Zhu Ke Cha 竹壳茶 or 竹殻茶

I cannot answer your question regarding Zhu Ke Cha (never heard of it, but I have heard of Chazuke – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chazuke), but I can welcome you to the forum!

M.

Before there was air conditioner but after Man had invented work, people got sick when they had to endure the kind of sub-tropical climate such as that in southern China while keeping the economy turning. Getting sick because of the heat etc, was not only expensive, inconvenient but could also be lethal sometimes. That was why a lot of things were made to help people stay acceptably normal in the wet and hot climate. Most of them were herbal teas. Bamboo shell tea was one of them. Some said it has been around since antiquity, some said at least a few centuries. The main target of the herbal formula was to “drive away heat and moisture toxins”, as in the concept of traditional Chinese medicine. Some makers had their own formula, but most of the 6 or eight herbs are also employed in other popular folk formula, such as the “24 herb” formula that is still popular to this day.

This was sold in tea shops and I thought it was a kind of pu’er tea. Not seeing them nowadays. Never had the chance to try it.