In the first few chapters, we introduced the health care effects of different teas in daily life, such as: durian tea, persimmon leaf tea, olive tea, rose tea, this chapter is to introduce a strange "tea" drink - insect tea.
Incense tree
Insect tea is made of insects such as incense moths and rice black worms by eating plants such as incense trees and bitter tea, and the volume is about the size of rice grains, black and brown. Insect tea is a unique forestry insect product in China's Xiangguiqian Mountainous Area, which has a long history in China's production and drinking, and is also favored by Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao overseas Chinese, and has become a special tea for traditional export in China.
In the middle-altitude mountainous areas on the border of Guangxi and Hunan in China, there are many fragrant trees, bitter tea, etc., and these unique vegetations have become the basis for the propagation of insect sources. Local mountain people put the leaves of incense trees and other plants into bamboo baskets, sprinkle rice water to ferment, and induce insects to lay eggs and eat, so as to obtain insect dung. After special treatment, the dried insect feces become a fine round, shiny and golden "insect tea".
Worm tea
Insect tea is very convenient to drink, almost all dissolved after brewing, like coffee for the blue brown, brewed tea, overflowing aroma, drink a few sips, the taste is mellow and sweet, refreshing, quite aftertaste. When drinking insect tea, first pour boiling water into the cup, then add an appropriate amount of insect tea and cover the lid. The worm tea grains float on the surface of the water and are ready to drink when they slowly sink to the bottom of the cup and begin to produce a red-black soup.
Insect tea has a clear and fragrant taste, similar to tea leaves. Although China is a big country in tea production and consumption, insect tea is little known, and insect tea is also a good health care drink. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that it has the effects of clearing heat, relieving heat, detoxifying, stomach, and aiding digestion, and can be described as an important refreshing drink in tropical and subtropical regions. It is said that since the Qianlong Dynasty, insect tea has been regarded as a treasure and paid tribute to the imperial court every year.
Insect tea has the tannin and various vitamins contained in general tea leaves, has the effect of clearing heat, dispelling heat, detoxification, stomach, digestion, etc., especially the insect hormones and hemostatic substances contained in insect tea, which have a good effect on diarrhea, epistaxis (nǜ), bleeding gums and hemorrhoids and blood in the stool. According to the study, the nutritional value of insect tea is higher than that of ordinary tea, containing 18 to 19 kinds of amino acids, a certain amount of crude protein, crude fat, sugar, tannins, vitamins and other nutrients, but also contains trace elements needed by the human body.