It is a hot, humid July afternoon in Richmond, you have just walked back from the SkyTrain, and the first thing your hand reaches for is something cold from the fridge — an iced bubble tea, a can straight off the ice, a tall glass clinking with cubes. It feels wonderful for about ten minutes. Then, strangely, you feel heavier than before: a little bloated, a little tired, your appetite gone flat, the heat somehow still sitting on you. You cooled your mouth but not really your body. In Chinese medicine there is a gentler answer, and it comes down to a few good summer cooling drinks sipped the right way.
The rule behind them is small but important: cool from the inside, but don’t go cold. Two classic summer cooling drinks do exactly that.
Why do iced drinks make summer fatigue worse?
The short answer: ice shocks the spleen-stomach (脾胃), and a cold, overworked middle leaves you more tired, not less. In Chinese medicine, the spleen-stomach is the pair of organs that transform food and fluids into energy. They work best when they are warm. Pour ice water into that warm “cooking pot” and the body has to spend energy reheating it before it can do anything useful.
Do that once and it is no big deal. Do it several times a day, all summer, and the pattern starts to show:
- Bloating and a flat appetite, because the spleen-stomach is sluggish and “damp” (湿) builds up.
- More fatigue, not less, since the body keeps diverting energy to warm the cold middle.
- Heat that won’t lift, because true cooling is about clearing internal heat, not numbing your throat for ten minutes.
This matters even more in Greater Vancouver, where summer heat comes wrapped in humidity — that sticky dampness adds to the load on the spleen-stomach, so piling on ice only makes the heavy, sluggish feeling worse. It is the same warm-over-cold logic behind why TCM favours warm water for digestion and energy — our piece on warm water and metabolism digs into why temperature, not just hydration, matters. Summer cooling drinks follow the same idea: you want to clear heat while keeping the middle warm and working.
What are the two classic TCM summer cooling drinks?
The two go-to summer cooling drinks in Chinese households are sour plum drink (酸梅汤) and mung bean soup (绿豆汤) — both clear summer heat, and both are meant to be sipped warm or at room temperature. They have cooled Chinese summers for centuries, long before refrigeration, precisely because they cool the body from within rather than just chilling the mouth.
Here is how they compare at a glance:
| Drink | What it does | How to drink it | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sour plum drink (酸梅汤) | Generates fluids, eases thirst, refreshes | Warm or room-temp, sweet-sour | Sweaty, thirsty, low appetite |
| Mung bean soup (绿豆汤) | Clears summer heat, relieves that “cooked” feeling | Warm, earlier in the day | Hot, flushed, heat-stagnant days |
Neither needs ice to do its job. That is the whole point.
How do you make sour plum drink (酸梅汤)?
Sour plum drink is a sweet-sour herbal brew made from a few simple ingredients simmered together, then lightly sweetened. The classic combination is:
- Dried smoked plum (乌梅) — the sour heart of the drink; helps generate fluids and quench thirst.
- Hawthorn (山楂) — adds a bright tang and supports digestion after rich summer meals.
- Dried tangerine peel (陈皮) — warms and supports the spleen-stomach, balancing the cool sourness.
- A little rock sugar (冰糖) — just enough to round out the flavour, not to make it a dessert.
To make it: rinse the dried plum, hawthorn, and tangerine peel, then simmer them in about 1.5 to 2 litres of water for 30 to 40 minutes. Add a small amount of rock sugar near the end, stir to dissolve, and strain. Drink it warm or let it come down to room temperature — not straight from the freezer.
A well-made sour plum drink is tart, faintly sweet, and genuinely thirst-quenching. On a sweaty Richmond afternoon it does more for you than any iced soda, and it leaves your stomach settled rather than chilled.
How do you make mung bean soup (绿豆汤)?
Mung bean soup is the most classic heat-clearing drink in Chinese medicine, and the key is to cook the beans until they burst. Mung beans (绿豆) are considered cool in nature, and in TCM they are the household remedy for summer heat — that flushed, overheated, “cooked from the inside” feeling after a long hot day.
To make it simply:
- Rinse a cup of mung beans and pick out any debris.
- Cover generously with water — far more water than beans.
- Simmer until the beans split open and the soup turns soft, cloudy, and green-grey. Bursting is the signal it is ready.
- Sweeten lightly with a little rock sugar if you like, or leave it plain.
Drink it warm, ideally earlier in the day rather than late at night, and sip the soup along with the beans. Many families keep a pot in the kitchen during a heat wave and pour a warm cup whenever someone comes in flushed from the sun.
One honest note: mung bean is genuinely cooling — its strength in summer, but a catch in other situations. It is everyday food, not medicine. If someone is truly overheated, dizzy, or unwell from the heat, that needs proper care, not a bowl of soup.
Who should go easy on these cooling drinks?
Cooling drinks are not equally suited to everyone — people with a cold constitution or weak digestion should drink them sparingly and always warm. Because both drinks (especially mung bean) lean cool, they can be too much for some bodies. Go gently if you:
- Feel the cold easily, with chilly hands and feet even in summer.
- Have weak digestion — frequent bloating, loose stools, or a delicate stomach.
- Tend toward a cold, “yang-deficient” constitution, where more cold simply adds to the problem.
For these constitutions, smaller amounts, served warm, and balanced with warming ingredients like the tangerine peel and a few slices of ginger make all the difference. This is also where knowing your own constitution helps — our guide to wellness teas by constitution explains how the same drink can suit one person and unsettle another.
Cautions: pregnant women, children, and anyone with a chronic illness or on regular medication should keep cooling foods moderate and check with a registered TCM practitioner before relying on them. Summer cooling drinks are daily self-care, not a substitute for medical advice.
How do you cool down in summer without going cold?
The simplest rule for the whole season: clear the heat, but keep the middle warm. A few habits make summer cooling drinks work better:
- Warm or room-temperature, never iced. Let the drink cool your internal heat, not freeze your stomach.
- Sip slowly through the day, rather than gulping something freezing all at once.
- Pair with light, cooked meals and ease off greasy, heavy, or very spicy food in the heat.
- Match the drink to your body — sour plum for thirst and appetite, mung bean for genuine heat, both in moderation.
If you find that summer leaves you persistently drained, bloated, or unwell no matter what you drink, that is worth a proper look. A registered TCM practitioner can read your constitution and tailor advice rather than leaving you guessing. You can learn more about that kind of personalized care at our Richmond TCM clinic, where summer fatigue and weak digestion are common reasons people come in once the heat arrives.
Want help cooling down the right way this summer? The right summer cooling drinks, matched to your constitution, are gentle daily self-care — and Sky TCM Acupuncture & Wellness is here when you want a closer look. Dr. Judy Chu, R.Ac is in Richmond at 3779 Sexsmith Rd, Unit 1138 (Aberdeen Plaza), Richmond, BC. Call 778-681-8886 for a constitution assessment and personalized seasonal-wellness advice. Mandarin · Cantonese · English.
