Dian Hong tea is made from the fresh leaves of high-quality large-leaf Yunnan tea trees, processed through withering, rolling or cutting, fermentation, and baking. After brewing, the tea liquor is bright red with a prominent golden ring, featuring a fresh and fragrant aroma and a strong and rich taste. Its characteristics are its strong, potent, and fresh flavor, and it has benefits such as stimulating saliva production and clearing heat, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, and nourishing and protecting the stomach.
The Benefits of Dian Hong Tea
1. Stimulating Saliva Production and Clearing Heat: Dian Hong tea can quench thirst and cool the body because the polyphenols, sugars, amino acids, pectin, and other components in the tea react chemically with saliva, stimulating saliva secretion, leading to a moist mouth and a cooling sensation. The Caffeine in Dian Hong tea can also control body temperature, regulate body temperature, stimulate the kidneys, promote heat dissipation and waste excretion, maintaining physiological balance.
2. Refreshing and Reducing Fatigue: The caffeine in Dian Hong tea stimulates the cerebral cortex, exciting the central nervous system, enhancing alertness, improving cognitive function, and increasing memory. It can speed up blood circulation, aiding metabolism, while also promoting perspiration and diuresis, accelerating the excretion of lactic acid and other bodily wastes, effectively alleviating fatigue.
3. Promoting Diuresis and Reducing Swelling: Dian Hong tea contains caffeine and aromatic substances that increase renal blood flow, enhance glomerular filtration rate, and inhibit tubular reabsorption of water, resulting in increased urine output. Therefore, Dian Hong tea has the benefit of promoting diuresis and reducing swelling.
4. Nourishing and Protecting the Stomach: Dian Hong tea is made through fermentation and baking, during which polyphenols undergo enzymatic oxidation reactions under the action of oxidase, reducing their content and decreasing their irritation to the stomach. Instead of harming the stomach, Dian Hong tea can actually nourish it, offering benefits in terms of stomach health and protection.
Suitable Populations for Dian Hong Tea
1. Those Prone to Fatigue
Black Tea contains a large amount of caffeine, which has effects such as stimulating the central nervous system, eliminating fatigue, invigorating the spirit, and enhancing cognitive function. For those prone to fatigue, it can help alleviate fatigue and refresh the mind.
2. Those with Urinary Difficulties
The caffeine and aromatic substances in black tea can increase renal blood flow and enhance glomerular filtration rate, promoting increased urine output. For those with urinary difficulties, it has a diuretic effect.
3. Those with Gastric Discomfort
Black tea is a fully Fermented tea with a mild nature. The components in black tea can form a protective lining in the stomach, having the effect of nourishing and protecting the stomach. Regular consumption by those with gastric discomfort or ulcers can have therapeutic benefits.
4. Patients with Heart Disease
Research has found that daily consumption of black tea can increase the dilation of blood vessels in heart disease patients. Black tea has a vasodilatory effect, providing some auxiliary treatment benefits for heart disease patients.
When Is the Best Time to Drink Dian Hong Tea?
1. Which Season Is Good for Drinking Dian Hong Tea?
According to traditional Chinese medicine, Dian Hong tea has a mild nature and a warming effect on the stomach, so the best season to drink it is winter. Traditional Chinese medicine also suggests drinking floral tea in spring, Green Tea in summer, light tea in autumn, and black tea in winter.
Winter is cold, causing a reduction in physiological functions and a weakening of yang qi, making the body more susceptible to cold. Dian Hong tea, being mild, effectively replenishes the yang qi lacking in the body during winter. Modern medicine confirms that Dian Hong tea is rich in proteins and sugars, which play an important role in enhancing resistance to cold, warming the stomach, and promoting digestion.
Preparing Dian Hong tea involves using freshly boiled water and immediately covering the container to prevent the aroma from dissipating. Drinking Dian Hong tea is not just a Chinese tradition; in Western countries, particularly in Britain, afternoon tea typically consists of black tea, often consumed with milk or sugar. Not only does this warm the body, but it also provides essential nutrients.
In terms of seasons, Dian Hong tea from Yunnan is naturally suitable for winter consumption. However, individual dietary preferences vary, so there is no specific definition for when to drink Dian Hong tea, primarily depending on personal choice.
2. What Time of Day Is Best for Drinking Dian Hong Tea?
Due to differences in fermentation, Dian Hong tea contains significantly less tea polyphenols than green tea, making it gentler on the stomach. Therefore, drinking a cup of Dian Hong tea before a meal to warm the stomach poses no issues. Instead of harming the stomach, it can effectively protect it, preparing the digestive system for the upcoming meal and achieving the purpose of “waking up the stomach.”
Furthermore, Dian Hong tea has an excellent effect in increasing intestinal peristalsis, promoting digestion, and reducing the burden on the stomach. Drinking it before meals or half an hour after eating can yield very good results.
However, drinking it on an empty stomach can dilute gastric juices, reducing appetite and digestive capacity, and may cause a sense of fullness. As a result, this has become a method for weight loss through tea consumption, although it is not recommended to overdo it. Therefore, the time before and after meals is also suitable for drinking Dian Hong tea.