[caption id="attachment_800" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="(c) Hai Thinh. Source: Flickr."]
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Tea is an extremely important thing in the everyday life of the Vietnamese. It’s just like pho.
Tea is cultivated and produced in many areas of Vietnam, although it’s only recently that it has become known outside mainland Asia. After the North was entirely liberated, green tea became the most important product for domestic use and export to China, while black tea was imported by Russia. Until 1975 there was a stagnation of tea production in Vietnam, but by 2007 the country managed to export tea to 80 nations worldwide.
The main tea varieties in Vietnam are green and black teas, lotus tea, jasmine tea, and artichoke tea.
[caption id="attachment_801" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="(c) ePi Longo. Source: Flickr. "]
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Lotus Tea
Generally, high-quality green tea leaves are placed within lotus flowers for a day to acquire the scent, then are removed and packaged. A higher grade of lotus tea is made with lotus petals mixed in with high quality green tea leaves. Green tea style of Vietnam is to roll the leaves gently into crescents, and minimal handling. Vietnamese green teas are typically very potent. They are best brewed for most tastes for under 2 minutes using water temperature of 160 degrees. Beyond this time the tea will acquire a bitter taste that is nevertheless fancied by many tea lovers, as it reflects the potency of the tea leaves. Some fanciers will brew 3-4 times from one set of leaves, preferring the narrower flavor range of the later brewing. (source: Wikipedia)
More on lotus tea
[caption id="attachment_802" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Tea ceremony for the ancestors. (c) Stephen McGrath. Source: FLickr."]
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Jasmine Tea
Jasmine tea is produced in two grades, similar to lotus tea. Lotus tea is considered a specialty and is reserved for events or special meals. Jasmine tea is popular as a "chaser" for Vietnamese iced coffee, and is poured into the glass after the coffee is consumed, allowed to chill, and then enjoyed as a follow-up to the iced coffee in coffee shop cafes, particularly in the night life of major cities, where coffee shops are a popular social rendezvous on hot evenings. (source: Wikipedia)
Tea ceremonies play a very important part in weddings. The first International Tea festival in Vietnam will be held on November 11-15 in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.
[caption id="attachment_803" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Tea time. (c) Tine Steiss. Source: Flickr."]
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[caption id="attachment_804" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="(c) R.S.Gould. Source: Flickr."]
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Tea is cultivated and produced in many areas of Vietnam, although it’s only recently that it has become known outside mainland Asia. After the North was entirely liberated, green tea became the most important product for domestic use and export to China, while black tea was imported by Russia. Until 1975 there was a stagnation of tea production in Vietnam, but by 2007 the country managed to export tea to 80 nations worldwide.
The main tea varieties in Vietnam are green and black teas, lotus tea, jasmine tea, and artichoke tea.
Lotus Tea
Generally, high-quality green tea leaves are placed within lotus flowers for a day to acquire the scent, then are removed and packaged. A higher grade of lotus tea is made with lotus petals mixed in with high quality green tea leaves. Green tea style of Vietnam is to roll the leaves gently into crescents, and minimal handling. Vietnamese green teas are typically very potent. They are best brewed for most tastes for under 2 minutes using water temperature of 160 degrees. Beyond this time the tea will acquire a bitter taste that is nevertheless fancied by many tea lovers, as it reflects the potency of the tea leaves. Some fanciers will brew 3-4 times from one set of leaves, preferring the narrower flavor range of the later brewing. (source: Wikipedia)
More on lotus tea
Jasmine Tea
Jasmine tea is produced in two grades, similar to lotus tea. Lotus tea is considered a specialty and is reserved for events or special meals. Jasmine tea is popular as a "chaser" for Vietnamese iced coffee, and is poured into the glass after the coffee is consumed, allowed to chill, and then enjoyed as a follow-up to the iced coffee in coffee shop cafes, particularly in the night life of major cities, where coffee shops are a popular social rendezvous on hot evenings. (source: Wikipedia)
Tea ceremonies play a very important part in weddings. The first International Tea festival in Vietnam will be held on November 11-15 in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.
