Tea also has cold and hot properties? Traditional medicine believes that people's constitutions can be categorized as燥热 (heaty) or虚寒 (cold/deficient), and tea leaves, through different processing methods, can also have cooling or warming properties. Therefore, people with different constitutions should be mindful when drinking tea. Those with a heaty constitution should drink cooling teas, while those with a cold/deficient constitution should drink warming teas... Common teas are mainly divided into several categories: Green tea, Light tea (including Oolong tea, Tieguanyin, Dahongpao), Black tea, and Dark tea (Pu'er tea). This classification is basically based on the degree of fermentation, from low to high. Generally, green tea and Tieguanyin from the light tea category, due to their lower fermentation level, belong to the cooling category of tea; Oolong tea and Dahongpao from the light tea category are neutral teas, while black tea and Pu'er tea belong to the warming category of tea.

People who smoke and drink alcohol regularly, are prone to inflammation, feel 'heaty', and are generally larger in build (i.e., those with a heaty constitution) should drink cooling teas. Those with a cold and deficient stomach, who feel bloated or uncomfortable after eating bitter melon or watermelon, or those with a weaker constitution (i.e., those with a cold/deficient constitution), should drink neutral or warming teas. Elderly people are suited to drinking black tea and Pu'er tea... However, special attention must be paid: Kuding tea is particularly cooling. Its functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, softening blood vessels, and lowering blood lipids are more pronounced compared to other teas, making it most suitable for those with a heaty constitution. But people with a cold/deficient constitution absolutely should not drink this tea.

The constitutions of modern urban dwellers cannot be simply divided into heaty or cold/deficient. Some people exhibit characteristics of both: they might have a larger build and be prone to inflammation, but get diarrhea after eating cold raw foods; others might be thin and clearly have a weak spleen and stomach, but still suffer from significant internal heat... This is mainly because modern urban lifestyles, with bad habits like smoking, drinking alcohol, and staying up late, lead to more complex constitutions. However, everyone's constitution will show primary symptoms, and tea drinking should be based on these main symptoms as the guiding principle.