Many friends think that ripe tea is hot in nature, and the red color of the tea soup leads some to directly label it as a beverage that can easily cause heatiness. It feels like a timely aid in winter but a potential aggravator in summer. Although summer is hot and gives a fiery impression, this isn’t necessarily the case!

First, ripe tea is not hot in nature. Tea is originally cool, and through fermentation, ripe tea merely loses its coolness—at most, it becomes warm. Therefore, drinking ripe tea won’t make you feel hotter. So why do some people experience discomfort when drinking ripe tea in summer? Some may even have diarrhea.

However, heatiness isn’t always bad. Traditional Chinese medicine differentiates between 'expressing outward' and 'suppressing inward.' Symptoms like heatiness, blisters, or minor sores are considered 'expressing outward,' which is part of the body’s healing and adjustment process.

From this perspective, such reactions don’t necessarily mean ripe tea is unsuitable for you. If you persist in drinking it, toxins may 'express outward,' and once expelled, the body will balance naturally, eliminating heatiness. Some may also experience mild diarrhea when first trying ripe tea, which follows the same logic—symptoms usually disappear after a day or two of adjustment.

Does ripe tea taste sour?

First, the choice of raw materials matters: tender tea (like spring tea, buds, or one-bud-one-leaf) is more prone to sourness. Second, excessive moisture during processing. Third, lighter fermentation (below 70%) increases the likelihood of sourness. Fourth, low fermentation temperatures prevent the tea from fully maturing, leading to under-fermentation.

Moreover, modern environments with widespread air conditioning have altered conditions. In summer, people wear light clothing but are often in heavily air-conditioned spaces. Drinking overly cool teas in such settings may not be ideal. Therefore, whether ripe tea suits you in summer depends on individual constitution, lifestyle, and work environment. Everyone’s body has its own tea-drinking rhythm.