Luhe Leicha is the crystallization of the inheritance and development of Hakka Leicha. It is a diet discovered by the ancestors of Luhe Hakkas while adapting to the natural environment. Luhe Leicha production tools include Leicha bowl and Leicha stick. The ingredients used in Leicha include green tea, sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, etc. When making, first put the tea leaves and sesame seeds into a bowl, grind them with a tea stick, then add peanut kernels and pour a little cold boiled water to grind them until they are ground into a paste-like tea paste, which is "Lei Tea Paste", and then pour it into boiling water Stir well and drink. Served with popcorn, beans, vegetables, etc. when drinking.

Another kind of Leicha made from wild vegetables and green herbs is called "oil tea", also known as "raw tea". The main ingredients include fresh mugwort leaves, mint leaves, raw tea leaves, maple buds, perilla leaves, fenugreek, coriander, chicken feet, rose buds, coriander, etc. Leicha has the effects of promoting body fluids and quenching thirst, preventing wind and cold, appetizing and strengthening the spleen, clearing heat and detoxifying, and prolonging life. In 2011, it was selected into the Guangdong Province Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List.

Hakka tea making is also very particular. However, Hakka women are skilled in tea making skills, and every Hakka family has a set of tea making tools - a beating bowl and a beating stick. The bowl is a round pottery tooth bowl with a diameter of about 1.5 feet, and there are also small bowls of 1 feet. The inner periphery is patterned with well-proportioned ribbing, and the appearance is clumsy and elegant. The tea stick is about 2 to 3 feet long. It is mostly made of camphor wood, alpine oak or camellia oleifera tree. Other miscellaneous trees cannot be used as tea sticks. If used, the tea will have a peculiar smell and be unpalatable to the mouth. When making tea, first select good tea leaves and roasted sesame seeds, put them into a bowl and slowly beat them into powder. Then add cooked peanuts, pour a little water, and slowly and rhythmically rotate the beater stick until it becomes a paste. Add an appropriate amount of salt. , then pour a few slices of mint into the boiling water and put it into the tea, and it becomes a bowl of fragrant tea. When you smell it, the fragrance is astounding to your nose, and when you take a sip, your mouth will be filled with saliva, your teeth and cheeks will be fragrant, your mind will be refreshed, and your five internal organs will be smooth. Savor it slowly, and its taste is endless.

Leicha can not only be drunk neatly, but can also be drunk with fried rice. During the Spring Festival, Hakka people use rice to serve tea to guests. What is even more unique is that the rice tea that Hakka people eat for lunch every day is boiled rice in a pot, then the soup and rice are poured into the pre-beaten tea slurry, stir well, and then stir-fry kale. , shrimp, squid, mushrooms, etc. This is the finest Hakka rice and tea.

Leicha also has many uses. For example, adding a little pepper to the tea can warm the body and dispel cold. It is very effective for those with cold stomach, weak body and frequent nocturia.

To this day, it is still the most solemn etiquette for Luhe people to entertain guests with tea, and it is also a traditional custom from ancient times to the present. Leicha has become an indispensable drink in Hakka social activities.

(Photo taken--Peng Guixiong)