Lotus tea - a special gift from Hanoi

Lotus, the national flower of Vietnam, can be found in many parts of the country but it is believed that the ones in Hanoi’s West Lake are the best varieties with a more lingering scent. Over the years, the tea makers of Hanoi have mastered the art of flavouring green tea with lotus stamen fragrance. This meticulous and time-consuming process takes 1500 lotus flowers to make 1kg of lotus tea. A cup of high-grade green tea combined with lotus’s luscious fragrance gives us a crisp, sweet, vanilla hinted flavour with scent of Lotus flower lingering in the mouth. In the Photo: Lotus in Tay Ho area has large petals and a pleasant scent. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

Lotus tea is recognised to be one of the most ancient teas of Vietnam which are produced by following the old and traditional process. Here, natural flower blossoms are useful for conferring scent in the tea. In Vietnam, the lotus is considered to be a symbol of purity, beauty and good fortune. With the use of high green tea base, Vietnamese lotus tea confers a sweet and lovely aroma along with vanilla hint in the same. Since the feudal regime, the locals learned how to scent tea with lotus which was a valuable offering to kings and mandarins. Today, lotus tea is a specialty of Hanoi for guests. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

Lotus Tea was created originally for King Tu Duc during the Nguyen Dynasty. During the night, as the nectar of the flower was at the fullest, the servants used to go for rowing in the lake in the place where the lotus used to grow. They will be peeling back every fragile petals of the blossom in a careful manner and fill the same with the green tea. The process of making lotus tea is very complicated. Previously, people used to row a small boat out across lotus ponds to leave a pinch of dried tea inside each lotus flower that had just begun to open before dawn during sunny days. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

Apart from the fact that the kings used to enjoy drinking lotus tea, people at the beginning of the Nguyen Dynasty used to consider drinking of tea as an art. Sooner, it became a custom where people used to take the boat onto the pond as well as lakes on the moonlit nights as the lotus flowers were about the bloom. During the morning, they would find that the tea was filled with the sweet scent of lotus. In addition to this, they used to collect the dew of the nighttime. They will pick the lotus flowers to retrieve their tea the next morning after the tea absorbs the lotus’s scent. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

Lotus tea has many benefits, including removing strees, regulation of blood pressure, useful in the prevention of cardiovascular issues, controlling blood sugar level, among others. The Vietnamese lotus tea plays an indispensable role in the detoxification of blood. It plays a vital role in the reduction of chances of different diseases. For reaping different benefits, you require a cup of lotus tea on a daily basis. In addition to the detoxification of blood, leaves of Vietnamese lotus plant comprises of properties which are useful in healing different diseases like fatty liver diseases. Also, this tea is useful in destroying free radicals. In the photo: Separating lotus anthers for scenting tea. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

The first step to lotus tea brewing process involves the pouring water in the pot, to ensure to soak lotus tea in a gentle manner. The pot needs to be shaken in a gentle manner after which it should be poured away. This step is useful in cleaning the tea and is just a few steps away. The pot cap should be covered and water should be lightly flush boiled over the same. The blossom scents are useful in the prevention of emission. A layer of tea and a thin layer of lotus anthers are staggered and then wrapped in moisture-proof paper in order to keep both the flavours of the tea and the lotus anthers. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

A cup of high-grade green tea combined with lotus’s luscious fragrance gives us a crisp, sweet, vanilla hinted flavour with scent of Lotus flower lingering in the mouth. Lotus, the national flower of Vietnam, can be found in many parts of the country but it is believed that the ones in Hanoi’s West Lake are the best varieties with a more lingering scent. Over the years, the tea makers of Hanoi have mastered the art of flavouring green tea with lotus stamen fragrance. This meticulous and time-consuming process takes 1500 lotus flowers to make 1kg of lotus tea. A batch of lotus tea is completed after 20 days. (Photo: Vietnamplus)