Lotus tea - rich Vietnamese flavor

Trà sen - đậm đà hương vị Việt- Ảnh 1. — The author of the article invites guests to enjoy tea.

Lotus tea or lotus scented tea, is a type of tea that contains a unique combination of two national specialties: Tea and Lotus. Tea is a rustic drink and is close to Vietnamese life; bringing the clearest experience of taste. Lotus is a flower associated with spiritual life and beliefs; it is also a symbol of purity and fragrance. Both of these specialties are skillfully combined to create a tea that is both rich and sweet; fragrant and pure...

There are two types of lotus tea: tea infused with lotus flowers and tea infused with lotus rice (which is the white pistil of lotus that looks like rice grains). The way to infuse tea in lotus flowers shows the sophistication in flower selection, combined with the experience of timing the lotus to bloom, the time to brew tea, the understanding of the weather, air, humidity and the growth characteristics of lotus. The way to infuse tea with lotus rice, in addition to the above, is also the sophistication and delicacy in the experience of weaving the scent and drying the tea so that the lotus scent and the tea flavor blend together, supporting each other...

To make a batch of rice-scented tea, it is necessary to separate the rice from 1000-1200 lotus flowers; mix well with tea, brew, dry and repeat the process 6 to 7 times. The type of tea used is usually "shrimp bud" tea from Tan Cuong (Thai Nguyen) and the lotus is Bach Diep lotus from West Lake. That is the reason why international friends have to admire and "take off their hats" to the sophistication, delicacy, meticulousness and uniqueness of this type of tea. This is also a special type of tea that is only available in Vietnam and not in any other country in the world.

Trà sen - đậm đà hương vị Việt- Ảnh 2. — Author Do Gia

(Entry to the contest "Impressions of Vietnamese coffee and tea" under the program "Honoring Vietnamese coffee and tea" for the 2nd time, 2024 organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper).