Lotus tea making in Quang An is a national intangible heritage.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just issued a Decision to include the traditional craft of making lotus tea in Quang An (Quang An ward, Tay Ho district, Hanoi city) in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

Lotus tea is considered the most elaborate tea in the line of scented teas. The lotus tea making profession in Quang An has a long history, going through many historical periods.

Quang An Ward has the advantage of being bordered by West Lake on three sides, with 157 hectares of West Lake water surface with good soil and thick mud layer, very suitable for Bach Diep lotus to grow, so since ancient times, this has been a famous place for growing lotus and making lotus tea.

West Lake lotus usually blooms from mid-May to early September. When blooming, West Lake lotus has a light pink color, with many layers of petals inside, and small and plump lotus seeds. The scent of West Lake lotus is much stronger than other types of lotus.

The lotus used to scent tea is Bach Diep lotus, a type of lotus with many small petals, light pink in color, and full of buds.

According to lotus tea perfumers, the timing of lotus picking plays an important role in the quality of the tea. Lotus must be picked at dawn, when the dew has not yet evaporated. Each lotus flower must be picked quickly and gently so that the lotus buds are not crushed.

After the lotus flower is brought home, the tea maker performs the steps of peeling off the petals and separating the lotus rice (which is likened to the lotus’s scent bag). Separating the lotus rice is the most difficult step, requiring quick and skillful hands to keep the lotus rice white, not crushed and retain its scent.

After the tea has been infused with lotus rice, it is placed in lotus flowers weighing about 15 grams each. This requires the skillful and meticulous skills of the tea maker.

Each step to produce the finished product is very meticulous, if you don't see it with your own eyes, it's hard to imagine. That's why lotus tea is currently priced from 7 to 10 million VND per kilogram.

Choosing the tea to be scented is equally important. The tea chosen is dry but not yet scented. The tea is scented with lotus petals and lotus rice. To scent 1kg of lotus tea, it takes 1,500 lotus flowers and for the batch of tea to be imbued with the scent of lotus, it takes 21 days with 7 times of scenting and 7 times of drying.

Lotus tea has long been a precious tea, imbued with the Vietnamese soul, conquering and enchanting many generations of Vietnamese people. The lotus flower has a profound meaning in the culture and religion of many Asian countries, especially Vietnam. Lotus combined with tea creates a harmony, lotus enters tea and lifts tea up, tea brings lotus to the peak of flavor.

Currently, in Quang An, many households still maintain the lotus tea brewing profession. However, the lotus tea brewing profession in Quang An is facing difficulties due to the shrinking lotus growing area, environmental pollution affecting the growth of lotus; the tastes of users, especially young people, are less and less interested in tea and do not like to drink tea.

In recent times, Hanoi has taken many measures to encourage the lotus tea making profession. In 2015, the intangible cultural heritage of making lotus tea in Quang An was inventoried by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and included in the List of intangible cultural heritages prioritized for protection.

The Vu