Salty tea is popular in Shanwei City, Jieyang City and parts of Guangxi and western Hunan. It is one of the grand and economical ways to receive guests in the old days.

Whenever a guest comes to the door, the hospitable hostess gets busy: first put the tea leaves into the tooth bowl (a special pottery with sawtooth pattern on the inner wall), wet it and make it out of hardwood such as pomegranate or lychee wood, about 3 feet long.

Use a long hammer (wooden pestle) to stir and mash it back and forth, then put the cooked peanuts, sesame seeds, mint leaves, etc. into the tooth bowl one after another and beat it into a paste, add an appropriate amount of salt, and pour in boiling water.

It is also called Leicha.

Then the host puts a lot of fried rice and other things into a bowl with salty tea, and serves it steamingly in front of the guests.

Everyone sat around the living room, drinking, chewing, and chatting about homely things. The host would diligently serve salted tea, fried rice, etc. to the guests from time to time to encourage them to drink. Everyone was enjoying themselves and it was very interesting.

Hailufeng salty tea is sweet and mellow, with the fragrance of tea, the glycol of mint, the crispness of fried rice, the crispiness of peanuts, and the fragrance of sesame.

Therefore, it has the effects of strengthening the spleen, benefiting the stomach, and prolonging life.

The custom of eating salty tea has been passed down from generation to generation for a long time.

Ru Dunru of the Qing Dynasty recorded in "Yue Yan Shi": "There is Leicha in Jiangguang, which is a legacy of Qiang salt fried tea, and has ancient meanings." During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Hanzong, a member of Haifeng, also wrote a poem: "The customs of Haifeng

"Salting salty tea, Yaboqing comes to the family. How can you tell the difference between kindness and kindness? It depends on how many times she touches sesame seeds." It describes the grand occasion of Hailufeng eating salty tea and the secular situation in the world.

Today, Hailufeng people still continue this ancient custom.

In addition to eating salty tea instead of breakfast and lunch at home, neighbors, relatives, friends, colleagues, etc. must be invited for weddings, birthday arrangements, childbirth, completion of a new home, return from a distant place, recovery from illness, and escape from danger, etc.

Hold a "salty tea banquet" at home.

For example, if a man wants to invite a woman to get engaged, he will invite her to have a "fixing tea", and the woman will want to invite her to get a "engagement tea" in return.

After the patient is discharged from the hospital, those who express their condolences are asked to offer "passing tea".

At the same time, it is also a means of communication to communicate the feelings of neighbors and colleagues.

Therefore, the folk song goes: "Haifeng women make salty tea, beat their tooth bowls and chatter, respect the old and love the young here, and do not add or subtract from the fried rice."