The picking of lotus flowers has to be done at dawn before sunlight and the wind dry the stamens and reduce the aroma. After that, the flower petals are separated, the smaller ones of which will be used in later stages. The pistils (the lotus ‘rice’) are then taken out to make tea. They make the ‘aroma sachet’ of a flower so the process has to be done carefully so as not to affect the fragrance. Every kilogram of dried tea leaves needs about one kilogram of lotus ‘rice’, which comes from around 1,000 flowers.

Making lotus tea is sophisticated from selecting the flowers to selecting the tea. The tea should be the high-quality one from the mountainous area of Ha Giang. The process to produce 1 kg of lotus tea is also very complicated. The tea has to be steamed first to reduce the original tea smell before let dried. The tea leaves are mixed smaller flower petals are mixed to soften and absorb the scent of the dawn in West Lake. The next step is scenting the tea. The tea leaves are separated from the flower, dried and mixed with the lotus ‘rice’ alternately in a glazed terra-cotta jar in a closed and warm place for three days. After three days, the tea leaves are mixed with a new batch of lotus ‘rice’. Because the flower has a light fragrance, the scenting process is only finished after 7 batches of lotus ‘rice’ have been used.

Not only the scenting of tea leaves with flower aroma, the manner of enjoying tea is also a form of art. Lotus tea should be clear and yellow-ish green, served in small tea cups. The drink is not for people who are busy or rushed. It is best to take time to feel the slight aroma of the lotus flower combined with the strong scent of tea leaves. The drink will taste bitter at first, but will leave a sweet taste after swallowed.

The complexity and sophistication of scenting and drinking lotus tea of the Hanoian people make it ever more special as a part of Hanoi culture.

                                                   Source: Hanoi’s cuisine - Hanoi City Tourism Department