Huanai Tea

Huanai Tea is a specific type of tea brewed in Nir Province of the Aurlûnor Velande. Known for its sweet yet savory flavor, the brew is often regarded by the local population as both a kind of folk medicine and recreational drink.

Etymology
Within Aurlûnor, the drink is commonly referred to as Huānǎi cyé- literally translated as "flower milk tea". The brew is derived from the leaves of the common tea tree, Camellia aurlunorensis.

Origins
Versions of tea called "flower milk tea" date back all the way to the Ghûren Kingdom of Yi, almost 6,500 years ago. This original tea's recipe was never recorded, only mentioned in writings and inscribed upon pottery used to brew and store the tea, and the recipe was lost in the thousands of years after Yi's conquest by the Kingdom of Almador.

After the collapse of Almador however, a mixed group of ethnic Yi'yen humans and Lhûren localists known as the Xinyihui or "New Yi Society" attempted to revive this ancient drink, at least in name only. Within the southern lands of Linye, this recipe was passed around widely before the Linye cracked down on the Xinyihui movement. A few managed to keep the recipe going in secret, and it remained popular in the southern swamps until it was eventually legalized as Linye was conquered by the armies of Velereth Sareariel Lelya-Earcala and the Aurlûnor Velande.

Under Aurlûnoren and later Takumakken rule, the recipe was still kept as a secret among various local brewers and housewives, but its reintroduced legality only served to bolster the drink's popularity. The residents of the swamplands and surrounding swamplands drank Huanai tea at official ceremonies such as weddings, business meetings, and festivals.

In recent years, since Aurlûnor once again gained control over the region that was made into the contemporary Nir Province, the provincial government has established that the Lilypad Inn Brewery- the only provincial brewery able to mass-produce the drink- is the official producer of Huanai Tea.

Brewing
The recipe to the colloquially-designated 'official' Huanai Tea is currently unknown to the common world; this particular recipe is kept secret by the workers of the Lilypad Inn Brewery in Nir. Other tea brewers in the province produce similar teas often labelled "Huanai", but these are regarded as homebrew variants or merely simple knock-offs depending on the person.

The tea is manufactured using a base of Camellia aurlunorensis leaf stock, with added herbs and other ingredients. The exact names and portions of the ingredients are confidential.

Drinking and Effects
The culture surrounding the tea is similar to the imbibing of any other tea in Aurlûnor. It is commonly drank at public teahouses and in private settings alike, and in Nir it is still used ceremonially as it was in the past. However, drinking culture around the tea has become more casual as of the more recent generations (circa 900 ACA).

The tea is commonly thought to have positive effects by many of its drinkers. Rumors have it that the brewing process involves a particular herbal arrangement that acts similarly to regeneration potions. The effects of the tea leaf itself, being a mild stimulant, can help the drinker both relax and stay awake.