Tea is one of the key agricultural products of high value and quality, an ideal drink with many medicinal values. How to Growing, processing and enjoying is a long tradition of Vietnamese culture.
Tea farming has been established for a long time in Vietnam, but tea trees have been exploited and planted in large areas, which have only been started for more than fifty years.
For tea growing areas, tea is the main source of income, making an important contribution to improving and improving the lives of people.
Tea production and supply can response the increasing domestic demand and export demand, so compared to other tree in Vietnam, tea is one of the most best in both climatic conditions and labor resources.
Due to the favorable soil and climate conditions, tea trees are scatteredly planted in most of the midland and mountainous provinces of Vietnam. In the South, tea is grown mainly in two provinces Lam Dong and Gia Lai, in the North, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Son La, Ha Giang, Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces.
Vietnam tea is now was present in one hundred eighteen countries and territories on all continents and is ranked fifth in the world in terms of both output and exports.
In 2010, Vietnam exported 130,000 tons of tea, earning US $ 190 million. With high demand from customers, plus the price advantage, Tea Association forecasts exports in 2011 will continue to increase by about 20% compared to 2010.
Beverages good for human health
Nearly two thousand years ago, tea was used by Chinese physicians as a medicine to make people healthier and younger.
Modern medical research are also discovering more and more the medicinal value of tea. Daily use of tea can help prevent and cure many diseases.
According to some researchers, China was the first country to process tea to drink, based on its good properties, tea became a popular drink in the world. Today tea is more widely available than coffee, wine and cocoa.
Many research show that tea has the ability to prevent cancer, prevent DNA damage. Drinking tea regularly reduces the risk of stomach cancer by fifty percent and skin cancer by fouty percent (this rate can be up to seventy percent if drinking tea with lemon).
Fluoride compounds in tea work to prevent tooth decay. Catechins and antioxidants can kill bacteria that help prevent halitosis. In tea also has calcium and magnesium. These two substances work together to make teeth strong. The vitamin D in tea works to keep bones strong.
In addition, amino acids help form proteins in the body that are beneficial for muscles, bones, skin, and hair and are effective against harmful bacteria and viruses.
Enjoying Vietnamese tea is a traditional culture
Vietnamese people, regardless of their class, are people from the plains or the reverse regions, from urban to rural areas, they all drink tea as a traditional drink, imbued with Vietnamese culture.
Tea is considered an indispensable drink in daily activities, not only for health but also a ritual for communication between people.
It can be said that tea is present in all activities of Vietnamese society, from the family to the street, from sidewalk bars to luxurious restaurant. Every Vietnamese family has a tea set. During the holidays, funerals, weddings, tea are indispensable.
The way to enjoy tea of Vietnamese also has many unique features, very diverse and without any standards. Vietnamese people drink tea in many folk-style, luxurious and sophisticated also. Depending on the time and personal preferences, every person finds a different way to enjoy tea, maybe green tea (fresh tea) can also be rustic tea, flower tea, fresh tea to entertain neighboring villages. intimate, chilled tea to entertain guests, visiting guests from afar.
In some rural areas, every house usually grows a few tea stumps in the corner of the garden, because the rural people have come out of the garden to pluck some fresh tea leaves into a big pot. Whenever going to the field, you will not forget to bring a cool green tea to serve as a refreshing drink. The image of a village, with banyan trees, a wharf, and a communal house, is so familiar to Vietnamese people. The village is always a small shop selling snacks, and there is no shortage of teapot and some candy.
In the big cities of Vietnam, wherever you go, you can find ice tea shops along the way, which people are used to calling “sidewalk ice tea.”
Iced tea shops are very simple, just have thermos, teapot, a few cups, a few chairs, so people can sit and drink tea and talk. Not fussy in preparation, nor fussy about people to drink, iced tea of Vietnamese is a very simple but also very unique culture. When enjoying tea, you can use the snacks along with tea: peanut candy, sesame candy, candy steak, nuggets, green bean cakes.
Especially, during the integration period, many Western drinks poured into Vietnam, but ice tea shops along the way still attracted young people. It proves the attraction of this special beverage.
In the art of Vietnamese tea, we must mention the art of tea-making, drinking tea of Hanoi people. In order for Hanoi lotus tea to have a characteristic aromatic lotus flavor, the lotus chosen to marinate tea must be a lotus of West Lake. Each pound of tea must use one thousand- one thousand four hundred lotus seeds depending on the size to marinate, and must be picked before dawn.
The lotus is also drenched with dew, then the rice is then spread out. Finally, the coated paper. Marinated so continuously 5-7 times, each time finished marinating and then dried and again. Therefore, lotus tea is used on important occasions, used to welcome honored guests, grateful friends from afar to visit or use as gifts.
In addition to the lotus, tea is also marinated with many other flowers. The flowers used to marinate tea must also be precious and elegant flowers such as wild flowers, wolves, jasmine, chrysanthemums.
This way of drinking tea with marinated flowers expresses elegance, elegance and elegance, but there are also connoisseurs of tea saying that drinking flavored tea will not have the true taste of tea.
Currently, there are many shops in Vietnam with many kind of tea and many ways to enjoy tea. These teahouses bring a nostalgic and quiet atmosphere, each has its own style, where friends, colleagues, lovers come to enjoy tea. In particular, it is also the place to store and spread the tea culture and art of enjoying Vietnamese tea.
At the tea shops now use the scented tea flower blended into flower tea with a specific aroma of that flower. There are also herbal teas, often divided into four flavors: sweet, spicy, bitter and acrid.
Coming to Vietnamese tea shops today, tea drinkers have a lot of choices such as chrysanthemum tea, royal tea, rose apple tea, and golden phoenix tea. The teas are brewed in many different styles, to fit and keep up with modern life. These are such as hot black tea, iced black tea, black milk tea, and black pearl milk tea. And indispensable traditional teas such as lotus tea, jasmine tea, rustic tea.
In the past, tea was considered an elegant hobby of older people, but now tea is very popular with young people and learn about it. These tea houses also attract a lot of international visitors to enjoy. The space at Vietnamese tea shops is very quiet, the layout is simple, close to nature. A quiet space, melodious songs are a suitable space for enjoying tea.
The First International Tea Festival – Thai Nguyen 2011 is an opportunity to introduce tea culture, promote Vietnamese tea products with domestic and foreign tourists; is an opportunity to exchange and exchange experiences about tea plants and tea products among domestic and international tea growing, processing and consumption enterprises, step by step improving the production and business efficiency of tea plants and Vietnamese tea products./.
Thuy Hang (VNA / Vietnam +)
