Discuss the uniqueness of Vietnamese tea

On the morning of December 28, at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, the talk show Journey to Find Tea took place - discussing the uniqueness of Vietnamese tea and launching the book Finding Tea by writer - artisan Nguyen Ngoc Tuan . The program was attended by two guests, Associate Professor - Doctor of Food Technology Nguyen Duy Thinh and Thuy Tien - a young person passionate about learning about tea from Lam Dong, along with many readers and people who love the art of tea ceremony.

Writer and artist Nguyen Ngoc Tuan shares about his journey to find tea

Young tea enthusiast Thuy Tien – guest at the book launch event Finding Tea

According to artisan Nguyen Ngoc Tuan: “Vietnam is known as the cradle of tea development. We are proud of the oldest tea forests in the world and have preserved the unique custom of drinking fresh tea for thousands of years. Tea trees in each region have their own climate and soil characteristics, from which they also form their own customs and practices of enjoying tea. Currently, our country has 34 tea growing and processing regions, the amount of tea exported ranks 5th in the world and stories about tea are always a topic of interest to many people.”

The latest work, Finding Tea (recently published by the Writers Association Publishing House) by artisan Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, was collected and compiled by the author after many years of searching, researching, and experiencing tea in many countries, gathering interesting stories about Vietnamese and world tea with new approaches. In his journey to find tea, artisan Nguyen Ngoc Tuan collected the unique features that have made the name of Vietnamese tea from the past to the present. Along with that are stories about famous teas and tea-drinking customs in many countries that not everyone has the opportunity to experience in real life.

The work " Finding Tea" has just been released to readers.

Why is there a saying "Tea three, wine four"?

Regarding the origin of Vietnamese tea, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh said: “The tea tree originated in Vietnam, there is much evidence that the tea tree has been present in our country since ancient times – more than 600 years ago. The Vietnamese even enjoyed drinking tea before the Chinese and finally the Japanese, but the Japanese knew how to elevate it to the level of tea culture, which is wonderful.

And why is it called tea? In my opinion, anything that is brewed into a drink and the residue is thrown away is called tea. Depending on the place, it can be called drinking tea or tea, but why do people say drinking green tea, but no one says drinking green tea. That is also a very unique thing in the language.

Scene of the tea exchange and discussion

Readers asked questions to the guests and author – artist Nguyen Ngoc Tuan

Thuy Tien - a guest at the exchange said that since she was a child, she loved tea and liked to drink tea with her parents. Now that she has grown up, her passion for Vietnamese tea has seeped into her blood. "There are days when I wake up early at 4:30 am in the middle of a house in the forest to make tea, feeling like I have become a billionaire of time and suddenly realizing the silence around me. I no longer hear the bustling, busy sounds of life (and even in my head) rushing and calling. Those moments of silence can only be enjoyed alone or with loved ones over a cup of tea", Thuy Tien confided.

Artisan Nguyen Ngoc Tuan added: “Tea brings us peace of mind, a refreshing spirit and eliminates impurities in the body. It has three effects: it helps people meditate all night without feeling sleepy, helps the body digest, the mind is clear and helps people know how to restrain and control sexual desire.”

As for why it is called “Tea, three, wine, four”, author Nguyen Ngoc Tuan explains: “Tam, four represents the number of people for a game. Drinking three flavors of tea is enough, the space is not noisy, enough to enjoy the tea ceremony. No matter what the argument is, there will always be someone in the middle to act as a referee. Drinking four people is an even number, when drinking too much, if there is discontent, three people each push one person, it will be seen as unfair, the matter will stop soon, but when balanced, each side will be equal, the drinking party will be more fun…”.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dam-luan-ve-nhung-doc-dao-cua-tra-viet-185241228122942147.htm