炎热盛夏 健康解渴饮品首选

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It is the hottest season of the year. The intense summer heat brings thirst, dry throats and a loss of energy. So when the temperature is way up, the sweat is pouring down, and the air conditioning is run all day, what do people here in China reach for to quench their thirsts and keep healthy?

很快就要到一年中最热的季节，炎热的夏季让人倍感口渴，浑身无力。如果温度再继续升高，会大量出汗，空调也会全天运转，夏季喝什么会让你既解渴又能保持健康呢？

绿茶，绿豆汤，酸梅汁，菊花茶等，都是很好的解暑饮品哦！

"What's your favorite drink in summer?"

"Green tea. It quenches thirst."

"I prefer mung bean soup, sour plum juice and Chrysanthemum tea."

"I love Suan Mei Tang, the sour plum juice. It is sour and sweet, tasty and healthy."

"I drink tea. Green tea not only quenches thirst but also protects me from computer radiation."

"Mung bean soup, green tea and juemingzi, the Cassis seed tea, my favorite. It tastes like coffee, but is healthier than coffee. It also helps losing weight."

"Herbal tea. It cools you down. It only costs 1.5yuan per cup in my hometown

Guangxi, cheap but really good for health in hot summer. It tastes bitter, but you feel great after drinking it all."

These are very traditional Chinese drinks which are easily found and commonly seen among Chinese families. All the ingredients are from natural food, fruits or seeds, which add special flavor to your drinks and are particularly effective in supplying good elements for health.

So, let's take a look at some of the popular, traditional drinks in China.Sweet Mung Bean Soup is probably the most common of all Chinese summer time beverages. It's also a refreshing summer snack or dessert. People of all ages love it. It's not too sweet, and it helps prevent pimples and nose bleeds!

According to Chinese physicians, Mung Bean Soup has a cooling effect on the body, so this is a very popular choice in summer.

What you're hearing now is the traditional hawker's cry of this lovely drink, in Beijing. Suan Mei Tang, or Sour plum drink, which goes back thousands of years, is another summer favorite. It is made by first stewing preserved ebonies, haws, liquorice and sweet-scented osmanthus with block sugar in a pot of water, and then cooling the soup to a cold temperature. It tastes sweet and sour, and makes for a wonderful cooler with ice cubes. Sour Plum Juice is not only a common home made drink but a well known beverage served in restaurants. This drink effectively quenches thirst and is good for the digestive system and your lungs.

It is now also sold pre-packaged, by the bottle, at most stores in Chinas' big cities.

If ever in south China's Guangdong or Guangxi provinces, you mustn't forget to try its special drink - herbal tea. In hot summer, a cup of tea may make you cool from the inside and keep you in good health. The Cantonese say it is a part of their life since the weather in Guangdong remains humid and hot most of the year.

Many Cantonese drink herbal tea once or twice a week as a preventative medicine and daily as a treatment, for everything from colds and headaches to indigestion and arthritis; it is also valued for its diuretic and laxative properties.

But Chinese green tea is never to be ignored. The daily dose of disease-fighting, inflammation-squelching antioxidants has multiple functions. Such as cutting the risk of developing cancer, steadying your blood pressure and helping you to lose weight. As well as drinking pure green tea, Chinese also like to add other ingredients to a cup. Ingredients such as chrysanthemum, cassis seed, ginger and even chopped fruit pieces like pear, apple and lemon.

Is your mouth watering now? Go and have a cup of icy Chinese drink. Cheers!