24 Flavors Herbal Tea

24 flavors or 24 wei is the name given to a variety of Cantonese herbal tea, drunk for medicinal purposes. Its name refers to the fact that it is a mixture of many different ingredients (around 24, although it may feature as few as 10 or as many as 28 or more). The recipe is not fixed, and thus may vary according to the producer.

The tea is somewhat bitter in taste.

Typical ingredients

• Mulberry leaf (桑叶)

• Chrysanthemum flower (菊花)

• Japanese Honeysuckle flower (金银花)

• Bamboo leaf (竹叶)

• Peppermint (薄荷)

• Imperata cylindrica (茅根)

• Luohan guo (罗汉果)

• Agastache rugosa (藿香)

• Perilla frutescens (紫苏)

• Elsholtzia (香薷)

• Fermented soybean (淡豆鼓)

• Cleistocalyx operculatus flower (水翁花)

• Microcos paniculata leaf (布渣叶)

• Ilex rotunda (救必应)

The tea is used for excessive fire in the body and is helpful to many aliments. The brew helps to alleviate sore throat, high fever, common cold and flu, inflammations, hypertension and skin problems.