Guangdong's herbal tea on the up and up

Experts and representatives from Guangdong province's herbal tea industry attended a Chinese Herbal Tea Development Summit in Beijing on July 13. The summit was held to mark the fifth anniversary of Guangdong's herbal tea being selected as China's national-level cultural heritage.

In 2005, China produced fewer than 1 million tons of herbal tea. But last year, production reached 25 million tons. Herbal teas, such as the popular Wang Lao Ji, are based on traditional Chinese herbal recipes and are believed to alleviate "excessive heat" in the body.

Zhang Junxiu, head of the Guangdong Association of Food Industry, says it will only allow the brand names on China's cultural heritage list to be able to call themselves liang cha (cooling tea) or herbal tea.