A real good herbal tea drink...popular in China and found elsewhere in the world. According to the Asian Times several years back, this drink outsold Coca Cola within China during a year's worth of sales! WLK has sold billions and billions in the country's currency. It was invented in the Qing dynasty in 1828 by Dr. Wong Chat Bong as a sort of medicinal drink. In many places you can buy iced tea drinks, but how healthy are they really? Many are quite unhealthy when you look closer. This is a give or take exception. Check out the ingredient list: Water, Sugar, Mesona chinensis Benth, Plumeria rubra L. cv. Acutifolia,
Microcos paniculata L, Chrysanthemum, Lonicera japonica Thunb, Prunella
vulgaris L, Liquorice.
The worst thing there is sugar. In doses it never hurt anyone, though. All that other strange sounding stuff (mostly Latin scientific names for plants) can be deciphered as follows:
~Mesona chinensis Benth- A type of Asian mint that is used commonly in something called 'grass jelly' which is like a herbal sort of jello-like dessert. Among other things it is beneficial for immunity and is anti-cancerous.
~Plumeria rubra L. cv. Acutifolia- Another Asian plant, like a small flowery tropical tree. Used to treat Gonorrhea, swelling, and ulcers.
~
Microcos paniculata L- Leafy plant with solid berries that look much like gooseberries. Can be used as painkiller, anti-inflammatory agent, antipyretic (fever-reducing) , anti jaundice.
~Chrysanthemum- A showy flower that comes in many varieties. Popular as a tea base. Medicinal in many ways, including antibacterial and antifungal...and even to help treat HIV! I've recently used a bio friendly insect killer with a chrysanthemum base.
~Lonicera japonica Thunb- Also known as Japanese Honeysuckle (and 100 other names),it is a flowery climbing vine with a vanilla type scent. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) it is known as a cooling agent that combats fever, sore throat and cough, flu, body toxins, ulcers. Also, it is antibacterial and anti inflammatory.
~Prunella
vulgaris L- Called Self Heal, Heal-all, Heart of the Earth, and other names. A small plant with purple flowers, found worldwide. In an article written by Deb Jackson and Karen Bergeron, it was described as such:
Once proclaimed to be a Holy
herb and thought to be sent by God to cure all ailments of man or beast,
and said to drive away the devil, which lead to the belief that Heal-All
was grown in the Witches garden as a disguise. The root was used to make a
tea to drink in ceremonies before going hunting by one Native American
tribe to sharpen the powers of observation.
It is antibacterial, antiseptic, alleviates gas and aids digestion overall, expels worms, fights fever, treats wounds and bleeding, reduces swelling and body tensions, and more!
~Liquorice- This should be easily recognized. Besides being used in food and candies, it has been used as medicine since ancient times the world over. Good for digestion, ulcers, respiratory ailments, various diseases.. and a zillion other things.
One final thing, the can itself could stop a bullet. None of this pansy flimsyass easily crumpled stuff so commonly found in America.
So if you think of grabbing a coke and happen to see WLK tea instead, give it a shot. Not only does it taste good, but it's super medicinal.
