Nic's Birthday Basket of Liu Pao Tea

Here's something different from all the herbs and plants that I post about. This video is about Nic's recent birthday and how he decided to give himself a basket of tea. A 6kg basket of Liu Pao tea all the way from Wuzhou, China (from one of China's largest tea manufacturers and exporters).

We are big tea drinkers. In fact, if you read my blog long enough, you know I don't drink coffee. Not at all.

So friends who know me well will often buy me tea when they travel. I've got an entire tea cabinet filled with tea from all over the world.

Now besides teas that friends buy me, Nic and I drink Pu-Erh daily after our dinner. Pu-Erh is a digestive tea that helps people to keep slim and fit. It's also suitable for night drinking as some people do find it hard to fall asleep if they drink too much of other teas like jasmine.

This tea that Nic is unboxing is Liu Pao tea. It is a fermented tea that is good for detoxification. While Pu-Erh dissolves all the fats (supposedly), Liu Pao is a healing tea that cools the body. It is named after a village in China called Liu Pao but it gained popularity in Malaysia over the years, thanks to the tin miners in Ipoh who used to imbibe this tea daily. Right now, it is becoming popular in China again thanks to its humble beginnings in Perak.

We got reacquainted with this tea early this year and it is a good addition to our tea collection.

Comments

Goji Berry, Chrysanthemum & Red Date Tea

I've been making this simple tea for a few times already. Not sure if I had shared this before but all it needs are 3 ingredients - dried goji berries, dried red dates and dried chrysanthemum bulbs. This sugar-less concoction is good for health especially if you want to maintain immunity. It's even more important these days what with the pandemic and Covid-19. But it is also a pleasant brew - no boiling needed. All you need is a handful of goji berries (washed and soaked for 5 minutes in water), 3-5 large dried red dates and a teaspoon of dried chrysanthemum flowers (these are the small heads of flowers, not the usual type for making chrysanthemum tea). Put all the ingredients in a teapot and pour in boiling water. Let it sit for 10 minutes and voila, you have made yourself a healthy tea without sugar. It has a natural sweetness from the red dates and goji berries. And once you have drunk all the tea, you can continue adding more boiling water for a second b...

The Remarkable Nut of Nuts

In this recipe, walnuts and dried red dates are combined to make a healthy and life-giving dessert. And with honey added, it packs a punch. A truly simple dessert which is used to prevent the usual flu magnets - colds and coughs. It helps too with your kidneys and with bowel movement. Walnuts are much revered in Chinese medicine, not least because the nut resembles the brain! Again, the Chinese believe that walnuts are good snacks for children as they help boost brain power which is true because of the high amounts of Omega 3 fats (good for the brain). Walnuts are of course a good source of essential omega-3 fatty acids and in Roman times, considered the food of the gods. Walnuts are a 'yang' tonic and useful for toning up weak kidneys. It also warms lung Qi while acting as a laxative, moistening the intestines (hence encouraging bowel movement if you are constipated). Walnuts are called Hu Tao Ren (juglans regia) in Chinese medicine. Walnut & Red Date Dessert 150 gm walnut...

24 Herb Tea - Bitter, Foul-Tasting But Oh So Good For You!

Was out running a couple of errands this entire afternoon and ended up buying groceries at the nearby supermarket. If I had a choice I wouldn't go into this decade-old supermarket because it's small, cramped and you tend to knock into other shoppers with your trolley (yes, the aisles are that narrow). Nic and I figured that we might as well buy our groceries since we were in this vicinity and he did need some coffee. Finally we ended up with a trolley full of cheese, butter, coffee and noodles. Anyway, I was getting thirsty after all the errands and shopping. We decided to stop and have a drink at this stall which sells Chinese herbal tea. This uncle who mans it is actually a Hong Kong native who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. He drives a little white van which he parks at the corner of a junction and opens up for business. You see, he sells hot and cold Chinese herbal teas of all types - the kind that is slowly boiled and brewed. It's common to see Mal...

The Soup Queen

Search This Blog