Hakka Lei Cha

Hakka Lei Cha

　　    Lei cha is a type of tea snack served by the Hakka people to honored guests. "Lei" means grinding, referring to the use of a clay grinding bowl to grind tea leaves, which are then consumed as a health drink.

    Lei cha is also nicknamed "Three Lives Soup." According to ancient records, it is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, when General Zhang Fei led his troops to attack Wuling, many soldiers contracted an epidemic and were too weak to fight. A senior herbal doctor, moved by the strict discipline of the Shu army, offered his family’s secret anti-epidemic remedy—grinding raw tea, ginger, and raw rice together into a paste, then boiling and drinking it. The result was miraculous: the soup cured the illness on the spot, and thus the name "lei cha" was passed down. Today, the Hakka people and immigrants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, as well as residents in Hunan, Guangdong, and Fujian all have the habit of drinking lei cha. Hakka lei cha has a pure tea flavor and strong aroma, not only quenching thirst and cooling the body, but also strengthening the spleen and stomach, and promoting longevity.

     Tools for Making Lei Cha

    1. Grinding Bowl (Lei Bo): Made by pulling and shaping clay.

    2. Grinding Stick (Lei Bang): Primarily made from guava or camellia tree trunks. Choose sticks of appropriate size, about 40 cm long, sawn and air-dried, then peeled before use.

    Ingredients for Lei Cha

    (1) Traditional Ingredients: Green tea (raw), sesame seeds (raw), peanuts (roasted)

    (2) Modified Ingredients: Green tea (raw), sesame seeds (raw), peanuts (raw or roasted, can also be omitted), pine nuts (raw), sunflower seeds (raw), pumpkin seeds (raw). Ratio of ingredients: tea leaves 3, sesame 3, other ingredients 1

    (3) Main Base Ingredient: Rice undergoes soaking, steaming, drying, and roasting processes to become easily storable and quick-to-prepare rice.

    How to Make Lei Cha

    (1) Traditional Method: Place traditional ingredients into a special grinding bowl and slowly grind them into powder using the grinding stick. Continuously add hot water during the process to turn the mixture into a paste. This method is very labor-intensive and time-consuming. Families who regularly eat lei cha even involve children in the grinding process.

    (2) Modern Method: 1. Grind the tea leaves and sesame seeds into powder using a dry fruit grinder. 2. Mix and grind the remaining ingredients, then add pine nuts and grind them together. 3. Place the above ingredients into the grinding bowl, add an appropriate amount of hot water, and stir evenly with the grinding stick. Add coriander or Thai basil and an appropriate amount of salt. 4. Pour in boiling water and serve with small rice grains.

    Health Benefits of Lei Cha

    Hakka lei cha has a long history. In Hakka regions, it is a very common traditional food. Around ten in the morning and three in the afternoon each day, Hakka people usually eat lei cha, especially the elderly who love it the most. In general households, if a guest visits and is not served lei cha, the host may be seen as neglecting their hospitality.

　　    Elderly people who regularly consume lei cha often live long lives, reaching 80 or even 90 years of age. This is because they grind green tea into powder, which is rich in vitamin C, and also grind high-nutrient dried fruits such as peanuts and sesame seeds, making them easy to absorb. From a modern perspective, this is a very healthy and organic diet.

    Ingredients

    Green Tea: Uses the healthiest green tea with no pesticide residues.

    Beans: Black beans, soybeans, mung beans, red beans, rice beans, white hyacinth beans, green peas, flower beans...

    Grains: Sorghum, oats, buckwheat, coix seeds, brown rice, corn, millet, red wheat...

    Traditional Chinese Medicine: Lotus seeds