Tang King Kee

I wrote this article because I wanted not only to know more about my family's heritage, but also introduce this Chinese tradition to all I have known.

Kinds of Chines herbal tea have been existing in the Chinese society for hundreds or even thousands of years. Unlike the West, Chinese herbal tea is not made from apple, orange or some other fruit flavor. Instead, the ingredients are mainly wild herbs from mountains. Occasionally, the tea also contains meat and fish. People may ask what Chinese herbal tea is for. Here comes anther distinction from the western herbal tea. The Chinese ones are not just for tasteful enjoyment. Different herbal teas have their own medical functions. However, those that people usually obtain from herbal tea stalls are mainly for removing extra "heat" inside one's body.

"A healthy body requires a balance of energy inside our bodies," said Uncle Tak. Uncle Tak is the owner of the Tang King Kee herbal tea stall in Shum Shui Po, Hong Kong. The stall have been standing in Tai Lam Street (about 5 minutes walk from the Shum Shui Po MTR station) for almost half of the century. Tang King Yeung, Uncle Tak's father and my grand father, founded the store in the 1930's. Since then, the family business has been specializing in producing three herbal teas: green bean and sea plant soup, vegetable and fish soup, and 24-ingredient. The Tang's family runs the whole business. From ordering ingredients to selling the cleaning the soup bowls are the everyday duties of the Tang's family. They start their day with moving herbs to the stall and boiling water around 7am everyday. Then, they would put all ingredients into the boiling water. The soups would be ready around 11am. Usually, they would fill up several bowls for each of the teas so that the tea can be cool down. The stall opens everyday from dawn to sunset with the exception of the Chinese New Year holidays. In summer, they struggle in sweat. In winter, the cold and dry air weathers their hands after touching water. All they do is to face at the three boiling hot pots for the whole day in the small stall with little or no wind breeze in. So, we can imagine how difficult of making a bowl of herbal tea is.

Just back to the beginning, I mentioned the "heat" inside of our bodies. What exactly is it? Uncle Tak says food carries energy. Those carry more energy like fries are classified as "hot food". Other food with less ene rgy is known as "cool" or "cold" food. When someone takes too much "hot food", there would be more heat than usual. Moreover, heat can be accumulated as results of inadequate sleeping time and heavy work/life pressure. In order to keep the balance of energy, an herbal tea such as "24-ingredient" could put down the heat. However, people cannot take herbal tea too often because too much tea makes it less effective in reducing heat. Hence, the best ways of keeping a balanced energy are to have a fair diet, a healthy sleeping habit and a less stressful life.

Who drink the tea most often? Generally, people from different occupations, age drinks the tea. But, those who need to work at night would drink more often. Among the three herbal teas sold in the Tang King Kee, "24-ingredient" has the most medical functions. "24-ingredient" improves a lot on digestive system, fever, vomiting, diarrhea...etc. However, the "24 tastes" is really bitter. People sometimes take some sweet or sour snack to accompany the soup. The only sweet soup in the stall, "green bean and sea plant," is good in removing the heat that has been accumulated in the lung. Also, thirst caused by hot weather can prevented by the "green bean." The "veggie and fish soup" tastes salty. It has the function s of getting rid of heat as well as bone pain. Which is the most popular? According Uncle Tak, all three are equally popular. "The recipes of the teas were made by my dad,"Tak said. My grandfather had some knowledge about Chinese herbal tea. He opened the stall in the 1930's in Pak Ho Street, Shum Shui Po. In the 1960's, he moved the stall to the current location.

Do seasonal changes affect the sales? "Well, fewer people come as it rains or it blows strong cold wind. Generally, the number of customers is quite even all the year round. Around lunar March and August are the busiest periods in the year because the weather causes minor disorders in people's body." How do economic conditions contribute? "It is obvious that the business is less profitable after financial crisis. Most probably, people are still living under the shadow of lay-off and freezing wages. Who knows what happen in future? So, they prefer to hold the money and live under a tight budget."

Operating a business for more the 60 years is not easy. A business not only needs to adapt to customers'needs, but also reacts to competitors. As I remember, many Chinese herbal stalls opened last couple of years. Uncle Tak believed that many new businesses did not make herbal teas according to tradition recipes. At the beginning, people might go to those stalls. Later, people discovered the tea was not good. They would switch back to the old stalls. Whether a business is shaken out, the tea's quality is the most determinant factor. As mentioned before, the economy was in depression last two years. Especially, the retail industry, which had been declining for many years, was hurt further. So, Uncle Tak said he did not raise the tea prices for about five to seven years in order to keep its competitive position. What about introducing new flavors to attract more people? Uncle Tak said, "I don't think we new flavors since the tea is used for smoothing one's body's functioning. The taste is not that important.

After the interview, I learnt more about my family heritage. You know, I also amaze how this stall can feed the whole family in 2 generations: Uncle Tak's brothers and sisters; and Uncle Tak's immediate family. As time changes, would young people still appreciate this tradition?

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