Tea drinking is an integral part of Vietnamese
culture. Present everywhere from holidays to weddings, tea brings
friends and family together in conversation and celebration.
There are
many aspects of tea culture worth noting. The therapeutic and medicinal
functions of tea are well known and in hot weather, hot tea is devoured
for its surprising cooling effect, and in cold weather for its warmth.
There are many types of tea in Viet Nam, each with its own unique
flavour and properties. Tea cultivation, the history of tea in Viet Nam,
its relationship to the environment, its economic impact on the ethnic
minorities who grow it, the aesthetic aspects and social importance of
tea-drinking rituals, could all provide topics for extensive research.
Beside
unscented green tea, teas with the scent of flowers are unique examples
of Vietnamese tea culture. The whole process is made by hand, in a very
careful manner to transmit the natural scent into the tea.
Lotus
tea is popular during Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, a unique tea
made in a traditional way. To have the finest lotus tea, lotus flowers
must be picked when they have just bloomed and kept fresh. Lotus flower
buds are very carefully peeled back, the petals preserved without a
single rip or tear until the fresh green tea is added.
After
all the buds are full and rewoven they are put aside overnight and the
next evening, the process is reversed and the wonderfully aromatic lotus
tea is extracted. To make a kilo of lotus tea nearly one thousand lotus
flowers are needed.
Jasmine
tea also has a special form of preparation. The jasmine flowers are
harvested during the day and stored in a cool place until night. During
the night, the flowers bloom with full fragrance. The flowers are
layered over the tea leaves during the scenting process. They are turned
and turned and left to absorb the scent. In order to produce 1kg of
jasmine tea, 1kg of jasmine flowers are needed.
Vietnamese tea drinking is simpler than the
Chinese or Japanese, but it bears the essence of Vietnamese culture. The
yellow and green of the tea and the natural scent of flowers symbolise
the country, rich in culture and natural resources. Bitterness at the
beginning reflects the hard-working life of the people. The sweet and
cool taste that lingers evokes the Vietnamese soul, sentimental and
faithful.
A tea
course requires a brazier, a boiling pot, an earthenware pot of cold
water (usually rain water, and in special occasions some dew gathered
from lotus leaves), a tea pot, teacups, tea box and a few pieces of aloe
and aromatic wood.
The
host will boil the water for a few minutes, then take it off the fire
and let the temperature drop to about 90oC. It is poured gently into the
teapot, and then cover tightly for about five minutes. While the tea is
stewing, tea connoisseurs will comment on the fine aroma of the tea,
always keeping the tea as the focus of the conversation, as you would do
at a wine tasting. From the teapot, the tea is poured into a large cup
called a soldier-cup.
This
procedure ensures an even distribution of the tea's flavour and colour.
If it were poured directly into each cup, the first cup would be more
diluted than the last. As you sip the tea, discuss its taste and the
mood it brings to you. Poetry is always a good subject at the tea
course, but nothing of the past, nothing of the future. The subject
belongs only to the present.
"The cup
also change according to the season. In winter it should have a bottom
and rim of equal , so it doesn't lose its heat and the drinker can hold
it inside his palm. But in summer, tea should be served in a cup with a
larger rim, so it can cool quickly."
All
the pots and cups are cleaned in boiling water, which gets rid of the
dirt and warms them up. Dried tea leaves are put inside the pot, which
is then filled with boiled water and covered.
More boiled water is poured over the pot, so that it is heated both inside and outside and the leaves are thoroughly stewed.
Nowadays, tea is still a vivid part of Vietnamese culture.
