Pagoda flower buds, the flower buds of the Chinese pagoda tree, bloom from June to July. They form panicles with butterfly-shaped corollas. Li Shizhen said: "When the pagoda flowers have not yet opened, they resemble grains of rice. After being stir-fried and then boiled in water, they turn yellow and taste very delicious." They have a bitter taste, are neutral in nature, and are non-toxic. They are an excellent remedy for clearing heat. The pagoda flower bud tea made from them, though considered a "rustic tea," is fragrant and refreshing, truly the best drink for cooling down in summer.

The season for picking pagoda flower buds involves spreading a plastic film under the tree, using a hook sickle to cut down clusters of buds, stripping the buds from the small branches, drying them on a stone table, and storing them for later use. Pagoda flower buds can also be made into tea. The method is simple: stir-fry them in a clay pot until they turn yellowish-brown, add white sugar or honey, mix well, take them out, and store them in a bottle. This becomes authentic pagoda flower bud tea. When drinking, take a small pinch and put it into a teapot. Brew it with boiling water for an hour, then pour out a yellow, transparent tea. Even before tasting, a unique fragrance will fill the air, intoxicating and captivating. Slowly savoring it, it is more refreshing than West Lake Longjing tea, more aromatic than premium jasmine tea, and richer and more lingering than Tieguanyin. Drinking several cups will leave you feeling satisfied, comfortable, refreshed, and relieved. Although pagoda flower bud tea is not recorded in the Classic of Tea and is a genuine local specialty, sipping it gently offers a pure and elegant taste, with a faint sense of coolness spreading from the heart throughout the body. Drinking it regularly in summer helps clear toxins and expel heat, preventing heatstroke.

Drinking a cup of pagoda flower bud tea daily can treat pathogenic heat, hemorrhoids, heart pain, red eyes, diarrhea, and bloody stools. It also dispels wind-heat from the skin and treats sore throats, vomiting of blood, nosebleeds, and uterine bleeding. For household heat prevention, the stir-fried pagoda flower buds can be placed in a thermos and soaked, ready to drink at any time. If making a large batch for field workers, it can be boiled in a large pot of water. Drinking it not only cools and reduces heat but also prevents summer diseases. The book Taiqing Cao Mu Fang records that the pagoda tree is the essence of the constellation Xu. Pagoda flower buds are a premium product, and drinking it regularly is an excellent method for health and wellness.