Suan Mei Tang (Sour Prune Drink) is a traditional summer beverage in Beijing. In summer days, many households would buy smoked plum (or waxberry) to decoct suanmeitang. White sugar is added to get rid of sour. It tastes wonderful after being iced.
Suanmeitang can remove heat, bring coolness, soothe mind, and cure pain. It can even cure cough, cholera and dysentery. Plum syrup can help digestion, promote the circulation of qi, dissipate blood stasis, help produce saliva and slake thirst, and astringe lung qi. Drinking plum syrup frequently can ward off disease and keep fitness. It is a healthy drink for Grain Buds, and is loved by many Beijing natives.
Beijing Xinyuanzhai Suan Mei Tang
Osmanthus sour prune drink is the most famous summer cooler in Xinyuanzhai. It was produced and sold from the Dragon Boat Festival (5th day of the 5th lunar month) to the Ghost Festival (15th night of the 7th lunar month), lasting about 70 days before.
In order to guarantee the quality and the color of the products, Xinyuanzhai thinks highly of the selection of raw materials.
The major ingredients of osmanthus sour prune drink are smoked plums, osmanthus blossoms and rock sugar. The smoked plums are selected from Changxing and Anji areas of Zhejiang province, since the plums there is remarkable for its size, with small pits and thick sarcocarp, sour, and able to help slake thirst. The osmanthus blossoms are exclusively picked from Hangzhou before their fallen, and they are of rich and pure perfumes. The rock sugar, golden and transparent, were once directly refined from the Emperor’s Kitchen in the Qing Dynasty.
When compounding the materials, producers will slightly adjust the proportions of the ingredients according to the weather. Therefore, the drinks taste sourer in hot days while sweeter in cool days. Xinyuanzhai Sour Prune Drink is of a golden color and a delicately delicate scent of osmanthus. When taking a sip, one would feel palatable and refreshed, and sense a long-lasting aftertaste. Praised as a “rare treasure in the court”, it still enjoys high reputation among customers.
Now, suan mei tang of Xin Yuan Zhai is easier to access, which is sold in various convenient shops and supermarkets. Even online shopping malls sell it as well.
