Tea in a Vietnamese home

Ask a Vietnamese person about tea and they will probably not talk about varieties first. They will talk about who pours it, and for whom. In many Vietnamese homes, especially in the north, the first thing a guest is offered is a small cup of hot green tea.

The everyday cup

The most common tea is simple green tea, often from Thái Nguyên, a province north of Hanoi known for its tea hills. It is brewed strong in a small pot, poured into small cups, and drunk hot, even in summer. The pot sits on the table through a conversation and is topped up with water from a thermos as it goes.

Pouring is a small act of respect. The younger person usually pours for the elder, using both hands, and the guest is served before the host.

Lotus tea

The most refined Vietnamese tea is trà sen, lotus-scented tea. In the traditional method, green tea is placed inside lotus flowers overnight, or layered with the tiny rice-like stamens of the flower, so that it absorbs the scent. Hanoi's lotus tea is famous, and associated with the lotus of West Lake. It is a gift for special occasions, and especially for Tết.

Trà đá on the pavement

At the other end is trà đá, iced tea, served for very little at low tables on the pavement. It is where motorbike taxi drivers wait, where friends sit after work, where strangers share a bench and the news. It is not elegant, and it is one of the most democratic institutions in Vietnamese cities.

What I carry with me

In Taiwan I am surrounded by excellent tea, and I enjoy it. But the cup that feels like home to me is not the best one. It is the strong, slightly bitter green tea of a northern living room, poured for a guest before anything else is said.

Hospitality, in the end, often comes down to one small cup.

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Photos: phamkhanhquynhtrang, ghostw1997 on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.