Vietnamese tea artiste Hoang Anh Suong, who not too long ago hosted a tea meditation session for Gates and his girlfriend Paula Hurd on Ban Co mountain peak, mentioned most of his company have been impressed with lotus tea throughout the occasion 700 m excessive within the sky.
Born right into a household steeped in Hanoi’s pure and long-standing tea tradition, Suong is now a serious go-to organizer of tea meditation classes for world celebrities.
Suong mentioned the lotus scent carries the essence of heaven and earth, so lotus-infused tea is taken into account a valuable merchandise and was traditionally reserved just for noble households.
The lotus flower used within the tea has a pure perfume, totally different from quy flower, which seems to be like a lotus however produces seeds which might be used to make candy soup and natural drugs.
Suong mentioned Vietnam is stuffed with lotus flowers, however the most effective lotus flowers are from West Lake in Hanoi. Throughout his greater than 20 years of analysis on tea, his assessments have revealed that West Lake lotus has totally different “qualities” from different varietals.
“West Lake’s lotus receives the essence of heaven and earth, so it’s extra aromatic than lotus somewhere else,” Suong mentioned.
A lotus flower within the West Lake can produce 10-12 grams of lotus anther, whereas different locations often solely produce 8-9 grams.
Harvesting lotus should start at 4 a.m., based on Suong.
Marinating lotus have to be completed rapidly. Step one of plucking lotus anther “is an artwork” as a result of the lotus is moist with dew at evening, making the anther tough to shake. If completed slowly, the lotus scent will disappear.
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Hoang Anh Suong marinates lotus anther with tea leaves. Photograph courtesy of Hoang Anh Suong |
Good tea have to be taken from younger buds and all outdated stems and leaves have to be eliminated. After washing, the tea is put right into a pot after which dried. To brew, the tea is poured into jars, lined with dried banana leaves and incubated for 3-4 years, serving to tea buds scale back their acrid style whereas retaining their perfume and free petals.
After brewing the scrumptious tea, artisans marinate it with lotus anther. Marinating time relies on the moisture content material of the lotus anther, often 18-24 hours. After incubation, the artisan will sift and take away the lotus anther, put the tea in a paper bag to retain the lotus scent and tea scent, after which let it sit till all of the tea petals are dried.
On common, every kilogram of lotus tea prices about 1,000-1,200 lotus flowers with costs at the very least about VND10 million (US$400) per kilogram.
“That sophistication makes me at all times proud when telling tales about lotus tea to tea masters at residence and overseas,” Suong mentioned.
After absorbing the fantastic thing about tea, tasters are inspired to slowly increase the tea cup and inhale deeply to really feel the perfume. When consuming, maintain the cup gently near your lips, flip your wrist inward, discreetly take a sip, maintain the tea in your mouth for a bit to really feel the aroma earlier than consuming. That is the normal and historic method to take pleasure in tea in Vietnam.
Nevertheless, the worldwide recognition Vietnamese tea has not but been “elevated” to the likes of fashionable tea ceremonies in Japan. Suong mentioned this isn’t one thing simple to do, and can’t be achieved by just one or two tea artisans.
In an effort to flip tea into an envoy for selling tradition and tourism, Vietnam will want a very long time nurturing the joint efforts of tea makers and authorities businesses, he added.
“Tea isn’t just a drink, it additionally represents the fantastic thing about Vietnamese tradition and folks. A world billionaire who got here to Vietnam additionally selected to take pleasure in tea. If you do not know the best way to market it, it is going to be a waste,” he mentioned.