Nanxun Smoked Bean Tea

Nanxun Smoked Bean Tea

　　Nanxun Smoked Bean Tea is a specialty snack from Nanxun District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. In most parts of Nanxun District, almost every household grows melons, fruits, and legumes, smokes and roasts beans, and makes smoked bean tea, which is regarded as the preferred drink for entertaining relatives and friends during the Lunar New Year and at wedding banquets.

　　Nanxun Smoked Bean Tea is one of the traditional specialties of Nanxun and has a history of over two hundred years.

　　The preparation of smoked bean tea mainly features roasted beans with green tea as a complement, and sometimes other ingredients are added. First, fine tea is placed in a teacup and brewed with 95°C boiling water, then thirty to forty roasted beans are added. Some people put both the tea leaves and the roasted beans into the teacup together before pouring in the boiling water. In this case, the tea leaves and roasted beans float and drift in the cup with the tea, gradually settling at the bottom, at which point it is ready to be served and enjoyed.

　　The roasting of the beans is done after the “Autumn Equinox” and around the “Cold Dew” period in the lunar calendar, when the green soybeans are plump but not yet old. Select the tender green soybean flesh, boil it in a pot with boiling water, remove the bean skins, dry it, and then spread it on a wire mesh sieve. Roast it over charcoal fire — avoid intense heat, using a low flame instead, and keep stirring the beans in the sieve continuously. After about five hours of roasting, the moisture in the green beans evaporates and they become slightly hard, turning into “roasted beans.” At this stage, they are emerald green like jade, can be stored in jars, and remain good for over a year.

　　“Smoked Bean Tea” gives the tea broth a yellowish-green hue, blending the delicate aroma of fresh tea with the savory flavor of the roasted beans. Drinking it refreshes the mind, stimulates the appetite, and also provides warmth and sustenance.