A popular saying goes: "The moon is full on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month, and Mid-Autumn mooncakes are sweet and fragrant." It is clear that mooncakes are a must during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Besides mooncakes, wine and fruits are also indispensable, and drinking some tea is a great way to cut through the grease. What to eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival? Let’s take a look below.

What tea to drink during the Mid-Autumn Festival?

The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival is also the history of tea drinking. Drinking tea is the most elegant part of the Mid-Autumn celebration. One Cantonese-style mooncake can contain up to 850 calories, equivalent to three bowls of white rice. It is also suggested that excessive consumption of heavily sweet mooncakes can burden the spleen and stomach. That’s when tea is most effective for relief.

Sweet mooncakes: jujube paste, red bean paste, lotus seed paste, pineapple cake

Pairing suggestion: mint tea, Gynostemma, green tea. Very sweet mooncakes need tea that aids digestion. Light green tea and mint can help metabolize the sugar from the wine, preventing excess sugar from staying in the body. Gynostemma, also known as "Southern ginseng," can relieve bloating, and its mild flavor complements sweet mooncakes, just as mint’s coolness clears the sweetness from the mouth.

Salty-sweet mooncakes: mung bean paste, ice-skin mooncakes, pepper and salt

Pairing suggestion: oolong tea. Compared to very sweet or very greasy mooncakes, salty-sweet flavors are relatively light and refreshing, making oolong tea a good choice. Oolong is a semi-fermented tea, less astringent than green tea, with a warm and smooth character that brings out the nostalgic charm of the salty-sweet taste.

Greasy mooncakes: egg yolk with ham, mushroom with braised pork, five-nut

Pairing suggestion: pu'er tea, chrysanthemum pu'er, hawthorn tea. Greasy mooncakes pair well with stronger teas to cut through the oiliness. Pu'er tea is an excellent choice, as it is cool in nature and has a strong fat-reducing effect. Egg yolk with ham mooncakes, which are baked at high temperatures, can easily cause internal heat; adding chrysanthemum to pu'er can help cool the body. Hawthorn tea promotes gastric acid secretion and aids digestion.