Cantonese 24-herb cooling tea, branded since 1828 by Wang Zebang. Bitter-sweet, drunk to clear summer heat (上火).
Founded c.1828 by a Heshan, Guangdong native, with the herbal-tea stall set up in Guangzhou, by Wang Zebang (王泽邦), childhood name Ah Kat (阿吉), so people called him Wong Lo Kat (王老吉). Zebang's stall in Guangzhou's Shisanhang treated soldiers during the 1854 plague outbreak. Brand split: Hong Kong-headquartered Wong Lo Kat (Hung Tao Cup) and mainland-licensed JDB/Jiaduobao after a 2012 trademark ruling.
Listed on China's first national intangible cultural heritage list, 2006. Hung Tao Cup brand (Hong Kong) keeps the Wang family's original recipe; mainland JDB sold 24 billion yuan in 2012, single year peak. The 2002 SARS outbreak tripled liang cha sales in Guangdong.
Dark amber, almost soy-colored. Bitter-medicinal upfront from prunella and chrysanthemum, sweet rounding from licorice and luo han guo (monk fruit). Drunk warm at a liang cha booth or chilled from the red can. The canned version (since 1995) is much sweeter than the boiled-pot original.
Decoction of 10-24 herbs (prunella, chrysanthemum, plumeria, mulberry leaf, water plantain, Imperata grass root, etc.) simmered 2-3 hours. The TCM logic targets shire (湿热, damp-heat); 凉茶 was recognized as Guangdong provincial food cultural heritage in 2005 and listed as national intangible cultural heritage in 2006; food-safety rules prompted adjustments to some traditional herbs. Cans use spray-dried extract reconstituted with water and fructose.
Variations
Wong Lo Kat green-box concentrate (港版王老吉, traditional), JDB red can (加多宝, sweetened), Hung Tao Cup brand (鸿道), Heshan original Wang-family pot, and the 24-herb cha wong (茶王) at street liang cha booths in Guangzhou Xiguan.
On the Palate
Where Wong Lo Kat sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
4 steps · 5 min active + 1 hour 50 min waiting
- 15 min
Combine 30 g Wong Lo Kat herb blend (mulberry leaf, frangipani, licorice, chrysanthemum etc.) with 2 L water.
- 245 min
Bring to boil; simmer 45 min until amber.
Watch outSimmer low until the brew turns clear amber — that colour is the sign the herbs have given up their extract; a hard boil turns it muddy and harsh.
- 360 min
Stir in 200 g rock sugar; cool.
- 45 min
Strain into bottles; serve chilled or at room temperature.
Watch outStrain out every scrap of herb before bottling — bits left in keep steeping and turn the tea bitter as it sits.
