IT'S time for a break. What do you drink? Coffee, spring water, cola or a cup of tea? Much has been said about the benefits of drinking Chinese tea for such things as losing weight and staying alert, but the following points may be something new to you.
Office equipment like computers, monitors and copiers is a constant source of radiation to workers. Protective equipment is available at a price, but there is an easier and more convenient way to protect yourself. Just drink several cups of good chrysanthemum tea.
Chrysanthemum tea, made of white chrysanthemums and high-quality oolong, is a must for office workers in the closed environment with radiation contamination.
The white chrysanthemum is regarded as an ideal detoxification in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs), which can clear away the heat and toxic materials accumulated in the body. Ancient Chinese adopted the tradition of drinking chrysanthemum wine in autumn, believing the wine would keep them healthy.
Since it's impossible to drink wine in the office, TCM doctors highly recommend the chrysanthemum tea, instead, especially for those who suffer from serious radiation pollution or experience dry mouth.
However, doctors suggest that weak people (who are very sensitive to cold and always have cold hands and feet) should take less chrysanthemum tea, which will make them feel colder.
Black tea and honeydew
After fully baked and fermented, the tea leaves have rich fragrance and special taste different from green tea. Black tea with milk is popular in cafes and bars, but few people know that black tea has a special taste and magic curative effects when mixed with drops of honeydew.
Mugwort (ai hao)
If you drink a lot of water before sleep, you'll find yourself looking haggard and puffy the next morning, and you may feel as bad as you look.
Mugwort tea will help you eliminate edema and recover your high spirits. The tea is available in TCM shops. Only several grams of mugwort are needed for a cup of tea. The tea may be effective for weight loss, also.
The fruit of Chinese wolfberry (gou qi)
The small red berry is not a common fruit, but a kind of traditional Chinese medicine that helps maintain good eyesight and get rid of the waste in intestines.
Unlike other teas, the fruit tea is very flavorful with a light sweet taste. Watching the lovely cherries swelling up in the glass is an enjoyable process, and adding several white chrysanthemums in the tea can make the tea more tasty and beautiful.
Grosvenor momordica fruit (luohan guo)
Few people can resist the temptation of sweet food.
There is a kind of tea that is naturally sweet and requires no added sugar. It is made from the luohan guo, a round brown fruit with crisp nutshells. Luohan guo is also a kind of traditional Chinese medicine available in TCM shops.
(Shanghai Star 03/08/2001)
