea leaves twice, using 150 milliliters of water each time, has the effect of blocking the formation of nitrosating compounds. If 3-5 grams of tea leaves are used for brewing, the synthesis of nitrosating compounds can be completely inhibited. The tea polyphenols and catechins in tea leaves have inhibitory effects on cancer cells. The tannins in tea leaves can also inhibit cell carcinogenesis and mutation. The trace elements selenium and germanium in tea leaves also have excellent anti-cancer effects. Tea leaves are also effective in preventing and treating radiation damage, especially leukopenia caused by radiotherapy. Cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy can also drink more tea. Given the abundant resources of tea leaves and their significant anti-cancer effects, it is highly recommended to use tea drinking as a means of cancer prevention and health preservation.