Three Treasures

Classification and Origin

Category: botanical infusions and dried flowers (代用茶, dàiyòng chá) — outside the botanical category of tea from Camellia sinensis

Xinhui aged peel (新会陈皮, xīnhuì chénpí).

a tied bundle; the character 扎 (zhā) means "tie, bundle."

Origin: Guangdong province, southern China; the core of the tradition is the Xinhui district of Jiangmen city.

Type: composite herbal infusion, tea substitute (代用茶, dàiyòng chá).

Facts

"Three Treasures" is largely a euphonious formula, not a strict count of components; the actual number of inclusions differs among workshops.

Xinhui rind here is both packaging and flavour foundation simultaneously.

the bundle combines local Guangdong peel with imported "pangdahai" from Southeast Asia and "luohanguo" from Guangxi.

Cantonese 凉茶 (liáng chá), to whose tradition "Three Treasures" is adjacent, is inscribed on China's intangible cultural heritage list.

the bundle format is essentially a natural "single-brew portion."

History and Culture

Cantonese culture of "cooling decoctions" (凉茶, liáng chá).

the centuries-old practice of ageing citrus peel in Xinhui.

Botany and Raw Material

Xinhui aged peel (新会陈皮, xīnhuì chénpí), Citrus reticulata 'Chachi', family Rutaceae.

vary by workshop; no canonical recipe exists.

Terroir

Xinhui district, Pearl River Delta.

confluence of the Xijiang River (西江, xī jiāng) and Tanjiang River (潭江, tán jiāng), tidal influence from the sea, brackish waters near Yinzhou Lake (银洲湖, yín zhōu hú).

Production

harvesting mandarins, removing the rind, drying, prolonged ageing (typically three years or more).

forming a bundle from a strip of peel around the dried components and tying.

Organoleptic Profile

a dense dark-brown bundle with visible peel casing.

aged citrus rind, resinous-herbaceous notes.

from golden to amber.

citrus bitterness of the peel, mild natural sweetness (liquorice, "luohanguo"), a "cooling," slightly coating aftertaste.

Chemical Composition

flavonoids, primarily hesperidin (橙皮苷, chéng pí gān) and polymethoxyflavones — nobiletin (川陈皮素, chuān chén pí sù) and tangeretin (橘皮素, jú pí sù); essential oils with a predominance of limonene (柠檬烯, níng méng xī); pectins.

glycyrrhizinic acid (甘草酸, gān cǎo suān), imparting sweetness.

mogrosides (罗汉果苷, luó hàn guǒ gān) — intensely sweet compounds.

mucilaginous polysaccharides that swell in water.

Health Notes

the beverage is valued as refreshing and "soothing to the throat," linking it with notions of "cooling" action (凉茶) and "regulating qi" (理气, lǐ qì) by aged peel; individual components are associated in folk practice with the ideas of "moistening the throat" (润喉, rùn hóu) and "resolving phlegm" (化痰, huà tán).

flavonoids of citrus peel (hesperidin, polymethoxyflavones) are investigated for antioxidant activity; mogrosides from "luohanguo" are studied as natural sweeteners. This concerns the properties of individual compounds, not proven effects of the beverage.

Brewing

one bundle per serving; approximately 8 – 15 g, depending on the size of the bundle.

hot, around 95 – 100 °C — the raw material is dense (peel, seeds, fruits) and requires high temperature.

a brief rinse with boiling water before brewing is advisable.

first infusion — 2 – 4 minutes; increase the time thereafter.

several brews; the bundle yields flavour well on repeated infusions, and for a more concentrated brew it can be simmered for 10 – 20 minutes.

drunk hot; in hot weather the infusion is cooled to room temperature and drunk cool — in the spirit of 凉茶.

Teaware: gaiwan, teapot, thermos, or an ordinary mug; simmering in a small pot is also acceptable.

Storage

a dry, cool, ventilated place, away from foreign odours.

elevated humidity leads to mould; insect pests are possible.

Price and Authenticity

primarily the grade and age of the peel wrapper; the older and more "Xinhui" the peel, the more expensive the bundle.

a reliable single figure cannot be given due to the range of recipes; budget assemblies on young peel are measured in tens of yuan per kilogram, whereas versions with genuine aged Xinhui peel track the price of 新会陈皮 itself and can reach hundreds of yuan per kilogram and above.