According to “The Interpretation of the 72 Climatic Phenomena”: “In the sixth month… Heat, meaning hot, is divided into minor and major within the heat. The beginning of the month is minor heat, the middle is major heat. Now, the heat is still relatively mild.”

Heat signifies hotness; minor heat means it's not yet extremely hot. It indicates that the weather starts to become hot, but hasn't reached its peak.

During this period, warm winds suddenly arrive, cicadas sing in the halls, and red lotuses exude a fresh fragrance. Thunder rumbles amidst bamboo, green moss listens to the rain. When the wind settles, lotuses in the pond are tranquil, and their fragrance makes midday dreams fresh. Smoke shrouds the long pavilion, clouds break to reveal star bridges, rain fills the evening, water reflects green moss, and the raindrops on the lotus leaves mingle with the smoke from Tea.

Traditional medicine holds that minor heat is when the body's yang energy is at its most vigorous. During this time, the body sweats a lot, consumes much, and can easily tire, so nurturing the body's yang energy is particularly important. Thus, there is the saying “cultivate yang in summer and spring,” referring to the need to nurture yang during the minor heat season.

An ancient saying goes: “spring favors sour, summer favors bitter, autumn favors pungent, winter favors salty.” Under high temperatures, one can appropriately supplement with some bitter ingredients.

Tea, being one of the bitter foods and drinks, can also soothe the mind. It is most suitable for the minor heat season.

A famous line from a Song Dynasty poem reads: “A bowl divides the spring of Baiyue, the minor heat of Yuxi is pleasant.” In the Song Dynasty, tea was elegantly prepared, as the poet Fang Gong wrote: “in clear weather, finely frothed milk plays in the tea division.”

It was a kind of ritual, savoring a tranquil and carefree mood, allowing a busy and cluttered heart to relax. Therefore, the poem suggests that during such a hot minor heat season, a cup of tea is most refreshing.

Drinking tea during minor heat is not just to cool off, but also to seek a peaceful state of mind.

The hotter the weather, the more one should drink warm tea.

Of course, the choice of tea can be based on personal preference. Some friends think that Green Tea is most suitable for minor heat. Green tea, green like spring in a cup, contrasts vividly with the scorching outdoor weather, making the minor heat season seem uniquely interesting. It seems to have a fiery appearance but a calm heart, moving freely between motion and stillness, cold and warmth, calming agitation, cooling heat, and smoothing out turbulence.

Green tea is slightly bitter and cold in nature. Drinking green tea has the effects of relieving heat, dispelling summer heat, detoxifying, extinguishing fire, reducing dryness, quenching thirst, stimulating saliva production, and strengthening the heart and spirit. Drinking a cup of green tea on a scorching summer day not only quenches thirst and stimulates saliva production but is also very beneficial to the body.

During the hottest, most humid, and stifling days, the focus of Tea drinking should be on “dispelling dampness.” High-quality aged teas, such as old Pu'er, old dark tea, old White Tea, good aged Chenpi Pu'er, especially old Liubao tea, can effectively dispel dampness and promote sweating during the current season, and are relatively gentle, suitable for most tea enthusiasts of various constitutions.

At this time, drinking white tea, which is refreshing and elegant, is particularly favored by tea enthusiasts with good physical constitution who enjoy cold-brewed white tea.

The four major oolongs, such as rock tea, Phoenix Dancong, Tieguanyin, and Taiwanese Oolong, especially oolongs aged from the previous year, lose their fiery and drying qualities and become smoother and more soothing.

For those who enjoy flower tea, chrysanthemum is bitter, pungent, and cool in nature, treating dampness and heat, brightening the eyes, and clearing heat while detoxifying, both pleasing to the eye and dispelling internal heat.

The temperatures are high during the dog days of summer, the weather is hot, and the body easily sweats. In particular, excessive sweating can lead to the loss of potassium in the body, causing symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, poor appetite, and mental lethargy. Therefore, drinking more tea during the dog days can not only cool off but also replenish potassium. In addition, it can also supplement essential proteins and amino acids.

During the dog days, drinking tea for health, entering tranquility calmly, keeping the mind peaceful and avoiding anger, maintaining an optimistic attitude toward matters, ensures that the heart fire does not rise and thus does not alarm the yang, and the spirit does not wander and thus does not attract the yin.