She put great effort into the smallest details, from the pitcher of mint-infused water to the homemade date-and-ginger tea served at the end of the meal.

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Sipping lemon-ginger tea on the cushions of our house's rooftop pavilion, I watch the first light spangle the leaves of the poplars along the village's irrigation stream, see lambs herded into a small willow-walled corral, a woman in a black robe and orange head scarf testing her lower back after filling her buckets.

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"Many foods naturally have the ability to prevent disease, like green tea, grapeseed, ginger and ginseng, " Huang explains.

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Masala chai (spiced tea), black tea prepared with milk, sugar, and spices like cardamom, cinnamon sticks, ginger and cloves, is now the hallmark of Indian tea culture.

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Intrigued by some bamboo growing outside his office, he's tried adding bamboo leaves to a green tea and spicing it with ginger.

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Others were cut by spice traders during the 17th and 18th centuries, who planted tea, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, long since abandoned and now growing wild on the hillsides.

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