Three best chinese teas to survive the summer in Egypt
Hi! We are Yara and Denis, and we have been living in Egypt for several years and know it inside out. We started developing Chinese tea culture here and decided to write a few articles that will be useful for those just getting to know this world.
If you decide to spend the summer in Egypt, be prepared — it won’t be easy. Daytime temperatures often reach 45°C, and a 15-minute walk to the store turns into a real ordeal. Locals switch to a different lifestyle and mostly live at night, when the temperature drops.
We have spent more than one summer in Egypt and know what we are talking about. This article is written for the brave ones who decide to stay in Egypt during the hottest time of the year, and it will help them avoid going crazy from the heat.
Best teas for hot weather
On a scorching summer day, green teas, white teas, and some light oolongs are the best choice. They have a fresher taste, less heaviness and astringency, many of them taste pleasant even when cooled down, and they also help quench thirst. In addition, the state they help you achieve is exactly what is missing in Egypt during summer: they bring clarity and help you focus on work or daily tasks when you wake up feeling like jelly after a humid night.
Red teas, on the other hand, tend to give a warmer and more intense feeling. But that doesn’t mean they are not suitable for summer — hot red tea helps you slow down, gently energize, and handle the heat more calmly, especially if you don’t brew it too strong. It’s important to understand that warming teas are good in summer because they warm the body from the inside, and once that happens, the external heat becomes much easier to tolerate.
Below we want to talk about three best teas that, in our opinion, will help you protect yourself from the heat in Egypt.
Longjing
Longjing (Dragon Well) is a classic Chinese green tea from Zhejiang province. In our opinion, it is perfectly suited for drinking on a hot summer day: it offers a balance of freshness without harsh astringency, subtle nutty notes, and it quenches thirst very well. It does not give a heavy caffeine crash, but at the same time it effectively wakes up the mind, structures thoughts, and helps shake off that “broken” morning feeling.
Once, we went to another rock climbing session, and this tea performed perfectly. Although the training took place at sunset, it was still quite hot, and Longjing helped relieve heat tension, stay focused, and finish the session with pleasure.
Tie Guan Yin
Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) is one of the most famous Chinese oolongs from Anxi province. Aromatic, smooth, with a rounded and vivid taste — it is an excellent tea not only for hot summer weather but also for entering the world of Chinese tea. Its light airy aroma, hints of nettle, and gentle creamy taste make it very comfortable and easy to understand for beginners. It refreshes well and helps improve focus.
Despite our experience, we still enjoy brewing Tie Guan Yin a couple of times a week, especially when the sun is stronger than usual.
Jin Hao Dian Hong
Jin Hao Dian Hong (Yunnan red tea with golden down) is a classic red tea from Yunnan province. Red teas, according to European classification, are closer to black teas, but they do not have the harsh tannins, astringency, and sharpness often found in mass-market teas.
Sweet, smooth, thick, without aggressive bitterness, with light notes of dried fruits and honey, JHDH wins you over from the very first sip. If brewed patiently, the tea becomes light and gradually reveals its aroma and taste with each infusion.
Although red teas are usually associated with cooler weather, in hot countries hot red tea is often drunk even in summer — especially in the evening, when you want to slow down after a hard day and gently restore your energy. Hot tea also increases sweating and helps cool the body from within. It’s no coincidence that on Egyptian streets you can see a huge number of simple tea-and-shisha places that are always full.
Conclusion
Of course, there is no perfect tea for summer — it mostly depends on your personal taste and how you like to brew tea. But these three varieties are the ones that most often help us get through the Egyptian summer a bit more calmly and pleasantly.