Tea has a long history in the life of Vietnamese. If you have a chance to join Hanoi cooking class, you will feel the meticulousness in making a cup of tea. However, you may not know what the main types of tea are. This article will tell you about them.
Green Tea – Fresh Tea
Fresh tea leaves are picked in early morning when the dew still lie on the leaves. People wash the leaves carefully, put them in the teapot, pour boiled water into the pot and wait for 30 minutes. To make a pot of green, pure and fragrant tea, people crumple the leaves carefully, rinse the crumpled leaves with boiled water and brewed the tea leaves in boiled water. The pot then brew inside a basket of straw of cloths to keep it warm.
Green tea is not only suitable for refreshing but also a healthy drink. Thus, it is the most popular drink in Vietnam. Believe me! Because when you go on any Vietnam food tours, you will be offered a cup of ice green tea accompanied with your meal. In many places, green tea is for free.
Dried Tea – Tra Man
Dried tea is made of tender tea leaves which are grows on the high hill. The leaves are exposed to the sun and dried. Dried tea is so easy to make that the tourists who take part in Hanoi cooking class also can make a pot of dried tea on their own.
Rinse the dried leaves with boiled water and brew them in 2 minutes, you will have a pot of dried tea with the bitterness and comfort aroma.
In Northern Vietnam, a box of dried tea leaves is a courteous gift on special occasions like Tet or wedding. A pot of tea helps to begin the story between the hosts and the guests. The story seems to be more attractive beside the cups of a fragrant and warm drink.
Scented Tea
Scented tea is the typical tea of Vietnam. Tea is often scented with flowers’ aroma to bring the feelings of comfort and relaxation. Furthermore, scented tea is the symbol of luxury and of the harmonious relationship between the human and the nature. In the tea culture of Vietnamese, there six types of flowers used to scent the tea leaves. They are daisy, aglaia duperreana, cholorantus, ohmantus fragans and two most popular and famous are jasmine and lotus.
Lotus tea wrapped in lotus blossoms at the previous night is a quintessential gift for early morning. Jasmine tea has the characteristic perfume which cannot be mistake for any other types of tea. Daisy often blooms in autumn, so to have a pot of daisy tea all-year-round, people often dry the flowers and put into the hot teapot to blend the fragrant of daisy and tea together. The thin aglaia duperreana petals make your cup of tea smell redolently. Cholorantus tea has gentle odour. Tiny ohmantus fragans with a warm aroma spreads in the air.
Vietnamese tea has become a characteristic in Vietnamese culture. Cups of hot tea symbolizes not only the warmth and hospitality of Vietnamese people to the guests but also the respect for people who love Vietnamese tea.
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