Demand for herbal drinks rises with the temperature

Home brew: Teoh packing some traditional herbs with cooling properties for customers.

JOHOR BARU: People here feeling the heat have turned to herbal teas, say traders.

“Sales of herbs with cooling properties and herbal teas have gone up by about 30%,” said Teoh Kah Siang, a traditional Chinese medicine shop supervisor.

He attributed this to consumers who wanted to cool off because of the hot spell.

“Families prefer buying traditional herbs as they can boil it in a big pot for the whole family to consume,” he said.

Teoh said he noticed an increase in demand since early April when the weather started getting hotter.

“We have several options for consumers, such as traditional herbs that require boiling, as well as herbal teas that come in tea bags and capsules that are popular among the younger crowd,” he said at his store in Taman Perling here.

Teoh said customers have also frequented the 40-year-old second generation business to look for herbs to cure heat-related ailments.

“We will usually advise them to cut down on eating spicy, oily and fried food as that would usually make the symptoms worse,” he added.

The proprietor of another second-generation traditional Chinese medicine hall, Eason Teng, said his customers had been reaching out for bottled and canned herbal teas at his shop.

“These ready-to-drink products are easy to consume on the go,” he said, and are a hit among the younger crowd.

Another popular option, he said, was cubed cooling teas in which the consumer could just add water before drinking.

“I generally advise customers to drink more water as it is the best way to keep cool and stay hydrated,” said Teng.

A traditional Chinese medicine shop owner in Johor Jaya, who wanted to be known only as Lau, said his homemade herbal teas are popular among customers.

“They are served in glasses. It’s convenient for customers who would just drink and leave.