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Lotus in Tay Ho area has large petals and a pleasant scent (Photo: VNA)
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Since the feudal regime, the locals learned how to scent tea with lotus which was a valuable offering to kings and mandarins. Today, lotus tea is a specialty of Hanoi for guests (Photo: VNA)
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The process of making lotus tea is very complicated. Previously, people used to row a small boat out across lotus ponds to leave a pinch of dried tea inside each lotus flower that had just begun to open before dawn during sunny days (Photo: VNA)
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They will pick the lotus flowers to retrieve their tea the next morning after the tea absorbs the lotus’s scent (Photo: VNA)
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Separating lotus anthers for scenting tea (Photo: VNA)
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A layer of tea and a thin layer of lotus anthers are staggered and then wrapped in moisture-proof paper in order to keep both the flavours of the tea and the lotus anthers (Photo: VNA)
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After three days, the mixture of tea and lotus anthers is separated and the process is repeated seven times. A batch of lotus tea is completed after 20 days (Photo: VNA)
Lotus tea – a special gift from Hanoi
For a long time, villages around the West Lake in Quang Ba, Tay Ho and Nghi Tam in Hanoi have been well known for making lotus tea. It is the scented tea that forms the delicate art of enjoying lotus tea- a special gift of Hanoians.
