New Hakka Classic

擂 茶 Hakka: lui cha; Mandarin: lei cha

In Taiwan we visit Kwang Fu Cha Fung, a teahouse in the Hakka village of Beipu in Hsinchu County. After a big Hakka dinner, we learn that we’ll be making the specialty of the house, pounded tea with sweet side dishes. The chef claims that this tradition originated almost two thousand years ago during China’s Three Kingdoms era. As General Zhang Fei prepared to capture Chengdu, the capital at the time, a plague struck down his troops. An old doctor prescribed a tea made from pounded tea leaves, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Miraculously, the brew cured the soldiers and they fought their way to victory. The recipe was passed through the generations. This modern adaptation was developed as a teahouse Hakka specialty to draw visitors and keep the town alive.