Vietnam

As we travel through Asia, we arrive in Vietnam, where the French introduced the crop during their time as a colonial power there. Approximately 117,000 tonnes of tea are produced in Vietnam each year. Green, black, and white tea leaves, as well as specialty teas flavored with flowers, like lotus tea, are all grown in the Yen Bai province of North Vietnam.

Although there are a few historical Vietnamese texts referring to tea cultivation in various parts of Vietnam during the 18th century, there was no coordinated effort to create a significant domestic tea industry until the French occupation, when the first tea gardens were established in Tinh Cuong, Phu Tho province in the north and Duc Pho, Quang Nam province in the south in 1890. In the early twentieth century, research centers were established at Phu Tho, Pleiku in the central highlands, and Bao Loc in the western highlands to promote development.

Discovering and creating hybrids and cultivars appropriate for commercial farming in the various regions of Vietnam was the goal of the tea research centers. Finding information about the origin of the tea plants used for this research is difficult; they might have been Vietnamese plants already grown there or ones imported from China or Indonesia (where a thriving tea export industry had already been established by the Dutch). Tea grown on farms is almost entirely Camellia sinensis var. sinensis.

The industry grew rapidly in the early twentieth century, but it was effectively destroyed by the decades of conflict that lasted from 1914 to the late 1970s. The tea research center in Phu Tho is still operational, though it now also oversees other crops grown in northern Vietnam.

Thai Nguyen province, located between Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, and the mountains to the north, is the most famous tea-producing region in Vietnam. Thai Nguyen's signature tea is the sweet but grassy green tea that Vietnamese tea drinkers prefer (and brew at extra strength). If there is such a thing as a typical Vietnamese tea drinker, they prefer strong flavors with a long sweet aftertaste.

Vietnamese people tend to favor teas with light, delicate flavors because they appreciate tea for its uncomplicated purity. Although green tea is by far the most popular type of tea in Vietnam and is typically consumed plain, without additional flavorings, black, white, and oolong tea are also produced in small quantities.

Fresh teas with floral flavors, however, are also well-liked all over. Lotus tea, for instance, is a specialty of Vietnam that is traditionally made by enclosing premium green tea leaves in a lotus flower and letting them soak up the fragrance overnight. Other flower varieties that are found in some parts of Vietnam include chrysanthemum, jasmine, and Aglaia teas.

When discussing Vietnamese tea, green tea must always be the first to be mentioned. Green tea has been extensively planted throughout the North and Middle of Vietnam since the mid-twentieth century, gradually becoming a symbol of Vietnamese everyday life, in the peaceful countryside regions.

Green tea grows well in both plain and highland areas of Vietnam, sometimes right in the gardens of the home. It is also very tolerant of the soil and climate there. Green tea can be consumed fresh, without needing to wilt or oxidize, right after being plucked from the tree because of the higher trunk and larger leaves compared to other tea plants. After fifteen minutes of steeping and boiling the tea leaves in hot water, your green tea is ready to be served.