Raspberry

Many people have eaten raspberries, the red berries that are sweet and delicious, also known as brambles. In Guangxi, the local people process the leaves of this plant to be consumed as tea. Because it tastes sweet, it is named “Sweet Tea.” Sweet tea, along with monk fruit, Hepu pearls, and Guangxi spices, are collectively known as the four famous products of Guangxi. Guangxi Sweet Tea is not a traditional tea; its plant belongs to the Rosaceae family, Rubus genus, and is a perennial shrub with thorns that sheds its leaves in autumn. Its leaves resemble those of maple trees. Sweet tea primarily grows in the Jinxiu Dayaoshan area of Guangxi at elevations between 800 and 1000 meters. This region is the second-largest kingdom of medicinal plants and animals in China and is a national nature reserve, with soil rich in selenium. Unlike other common Rubus plants, its leaves have a sweet taste, and every part of the plant is valuable—roots, stems, leaves, and fruits can all be used for tea or medicine. The sweetest time for the tea is during July and August each year. Nowadays, sweet tea is processed using the techniques for green tea, involving steps such…