(Image: cozy.vn)
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. That is why the prices of this Vietnam’s ancient tea can go up to hundreds of dollars per kilogram.
But when you taste this noble tea, you will know that it is worth the price. 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.
BEST GIFTS FOR: Yourself or someone really special in your life
PRICES: From VND5 million ($220) to VND8 million ($352) per kilogram. But don’t worry! It takes only a teaspoon (3.6g) to make a 180ml pot of tea. A 125-gram box is good enough to be a nice gift.
PORTABLE LEVEL: Easy to manage
WHERE TO BUY
- Huong Mai Café in the Old Quarter at 58 Ma May, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi or at 15 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- trasen.vn at 169 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Hanoi
- Che Minh Cuong at 65 Cu Chinh Lan, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi
