Guanshan Forsythia Tea from Pingding

Guanshan Forsythia Tea from Pingding

　　     Forsythia, also known as "golden rod," blooms with bright golden flowers in early spring each year. After the flowers fall, tender green buds emerge. These buds, when blended, processed, and brewed, become a health-promoting tea known as "forsythia strips."

　　　　      In Pingding, Shanxi Province, there is a mountain called Guanshan, which is covered with forsythia. The tea made from these plants, when processed, can promote saliva production and detoxification, as well as clear heat and reduce internal fire. Legend has it that one year, Emperor Qianlong was staying at the Chengde Mountain Resort. While drinking forsythia tea in the Yanyu Tower, he felt instantly refreshed and exceptionally comfortable all over. He then asked where the tea came from and learned that it was a specialty of Guanshan in Pingding Prefecture, Shanxi. He immediately issued an imperial decree designating Guanshan forsythia tea as a tribute product, requiring 50 dan (a traditional unit of measure) to be presented to the royal family each year for their consumption.     The method of making forsythia tea is not complicated: the tender forsythia buds are selected, rinsed clean with water, and steamed in a basket for 5–10 minutes — just enough to cook them without making them too soft or mushy. They are then dried in the sun or roasted into a semi-finished product. Next, they undergo chaff roasting, powder sifting, flower scenting, flower extraction, and packaging processes to become the final product. Its characteristics include promoting saliva and quenching thirst, clearing heat and reducing internal fire, and providing a cooling and refreshing effect. (Taiyuan)