Vietnamese Tea Culture
Elegant Lotus, Jasmine, and Exquisite Greens & Blacks
For more than a thousand years, some estimate two thousand, Southeast Asia’s Vietnam has produced small but delicious bounties of green and black teas, with even smaller quantities of sought-after scented teas infused with lotus (trà sen) and jasmine (trà lái) blossoms.
Vietnamese Teas (trà): Green and Scented
Pure green tea remains the standard in Vietnam with many grades available. Often, the Vietnamese people grow tea in their own backyard, however, large farms in the highlands and the areas throughout the north and center of the country produce abundant tea harvests.
The tea bushes have larger leaves than traditional Chinese tea trees, and can be brewed fresh without wilting, oxidizing or other means of drying the leaves. Steeping fresh leaves is a longer process, usually up to 15 minutes, yet the cup provides the fresh, sweet essence of traditional green tea.
It is common for green tea leaves to be rolled delicately into crescent shapes then brewed at low temperatures, e.g. 160ºF for about 2 minutes or less. This is the tea that is available in all areas of the country not just for its taste but for its reliable ability to cool the body in this tropical country.
Jasmine tea is sold in two grades and served either as hot tea or iced. In the larger cities’ popular cafes where young people gather at night time, jasmine tea is served after a glass of traditional Vietnamese iced coffee. The tea is poured into the emptied coffee glass and the tea allowed to chill. It is then enjoyed as a chaser, like a beer after a whiskey.
Vietnamese Black Teas (trà man)
Much more complicated to grow and process are Vietnamese black teas (trà man). Made from leaves of a particular bush planted in complex terrain, the highlands, and in some areas of the lowlands, pluckers judicially pick only fresh tea buds and leaves. They dry them in the air, then add a wilting process in which the buds and leaves are roasted in a pan until the buds curl up when dried and the leaves turn a dark brown-black. The skill required is high and it shows in the buds’ retention of their original shape and a lovely, long-lasting fragrance.
Lotus tea (trà sen) is a form of trà man and its processing is quite complex. The tea bus and leaves are not completely desiccated after roasting before mixed with the lotus blossoms. This mixing is repeated five to six times until all the tea leaves absorb the scent of the lotus. To extenuate the scenting, the leaves are covered with banana leaves, stored in an earthenware jar, and preserved for two years. Labor intensive and costly because the flowers must only be picked at dawn to capture its dewy essence, it takes 800 to 1,000 lotus flowers to make one kilogram of trà sen.
Mountain (shan) tea is also made into trá man. Grown in the remote provinces of North Vietnam (Ha Giang) Shan tea comes wild tea plants of 15 meters in height. Its buds and young leaves are covered in downy hair which gives them the name Snowy Shan Tea (trà shan tuyet) and because of its labor and rarity, often brings the highest prices among Vietnamese teas.
Wedding Tea Rituals (Vu Quy)
Vietnam has no particular ceremony, casual or formal, for brewing and drinking tea, however, it is the star of Vietnamese weddings (dám curói.) Unlike other cultures, a wedding in Vietnam includes no religious ceremony nor officiant, but the occasion is marked by two rituals, one for tea (Vu Quy) and a candlelight ceremony.
The wedding celebration begins in the morning with Ruóc Dâu, a tradition in which the bridegroom and his groomsmen visit the bride’s home to offer gifts to the bride and her family: traditional gold necklaces and bracelets or modern diamond jewelry placed under red embroidered cloths, fresh fruit, pastries, and/or liquor.
The purpose of the subsequent tea ceremony is to pay homage to parents and grandparents of both bride and bridegroom. By drinking the offered tea, the elders acknowledge agreement to the marriage, offer advice, and through their lighting of incense, the elders provide introductions to the couple’s respective ancestors.
This is followed by candlelight ceremony in which candles, shaped in the form of the seminal symbols in Vietnamese culture: a phoenix (phượng hoàng) and a dragon (con rồng) are lit. The phoenix represents the empress often depicted with the neck of a snake, breast of a swallow, back of a tortoise, and tail of a fish. The dragon represents power and nobility, or the emperor and also symbolize rain, an essential for the country’s agriculture, and subsequently, its prosperity.
It is at this time that the bride’s family provides gifts to the couple, usually money, and their personal advice. The bride then personally greets all the family members and, with the bridegroom’s assistance, offers tea to all the close friends and relatives, who offer even more gifts. Then, lunch is served!
Vietnamese Peach Tea (Trà Dào)
YIELD 4 generous 8-oz. servings
While peach tea is not typical for Vietnamese wedding lunches, it is a refreshing iced tea during the summer and peach blossoms represent happiness and peace, something truly universal in its appeal.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe peaches, pitted, peeled, and sliced
- 2 teaspoons of loose black tea (or tea bags)
- 2 cups of boiled water
- 2 cups of cold water
- 1 peeled and sliced peach for garnish, as desired
Directions
In a small sauce pan, mix the peach slices with the sugar and just enough water to cover. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 10 more minutes.
Steep the tea in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove leaves or teabags.
In a glass pitcher, pour in the peach syrup with the peach slices, the cold water, and the steeped tea in that order. Chill for 2-3 hours.
Place 4 tumblers in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
To serve, pour tea over ice in glasses and garnish with a fresh peach slice, as desired.
To accentuate the peach flavor, consider brewing with Adagio’s Peach Tea, available in convenient tea bags. https://www.adagio.com/flavors/peach.html