In Jiangle, Lei Cha is an impromptu drink made by ordinary people.

As the name suggests, Lei Cha has to be “pulled” with utensils. Its main utensils are the beater and beater. The beater is a 2-foot-long stick, usually made of tea tree branches or white snake vine (which belongs to edible miscellaneous wood). If you are particular, you can carve a ring groove on the upper end of the beater and hang it with a rope, and plan the lower end to make it easier to beat The Leibo is a special local pottery basin, the inner wall of which is covered with radial grooves (the roughness is to increase the friction during the tea brewing process), and it is in the shape of an inverted round table.

Put the white sesame seeds in the beating bowl, and use the beating holder to “beat” repeatedly.

Additives

When the white sesame is basically ground into powder, pour the tea leaves and dried orange peels into the bowl and mix with the basically ground tea powder, and then carry out an appropriate amount of grinding. It is said that the nutritional and health benefits of Lei Cha will be more pronounced after adding tea leaves and dried orange peels, so the locals call this process “the icing on the cake”.

On the basis of the basic ingredients, Jiangleren also flexibly adjusts the formula according to seasonal changes and the tastes of customers: for example, in winter and spring, ginger and cinnamon are usually added to warm the meridians, clear the yang and transform qi, and dispel dampness and cold. In summer, you can add Houttuynia cordata, Huoxiang, and local herbs called “Pteris” and “Chicken’s claw” to make Lei Cha for heatstroke prevention, or add honeysuckle, lotus leaves, light bamboo leaves, mint, etc. to make cool and detoxifying tea Lei Cha.

In autumn, tribute chrysanthemum or Hangbai chrysanthemum can be added. For those who like to drink fragrant tea, you can stir-fry (or part of) the sesame seeds before grinding, or you can add fried peanuts, fried soybeans, etc. “I heard that making Leicha with black sesame seeds has a better effect on beautifying the skin.”

Fine beat

In the tradition of the Hakka people, the part of “fine beating” is often where the guests and the host take turns making tea, and everyone can show off their tea-making skills, so this part is also called “show their skills”. So, those of us who have never made tea, we all took turns to experience it…

When the ingredients were “finely beaten” until they were fine enough, Ajuan’s mother poured in a lot of hot water. It is said that at this time, the temperature of the boiling water is very particular, and the temperature should not be too high or too low. If the water temperature is too high, the protein in the mixture will coagulate too quickly, and the brewed Lei Cha will be bland and not milky; “Generally, the water temperature is controlled at around 90 degrees Celsius, so that the brewed Lei Cha can ‘blend with water and milk’.” A Juan said.

So far, the rough processing of Lei Cha has been completed. The rest is fine processing, that is, “sieving”, the purpose is to filter out the tea dregs, take the “ladle”, filter the tea dregs in the bowl, and pour the milky white tea liquid into the tea bowl. But most Jiangle people like to drink rough tea. The powder made from white sesame seeds is called “Lei Cha Base” in Jiangle. According to different personal tastes, you can choose “Lei Cha Base” yourself. Then, according to the order of elder and younger, they will be respected to the guests one by one, and the whole process of Lei Cha is considered complete.

Call tea

After the Lei Cha is made, relatives and friends gather around the table to drink the steaming Lei Cha. At this time, some refreshments of melons and fruits, together with chatting all over the world, are an extension of the happiness after the hands-on labor of Lei Cha.

In Jiangle, calling people to drink Lei Cha is called “Hou Lei Cha”. In the local area, this is a bit of a rule: four o’clock and eight festivals are called festival tea, weekdays are called mutual reward tea, those who have happy events call happiness tea, and those who ask for help call thank you tea. The hottest time for shouting Lei Cha is mid-August. At this time, those who have been admitted to college technical secondary schools, those who have recruited, and those who have graduated all call for Lei Cha, and they focus on inviting teachers. …