Vietnamese tea, from the free glass to the thousand-flower kind
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Vietnamese tea is two different things wearing one word. One is the glass of pale iced tea that lands on the table before you order, costs nothing, and disappears by the litre. The other is a mountain crop growing on trees older than the country's coffee industry, sold by weight, at prices that surprise anyone who has only met the free glass.
Coffee gets the attention abroad. Tea is what the country actually drinks all day.
What is the free glass?
Tra da: weak green tea, brewed in a bucket, cooled and poured over ice. It turns up unasked at street stalls, com binh dan rice shops and most cheap restaurants, and the stall refills it without comment. This is the Vietnamese tea a visitor meets first, twenty times a week.
Where a place charges for it at all, it runs about 3,000 to 5,000 dong a glass. Treat it as the water of Vietnamese eating rather than as a drink with opinions attached. The ice under it is the commercial tube ice the food safety guide calls a small risk rather than none.
What do people drink at home?
Tra xanh, hot and strong enough to be astringent. The northern habit keeps a small pot going through the day, pours it into thumb-sized cups, and offers a cup to anyone who comes through the door.
Green tea at home is bitter by design. Nobody steeps a Vietnamese green to be delicate, and the first cup tastes over-brewed to anyone used to Japanese or Chinese greens. The second cup from the same leaves comes out softer. Judge it on that one.
Where does it grow?
Thai Nguyen, 80 km north of Hanoi, is the heartland and the name on most supermarket packets. Its green tea sets the domestic standard, and every other Vietnamese tea gets measured against it.
| Region | Grows | Price a kilo |
|---|---|---|
| Thai Nguyen | Green tea, the national standard | 200,000-400,000 dong a kilo |
| Moc Chau, Son La | Green tea on a 1,050 m plateau | 150,000-350,000 |
| Bao Loc, Lam Dong | Oolong, Taiwanese methods | 400,000-1,200,000 |
| Ha Giang, Yen Bai | Shan tuyet from old trees | 600,000-2,000,000 |
| West Lake, Hanoi | Lotus scenting, not growing | Several million |
Moc Chau is the plateau to walk on. Rows of clipped bushes run across the hills four hours west of Hanoi, green in every month, and the plum blossom fortnight in late January is the other reason to go.
What is shan tuyet?
Tea from trees rather than bushes. In the high country of Ha Giang, Yen Bai and Son La it grows as tall old trees, some of them several hundred years old, and pickers climb them to reach the leaves.
The young leaves carry a white down, which is what shan tuyet means, and the liquor runs thicker and sweeter than lowland green. This is the Vietnamese tea worth spending money on. Every Hanoi tea shop sells it, from about 600,000 dong a kilo upwards.
Is lotus tea worth the price?
Real lotus tea is worth it once, if you know what the money buys. The maker layers green tea with the stamens of West Lake lotus flowers over several rounds of scenting, and a single kilo takes the stamens of hundreds of flowers.
The scenting is why tra sen costs more than any coffee in Vietnam, and why most of what shops sell visitors as lotus tea is ordinary green tea with lotus flavouring stirred through it. The tell is the price. Cheap lotus tea is not lotus tea.
How do you buy tea to take home?
Buy it loose, sealed and by weight, from a tea shop rather than a souvenir counter. A good Thai Nguyen green at 200,000 to 400,000 dong a kilo costs a fraction of the exported price, and Vietnamese tea travels better than anything else on the shopping guide list.
Ask to smell the dry leaf. Every shop expects it. Whole leaves with some silver down mean a decent grade; dust and broken fragments mean the tin with the pagoda on it.
What about tra chanh and the pavement version?
Tra chanh, iced tea with lime and sugar, is the drink of young Hanoi. Stalls sell it for 10,000 to 20,000 dong around Nha Tho street and the cathedral, and the sitting is the point as much as the drinking.
The same thing happened to bia hoi: a cheap drink became a way of occupying a kerb for an evening. Order one, take a stool, and stay longer than you meant to.
FAQ
What tea do Vietnamese people drink?
Green tea, overwhelmingly, and most of it as tra da — weak iced green tea served in a glass at every meal and on every pavement. The strong hot version, tra xanh brewed thick and slightly bitter, is what older drinkers take at home and in the north.
Why is the tea free in Vietnam?
Because tra da is treated as water rather than as a drink. Street stalls and cheap restaurants pour it without charging, and where it is charged it costs about 3,000 to 5,000 dong a glass. Nobody expects to pay, and nobody is offended if you ask for more.
Where is tea grown in Vietnam?
Thai Nguyen north of Hanoi is the heartland and the name on most packets. Moc Chau grows it on a plateau at around 1,050 m, Lam Dong around Bao Loc grows oolong, and the mountains of Ha Giang and Yen Bai hold ancient shan tuyet trees that are centuries old.
What is lotus tea?
Green tea scented with lotus, and the most prized tea in the country. The traditional Hanoi method layers the leaves with the stamens from West Lake lotus flowers over several rounds, and a kilo takes the stamens of hundreds of flowers, which is why real tra sen costs more than any coffee here.
What is shan tuyet tea?
Tea from old, tall trees rather than clipped bushes, grown in the northern mountains at high altitude and picked by climbing. The leaves carry a white down, which is what the name refers to, and the flavour is thicker and sweeter than lowland green tea.
Is Vietnamese tea worth bringing home?
Yes, and it is one of the better things to carry back. A good Thai Nguyen green runs 200,000 to 400,000 dong a kilo and a shan tuyet several times that, which is a fraction of what either costs abroad. Buy it loose and sealed rather than in a souvenir tin.
What is tra chanh?
Iced tea with lime and sugar, and the drink of young Hanoi. It is sold on plastic stools around Nha Tho street for 10,000 to 20,000 dong a glass, and the ritual of sitting on a kerb with one is as much the point as the drink itself.