Ilex kudingcha Seeds | Kuding Bitter Green Tea Ku Ding Tea
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LATIN NAME: Ilex kudingcha
COMMON NAME: Kuding Tea
Plant Profile
Kuding is a bitter tea, and the name covers two different plants. The usual source in eastern China is Ilex kudingcha, a large evergreen holly with leathery, toothed leaves; in Sichuan and Guizhou the same drink is made from Ligustrum robustum, a privet.
The holly grows into a small tree of four to eight metres in the hills of Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan. Leaves are picked through the year, rolled and dried, and a single leaf will bitter a whole pot, which is why it is sold by the leaf rather than by the spoon. The leaves are picked by hand, since a machine bruises them and turns the infusion dull.
Science & Biotechnology
Bitterness comes from triterpenoid saponins, principally the kudinosides, along with chlorogenic acid and a range of flavonoids. The saponins are what distinguish the holly material from the privet, which is bitter for different reasons and has its own set of glycosides.
Small trials in China report reductions in LDL cholesterol and in blood pressure with daily kuding, but the numbers are small, the preparations are not standardised and the studies are rarely replicated outside the country. The effect, if real, is modest and should not replace medication. Bitterness also rises with leaf age, so young spring leaves give a gentler cup. The privet material contains ligustrosides rather than kudinosides, and a buyer can tell the two apart by leaf shape: holly leaves are leathery and toothed, privet leaves thin and entire.
Uses & Benefits
One or two leaves are infused in boiling water and can be re-brewed several times. The taste is intensely bitter with a sweet aftertaste, and it is usually taken after a rich meal.
Because it is bitter and cooling in the Chinese scheme, it is avoided by people with a cold stomach, and large daily doses can cause loose stools and nausea. It is not recommended in pregnancy, and anyone on blood pressure medication should tell their doctor before drinking it daily. A single leaf is often enough for a litre, and most drinkers discard the first rinse.
Growing from Seed
Fresh seed germinates in six to eight weeks, but cuttings are the commercial method and the only way to keep a good clone. Take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer with bottom heat, and expect roots in eight weeks.
The holly wants acid soil, pH 5 to 6, part shade when young and moisture through the summer. Plants are cut back to a low frame to encourage young leaves, which are the ones worth picking. In cool climates it needs a conservatory, since it is damaged below about minus five. Shade-grown leaves are darker and less bitter than those from full sun. Plants in pots need repotting every second year, as the roots fill the container and the leaves yellow.
Our Take
An acquired taste with a long regional following, better treated as a bitter digestive than as a remedy for anything in particular.
Related Reading
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