Hakka Traditional Food

The history of Ho Po Hakka Lei Cha (¾Ý¯ù) or pounded tea

The residents, who live in the region of Tao Hua Yuan (®çªá·½) in the province
of Hunan (´ò«n¬Ù), usually have their Lei Cha (¾Ý¯ù) or pounded tea during lunch time. If honoured guests come for a visit the family would lay out a table of Lei
Cha to serve their guests. It is believed that this tradition of consuming Lei Cha started during the period of San Guo (¤T°ê) or the Three Kingdoms (220AD to 265AD). During the relocations of the Hakkas the Hopo Hakka brought Lei Cha
to the south, especially to the regions of Jie Yang (´¦¶§) and Jie Xi (´¦¦è) in the province of Guangdong (¼sªF¬Ù) where most of the Hopo Hakkas live.

Legend had it that Liu Bei (¼B³Æ), the leader of the Shu (¸¾) Kingdom, led an army
passing through the village of Wu Tou Cun (¯QÀY§ø in the present day region of Tao Hua Yuan in Hunan province). They encamped in the village. The next day Liu Bei discovered that half the men in his army were struck down by influenza. They were all lying in bed, feeling sick and they could not go any further. Immediately, Liu Bei ordered local and the army physicians to treat the soldiers, but of no avail.

Along it came an old lady from the mountain where there were thick bamboo groves and peaches grew. The old lady said that she could cure the sick soldiers. Liu Bei was very happy and he asked the old lady to treat his soldiers. However, the old lady did not go to see the sick soldiers but asked Liu Bei to give her sixty soldiers
who would be under her command. Happily, Liu Bei obeyed.

The old lady told ten soldiers to grind the rice, ten soldiers to dig for ginger, ten
soldiers to go to the market to buy tealeaves, ten soldiers to chop firewood, ten soldiers to use a big caldron to boil water, and ten soldiers to hew sixty rods with
ten feet long by two inches in diameter.

The soldiers accompanished their tasks and all the materials were laid in front
of the old lady. Without rushing, the old lady told those who had grind the rice to
soak the rice in water, those who had dug the ginger to watch the ginger, those
who had bought the tealeaves to wash the tealeaves. The old lady told the other thirty soldiers to drill teeth on thirty earthenwares. When the soldiers had completed their jobs the old lady divided the grind rice, gingers and tealeaves into thirty parts and put them into the thirty earthenwares. She then ordered each of the soldiers to grab a rod on his hands and pound the mixtures inside the arthenwares -two soldiers per earthenware. The soldiers pounded and hull the mixture until it became paste. The old lady then told the soldiers to pour all the mixture from the thirty earthenwares into the boiling water in the caldron. Immediately, the boiling water
turned into brownish soup. The old lady scoop out a bowl of hot soup for each of the sick soldiers. After drinking the hot soup the sick soldiers went back to sleep
and they slept soundly.

The next day the sick soldiers woke up cheerfully and they were all cured. Liu Bei
and the soldiers thanked the old lady who went back to her village happily. From
then on the drinking of pounded tea (Lei Cha) spread far and wide. Eventually, the
Hakkas brought the custom of drinking Lei Cha to the south and later, the tradtion
of drinking pounded tea travelled overseas and spread to all parts of the world.

CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (¾G¥Ã¤¸)
All rights reserved 2002

I just had Lei cha for dinner~! and I love it~!!!! I remember I used to help my mom to pound the tea when i was young...however..it is slightly different from traditional recepies..mine is passed down by my grandmother, tealeaves, peanut and garlic...den add hot water...

then we eat with rice, cai po, cabbage, cai xin and tofu...and mixed them together...some first timers will think it looks like.....drainage water..hahah

The tea~!!!

Cabbage, cai po , cai xin, tofu and rice~(you can eat separately if you wan..)

Wah la~!!! The mixture of everything.... My Fav~!