Jiangle Lei Tea (Fujian Jiangle Specialty)

Introduction to Jiangle Lei Tea

Jiangle Lei Tea is a traditional local specialty in Jiangle County, Sanming City, Fujian Province. It is the most common and solemn hospitality etiquette in traditional Chinese culture. When people get married, have children, move to a new home, join the army, be promoted, go to school, or celebrate their birthdays, tea making becomes an essential festive occasion. Jiangle Leicha has a long history. According to research, it was introduced by the Hakka people during their second southward migration in the late Tang Dynasty

This tea is mainly made of ordinary tea leaves, with sesame seeds added. It is placed in a special large bowl and pounded with a wooden stick about a foot long, making a "rumbling" sound when pounded. According to historical records, Lei Cha was already popular in the Central Plains region during the Song Dynasty. In the poem "Gan Tai Zu She" by the Southern Song Dynasty poet Huang Sheng in his "Yulin Poetry Talk", it is said that there are two or three grass houses next to the road, and they see guests beating hemp and spinning foot tea. Approaching Zhongyuan, the pronunciation is good, but I don't know if Huai River is the end of the world. It is sufficient to prove that studying hemp and making tea for customers was already a custom in the Jiangnan region at that time

Jiangle County, located in the northwest of Fujian Province, is one of the nine earliest ancient counties established in Fujian. With a history of more than 1700 years, it is known as the cultural city and the land of scientific names. Jiangle is still one of the cradles of Hakka culture. Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a large number of Han people from the Central Plains have migrated south and settled in Jiangle. Lei Cha is a dietary custom brought in by the Han people from the Central Plains during their southward migration. Therefore, during the Tang and Song dynasties, martial arts music began to be popular, and it is a significant representative of Hakka clear water tea

What is the nutritional value of Jiangle Lei tea

Lei Cha has many medicinal functions. After drinking enough wine and eating, taking a few sips can instantly relieve the greasiness; Drinking tea in the scorching heat is even more refreshing and invigorating. It has been verified that regularly drinking Lei tea has the effects of preventing wind and cold, clearing the liver and improving vision, diuresis, lowering blood pressure, moistening the lungs and stomach, moisturizing and beautifying the skin

How did the history of Jiang Le Lei Cha come about

As the name suggests, to "beat" tea, one must use utensils. Its main tools are the rim and bowl. The beating stick is a 2-foot long stick, usually made of tea tree branches or white snake vine (belonging to edible miscellaneous wood). If it is exquisite, a ring groove can be carved on the upper end of the beating stick to tie it with a rope, and the lower end can be flattened to facilitate beating; The grinding bowl is a specially made pottery bowl in the local area, with radiating grooves on its inner wall (the roughness is to increase friction during the tea grinding process), in the shape of an inverted cone

The basic raw materials of Lei tea are tea, rice, sesame, soybeans, peanuts, salt, orange peel, and sometimes some green herbs. Tea is not just tea, there are many varieties that can be used as tea leaves. In addition to using old tea leaves, more are harvested from tender leaves of many wild plants, such as pear leaves, big green leaves, and so on, with no less than ten varieties. Prepared in large quantities through processes such as washing, stewing, fermentation, and sun drying, and used year-round...

Additives

Tea leaves are basically crushed into powder, and white sesame seeds and orange peels are poured into a grinding bowl and mixed with the basically crushed tea powder. It is said that the nutritional and health benefits of pounding tea will be more significant after adding sesame seeds, so locals call this process "adding icing on the cake"

Fine beating

In the tradition of Hakka people, the" fine beating "stage is often where guests and hosts take turns to beat tea, and each person can showcase their tea beating skills. Therefore, this stage is also known as" showing off their skills "

When the ingredients are fine enough, pour in a large amount of hot water. It is said that at this time, the temperature of boiling water is very particular, and the temperature cannot be too high or too low. Too high water temperature can cause the protein in the mixture to solidify too quickly, resulting in light and non milky tea; If the water temperature is too low, it will not be able to brew ripe tea. When drinking, not only will it not be fragrant, but it will also have a grassy taste. Generally, the water temperature should be controlled at around 90 degrees Celsius for the brewed tea to blend with water and milk

Shouting Tea

After the tea making is completed, friends and family gather around the table to drink the steaming hot tea. At this moment, some fruit and tea snacks, combined with conversations from all over the world, are an extension of the joy of manual labor like pounding tea

In Jiangle, shouting for people to drink Lei Cha is called "shouting Lei Cha". In the local area, it is quite customary to shout festive tea during festivals, exchange tea on weekdays, shout happy tea for happy events, and shout thank-you tea for those who ask for help. The hottest time to shout "Lei Cha" was in mid August. At this time, those who were admitted to universities or vocational schools, those who had recruited workers, and those who had graduated all shouted for tea, with a focus on inviting teachers. The people who went to shout were sweating profusely, and their sincere expressions were a bit like the "tea doesn't get drunk, everyone gets drunk" style...