Helba (known in Chinese as huluba)
Occasionally, we receive comments on our blog from people we don’t know, and it always comes as quite a surprise to us (someone other than our moms and a few close friends read this?!?). One such anonymous commenter recently asked us to write a bit more about the Egyptian yellow tea, known as helba (or hilba) which we mentioned last September in our posting about Islamic Cairo.
I hadn’t given much thought to helba, but after a quick Google search I found some pretty interesting information about the tea (and yes, my anonymous friend, it’s not really tea from a tea bush, but an herbal tea). (Disclaimer: all information outlined below though is from the internet and so should not be taken as the definitive answer on helba).
A simple Google search for “helba tea” brings up a short article from The New England Journal of Medicine about the false diagnosis of “Maple Syrup Urine Disease.” Interest peaked, I read on to see how this could possibly be related to Egyptian yellow tea. It seems as though injesting helba tea, an infusion of the fenugreek seed, causes one’s urine to smell sweet, “described variously as like that of burnt sugar, malt, curry, or Maggi (a widely available flavoring).”
So, helba tea is made from seeds of the fenugreek plant, a native plant to the Mediterranean region and western Asia. According to Wikipedia, “the similarity in the Arabic word Hulba and Mandarin Chinese word ‘Hu lu ba’ reveal the significance of fenugreek in history,” but unfortunately it doesn’t go into any detail on who got what from whom and when. A food reference website explains that fenugreek was used by Egyptians in embalming.
The website of an herbal supplement company explains the various traditional uses of injesting fenugreek seed by infusion, extraction, or a pulverized powder, including:
– Anti-inflammatory
– Antiseptic
– Antispasmodic
– Appetite loss
– Breastfeeding Aid (increases lactation)
– Colds and Flu, Bronchitis, Sore Throat
– Diarrhea
– Female Health Maintenance
– Indigestion
– Menstrual Health Maintenance
– Respiratory Health Maintenance
– Skin Disorders
– Skin inflammation
– Sugar Control
– Ulcers
(I find it slighly humourous that it was traditionally used as a “sugar control” considering the heaping teaspoons of sugar which were poured into the helba served to us in Islamic Cairo). Another traditional usage which is mentioned on Wikipedia and other sites is for breast enhancement. Sounds like a miracle herb to me.
By the way, to our anonymous commenter, our friend in Islamic Cairo explained how to make helba tea – use one teaspoon of seeds for two glasses of water. Combine the water with the seeds, boil, and serve. From personal experience, a little bit of helba seeds goes a long way – do not use too many seeds or the tea will be very bitter. The seeds are served in the cup with the tea, and eaten for the added turbo boost of health.
Tags: Egypt, Tag Index
admin
October 21st, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Interestingly enough, there is a medical urban legend about a ill child for whom the diagnosis was unknown. As it goes, the child was very sick in the intensive care and no doctor could figure out what was wrong. Each night, the custodian would clean the room and upon leaving the room would comment to the nurse that it smelled like pancakes. After a few nights, and knowing that the diet of the patient did not include pancakes, the nurse mentioned this fact to the doctor. Eventually that led to the diagnosis of Maple Syrup Urine Disease. Origin of the tale is unknown.