Thu, Aug 02, 2001 page11

• Cool off with some summer drinks

  Some of the best ways to beat the heat this summer will be to try Taiwan's many refreshing traditional beverages

  • By Tiffany Feng / STAFF REPORTER
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  With the dog days of summer upon us, one of the only ways to stay cool, other than remaining in an air-conditioned room, is to reach for one of Taiwan's many traditional summer drinks.

  Many of these beverages are the products of multinational food and beverage companies. But long before these drinks were created, there existed already a wide range of beverages made with fruit or herbs that are healthy, tasty and pleasantly refreshing. With awareness of health issues on the rise, these local drinks are coming back into vogue.

  Some of the most popular traditional drinks are preserved plum juice (酸梅湯), bitter tea (苦茶), winter melon tea (冬瓜茶), starfruit juice (楊桃湯) and hsientsao tea (仙草茶), all of which can be found at street-side stalls and shops throughout Taiwan. Many local food companies now package these drinks as well, but for the real thing, you'll have to visit the stalls and traditional family stores.

  

  Hsientsao tea.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Hualien - Bitter tea

  Bitter tea (苦茶) isn't actually very bitter, as the herbs used to make it provide natural sweetness. Originally, Yuan Chih Tang Herbal Shop (源芝堂青草鋪) was a Chinese herbal medicine wholesaler, but owner Hsu Tsung-jung (許宗榮) switched his focus to the tea business last year.

  Bitter tea is made from 18 kinds of herbs and requires complex preparation. Hsu follows a traditional recipe that requires ingredients to be added in two stages, with the cooking process taking up to six hours.

  

  Lotus seeds with jelly fungus soup.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  "And this is just the basic production" Hsu said. The resultant brew still has to be filtered and cooled before bottling.

  Yuan Chih Tang Herbal Shop is located at 60 Kuohsing 1st St., Hualien City (花蓮市國興一街60號), tel (03) 831-1825.

  Taipei County - Preserved plum juice

  

  Tamsui's famous Grandma's Preserved Plum Juice stand.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Grandma's Preserved Plum Juice (阿媽的酸梅湯) offers this delicious plum drink from its location just off the Tamsui ferry, where it has been located for the past 11 years. The drink, although widely available, is now particularly associated with Tamsui.

  Grandma's Preserved Plum Juice shop retains a traditional exterior and is presided over by Ke Po-wei (柯伯位), who named the shop to reflect his nostalgia for a kind of "golden years" Taiwan.

  "The secret of making the plum juice was perfected by my grandmother," Ke said. The traditional way of making plum soup is to use green plums from Taoshan (桃山) in Chiayi County, which are then cooked with 17 herbs, including roselle, Anoectochilus Formosa, Tongchen, cicada exuviae, white chrysanthemum, yimu, parasitism, purple perilla and mint. These ingredients are stewed over a low heat for half a day to create the drink's concentrate.

  

  Pearl milk tea.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  The drink has proved so popular that Grandma's Preserved Plum Juice has expanded into a chain of stores with a presence all over Taiwan. The drink is good for digestion and is especially effective against the sweltering heat of Taiwan's summers. Over holiday weekends, Ke said the store sells up to 8,000 cups of the drink from their Tamsui stores.

  Grandma's Preserved Plum Juice is located at 135-1 Chungcheng Rd., Tamsui township, Taipei County (台北縣淡水鎮中正路135-1號) or 73 Chungcheng Rd., Tamsui township, Taipei County (台北縣淡水鎮中正路73號), tel 2629-0107.

  Kaohsiung - Starfruit juice

  

  Winter melon tea.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Starfruit juice is not just a delicious summer drink. It is also regarded as a cure for sore throats and as a beauty-enhancing food.

  Kung's Family Starfruit Juice (龔家楊桃湯) in Kaohsiung has been making and selling starfruit juice for 20 years. According to the store's owner, Kung Ching-shou (龔清首), starfruit is grown throughout the year, making supply relatively simple.

  To make starfruit juice, the fruit is soaked in a secret preparation for six months, with the resulting mixture saved as a kind of concentrate. Sugar or honey may also be added. "The green or unripe starfruit makes the best soup as the flavor combines sourness, sweetness, saltiness," Kung said.

  Kung Family Starfruit Juice is located at 217 Tsoying Ta Rd., Kaohsiung County (高雄縣左營大路217號), tel (07) 585-0152.

  Taipei City - Lotus seeds with jelly fungus

  Lotus seeds with jelly fungus soup (蓮子木耳湯) is a popular desert or drink option in summer because of its cooling properties. It is also favored by women because it is said to beneficial to health and beauty. Yitung Hsiaochi (伊通小吃) on Taipei's Yitung street is well-known for preparing this dish.

  Owner Chen Mei-chu (陳美珠) said that the selection of ingredients is important for quality. "We buy fresh lotus seeds from the market and pick the special jelly fungus which is not bleached. The ingredients are cooked separately so that the lotus seeds are not overcooked and the jelly fungus remains crispy. Another great option at this store is the green bean and barley soup, which also has cooling and health-enhancing properties.

  Yitung Hsiaochi is located at 66-2 Yitung St. (伊通街66-2號), tel 2509-9948 or 2504-2554.

  Taipei City - Pearl tapioca milk tea

  Pearl tapioca milk tea (珍珠奶茶) has become popular throughout Taiwan in recent years, and is especially in demand during summer. Pearl tapioca is made from a starch extracted from sweet potato, mixed with cassava root and brown sugar.

  A popular chain serving this drink is Moon Flower Cafe (董月花奶舖), opened in 1999 by the famous entertainer Hsu Nai-lin (徐乃麟), can be found all over Taiwan. The pearl tapioca that goes into the store's concoction has a slight tea taste and is particularly chewy. Moon Flower Cafe is located at 18, Lane 106, Yitung St. (伊通街106巷18號), tel 2518-1428, delivery hotline: 8780-6622.

  Taipei City - Hsientaso tea

  Hsientsao (仙草, Mesona procumbens Hemsl) is a perennial herbaceous plant that can be found growing wild in the foothills of Taiwan. This medicinal herb is much valued for its ability to cool the body and lower blood pressure, and has been widely incorporated into a variety of foods and drinks, served in soups, tea or as a jelly.

  Tanfang Hsientsao (丹芳仙草), located in Taipei's Jaoho Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市), has been selling hsientsao products for 11 years. Its hsientsao with shaved ice and hsientsao tea are especially popular during summer.

  According to Wang Chi-kuang (王啟光), who runs the stall, the fresh herbs are usually picked after the Mid-autumn Festival each year. The hsiantsao plant is then sun-dried and then stored in a dry, well-ventilated storehouse for half a year to a year. This is done "so we can stew out the scent from the herb" Wang said.

  Wang said the hsientsao products sold by Tanfang are free of artificial additives, so the drink made from the herb is completely natural and very healthy.

  Wang also created hsiantsao milk tea (仙草奶茶), adding the beneficial health properties of hsiantsao to milk tea, a combination that has proved immensely popular.

  Tanfang Hsientsao is located at Lane 194, Jaoho St., Taipei City (台北市饒河街194巷巷口), tel 2764-9236.

  Tainan - Winter melon tea

  Traditionally, one of Taiwan's most popular summer drinks was winter melon tea (冬瓜茶). The Yifeng Winter Melon Factory (義豐冬瓜工廠) has been producing the basic ingredient for this tea -- hard blocks of winter melon and sugar -- for over a century. Lin Sung-shan (林嵩山) is the third generation of the family to run this business, and although he is aware that people are increasingly enthusiastic about imported drinks, he wants to maintain a tradition of preparation for this drink.

  To prepare winter melon tea, the winter melon must first be sliced and cooked. The cooked melon is mixed with sugar and cooked further until the mixture turns golden brown. The mixture is allowed to harden into blocks. Most people use this pre-prepared mixture to make winter melon tea, which, according to Lin, makes a tastier tea than simply stewing the melon. The shop also sells candied winter melon (冬瓜糖).

  Yifeng Winter Melon Factory is located at 212 Yungfu Rd., Sec. 2., Tainan City (台南市永福路二段212號), tel (06) 222-3711.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Large bamboo viper catch in Tainan puzzles bureau

  • 2

    Danish envoys’ privileges revoked over naming controversy

  • 3

    Eight million barrels of oil to set sail for Taiwan this month

  • 4

    Horse euthanized after winning the Grand National race

  • 5

    Foreign exchange reserves fall below US$600 billion