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Introduction to Shanwei Lei Cha

Speaking of Lei Cha, people will think of Hakka Lei Cha, but in fact Lei Cha is also popular in Shanwei area. In Shanwei, Lei Cha is a “communicative tea”. Many Shanwei people start Lei Cha in the morning.

Shanwei Leicha is divided into oil tea and salty tea, and Leicha usually has relatively few ingredients, just some fine tea leaves (in some areas, tea leaves are not required), peanuts and sesame seeds (roasted or raw) That’s it, the original taste is the same, plus there are some rice cheng, rice ding, fried rice or fried wheat specially prepared for Lei Cha. These rice rice and wheat can be brewed in tea (you can also Stir-fry some vegetables for tea, such as green beans, red beans, kale, lettuce, peas, green vegetables, etc.), this flavor is unmatched anywhere.

The way of eating Lei Cha is different, and it is divided into: Jingcha, Ping (locally pronounced sap, which means boiled) tea, rice bone tea, rice tea, tea and rice, etc.

The other is made of wild vegetables and green herbs and is called “camellia oleifera”, also known as “raw tea”. The main materials used are fresh mugwort leaves, mint leaves, raw tea leaves, maple shoots, perilla leaves, fanxiang, fennel, chicken foot thorns, rose buds, coriander, etc. Lei Cha has the effects of promoting body fluid and quenching thirst, preventing wind and dispelling cold, appetizing and invigorating spleen, clearing heat and detoxifying, and prolonging life. In 2011, it was selected into the list of intangible cultural heritage protection in Guangdong Province.

The folk customs in Shanwei area are simple and honest, and the people of Shanwei are warm and hospitable. Whenever the guests come, the hostess will treat them warmly.

The first is to wash the “Three Treasures of Lei Cha” immediately after greeting the guests to sit down. The so-called “Three Treasures of Lei Cha”:

One is the “Lei Cha Bowl” made of ceramics with a deep and shallow ring inside, and the surface of the inner bowl has radial corrugations;

The second is to use the top-grade camellia oleifera tree or Litsea Cubeba, which is fragrant and fragrant, to make “tea tea sticks” about 2 feet long;

The third is the “ladle” made of bamboo or wire to filter out the debris. After washing the tea set, first put the tea leaves into the tea bowl, stir and mash them with a hammer after they are wet, add a small amount of salt, and when the tea leaves are fine enough, pour hot water into them. If the water temperature is too low, the Lei Cha will not be cooked well. When drinking, not only will it not be fragrant, but it will also have a harsh taste. Generally, the water temperature is controlled at 90-95°C and the Lei Cha can be “water and milk blend”.

Then use the “scoop” to remove the rough and extract the essence, and filter out the tea dregs to make Lei Cha more delicious. But now most people don’t use “scoop”. Then soak cooked peanuts, sesame seeds, fried rice and other materials into the salted tea, and serve it steaming hot to the guests.

Shanwei salted tea has a sweet and mellow taste. It not only has the fragrance of tea, the sweetness of mint, but also has the crispness of fried rice, the crispness of peanuts, and the fragrance of sesame. Therefore, it has the effects of invigorating the spleen and stomach, and prolonging life. One of the most exquisite is the production of fried rice. Every year after autumn, women are busy harvesting, and what they are most passionate about and concerned about is to select high-quality oil tip or red rice paddy. After soaking, steaming, drying, shelling, frying and other processes, the paddy is made into white fried rice.

In the past, the Shanwei area was economically backward and suffered from food shortages for many years. In order to solve the problem of eating three meals a day and save food, people in Shanwei usually brew tea first, then stir-fry large bowls of green vegetables, and stew rice with salt to make dry rice, which is mixed with tea and vegetables. big bowl. Or cut sweet potatoes and taro into large slices and roast them on the wall of the rice pot, and you can have a full meal with some thin rice tea.

Lei Cha has simple ingredients and is easy to make. It can satisfy both hunger and thirst; it does not lose the taste of tea ceremony and is not troubled by the economy, so it can be passed down in Shanwei area for a long time.

In addition, Shanwei people believe that Lei Cha has the functions of promoting body fluid and quenching thirst, cooling and relieving heat, eliminating phlegm and qi, invigorating spleen and stomach, nourishing longevity, preventing and treating malaria and many other diseases. If you catch a cold, you can make Lei Cha and eat it, drink two bowls of hot water, sleep, sweat profusely, and the illness will be cured. Outsiders regard it as a humble and rough Lei Cha, but in the eyes of Shanwei people, it has always been regarded as a good food in the diet. Salted tea is delicious but also beneficial to everyone’s health!