Vietnam is one of the largest and oldest tea-producing countries in the world. Although the history of Vietnamese tea has not been well recorded as that of the Chinese or Japanese, tea drinking occupies an essential role in Vietnamese culture, both in the past and in the present.
With a wide range of varieties, tea in Vietnam can be separated into three main categories: green tea, “trà mạn” (plain black tea), and scented tea- “trà ướp hương”. Join us on a trip to the prolific world of traditional Vietnamese tea!
Green tea - Trà xanh
Green tea must always be the first to be mentioned whenever
one talks about Vietnamese tea. From the middle of the 20th
century, green tea has been planted extensively throughout the
North and the Middle of Vietnam, gradually becoming a symbol of
Vietnamese’ everyday life, of the peaceful countryside regions.
Green tea tree in Vietnam
Green tea is very amiable to Vietnam’ soil and climate, as it
can be found widely in not only plain but also highland areas,
sometimes right in the family backyard’s gardens. With the
higher trunk and larger in size of leaves in comparison with
other tea plants, green tea can be enjoyed fresh and there is no
need to wilt or oxidize; people can enjoy it right after picking
the leaves from the tree. Steeping and boiling the tea leaves in
hot water, after fifteen minutes, your green tea is ready to be
served.
Green Tea Leaves
Vietnam has been always an agricultural country, since people in
rural area earn a living mainly from farming. It is the
keeping-cool characteristic that makes green tea a perfect
beverage for hot summer days in the tropical land. Besides
blowing out the heat from the inside, green tea also helps
improving the body’s resistance to infection.
Unsurprisingly, green tea has been considered an indispensable
part of Vietnamese farmers’ ordinary life. Easy in preparing and
serving, green tea is drunk everywhere; during the time break of
farming day under the shade of trees, or on a patio after long
hard-working hours. The image of people gathering around in the
small stall near the village gate, chatting merrily while
drinking green tea served in porcelain bowls is a typical
picture describing the lifestyle of countryside Vietnamese.
At times, Vietnamese also drink “nước vối” (made from a plant in
Northern Vietnam) as a substitute for green tea. After being
incubated in straw-covered basket and hard dried under the heat
in open air, desiccated buds and leaves of “voi” tree will be
served in the same way as green tea leaves.
Nowadays, acknowledging about Vietnamese ardor for green tea and
its positive affects on health, some shrewd producers have
convert this folk beverage into canned drink, bringing green tea
closer to urban citizens as well as foreigners.
green tea online
Black tea - Trà Mạn
It takes time and effort to have a thorough perception of
Vietnam’s Trà Mạn- plain dried tea leaves with no additives: how
to make “trà mạn” from fresh tea leaves, how to have a qualified
cup of “trà mạn”
Black Tea Vietnam
Different from the green tea mentioned above, the variety of tea
used for making Trà mạn is planted into bush with nearly one
meter height at full mature, in the lowland or complex terrain
areas like Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho; or highland
regions in Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum.
Fresh tea buds and leaves after being carefully picked will be
dried naturally before wilting. Then people will roast the buds
and leaves in a pan with fixed level of temperature until the
buds begin to curl up and desiccated. The green color now turns
into black. Simple as it may sound, it is actually a very
complicated process that depends much on the workers’ skills to
achieve the requirements of quality. The buds should be in its
original shape, no scrap is allowed and the fragrance has to be
kept long lasting.
Trà mạn can also be made from Shan tea- Tra Shan or Tra Tuyet.
Shan tea is a preciously distinctive tea plant that only
inhabits in remote provinces of far North Vietnam, especially in
Ha Giang. Those ancient wild tea plants have been known to reach
heights of nearly 15 meters and boast diameters of two meters.
People have to climb up the tea tree to pick the buds, and it is
said that in earlier times, trained monkeys were used to collect
tea leave from inaccessible places. Shan tea’s buds and young
leaves are covered in a thin layer of snowy hair, which creates
the name “Trà Shan Tuyet”- or Snowy Shan Tea. Being cultivated
organically and harvested naturally, Shan tea is sold at the
high price for its superb characteristics.
Vietnam traditional Tea pot
Not so common and popular like green tea, “Trà mạn” is served
sophisticatedly with specific skills of tea artisans, with a
proper teapot as each kind of ceramics can bring about a whole
new flavor for the tea water, and especially, with a serenely
pure mind.
Scented tea- Trà ướp hương
Like many other tea producing regions, Vietnamese have
discovered an exceptional method to make “trà mạn” more
aromatic: mix it with flower and herb! If internationally
acclaimed Earl Grey or Chai have made their name known, Vietnam
scented tea is very simple and yet unique, combining the flavour
of mostly earthy and native plant.
The odorous scent of flowers twisting harmoniously with the
sweetly bitter taste of tea creates a unique in flavor, texture,
and color cup of scented tea or “Trà hương”. Each kind of “trà
mạn” will be matched with a particular type of flower: tea
leaves with chrysanthemum, tea buds with Sói flower, and
exceptionally, the favorite quality “trà mạn” with jasmine and
lotus.
Vietnam Lotus Tea
Lotus fragrant tea- “trà sen”- can be regarded as a typical feat
of Vietnamese tea’s culture. Making “trà sen” is not only
time-consuming but also elaborate, and “tra sen” itself contains
the graciousness, respect and philosophy beliefs of Vietnamese.
“Trà mạn” used to make “trà sen” cannot be completely desiccated
after roasting. The tea buds and leaves will be kept in earthen
jar, covered with banana leaves and stored in nearly two years
to make the taste less bitter and increase the fragrant-absorbed
ability of the tea leaves. In order to have one kilogram of “trà
sen”, 800-1000 lotus flowers, which are picked before dawn are
needed. Tea is mixed five to six consecutive times until all the
tea leaves are thoroughly soaked up with the purely clean scent
of lotus