If you prefer tea over coffee and want to savor a tea you can only taste in Vietnam, why not choose Vietnamese tea as a souvenir?
This article focuses mainly on the Vietnamese tea brands you can buy and where to buy them.
Let's discover the appeal of Vietnamese tea and how to find the one that suits you.
Why Vietnamese tea is chosen as a souvenir
Reasons Vietnamese tea is chosen
- Abundant flavors rarely found in Japan
- A wide variety that's easy to choose from
- High quality yet reasonably priced
- Works for everything from small handouts to gifts
In fact, Vietnam is the world's sixth-largest tea producer, boasting a scale that surpasses Japan's output.In Vietnam, there's a custom of enjoying tea daily, and it's not unusual for restaurants to serve tea in place of water.
There are three main reasons Vietnamese tea is popular as a souvenir.
- Distinctive flavor
There are many fragrant teas rarely seen in Japan, such as lotus tea and artichoke tea, making for a souvenir with a special feel.
Many of the teas have no strong off-notes and suit the Japanese palate, so they're popular as souvenirs.
The soft, gently spreading aroma soothes the heart—perfect not only for savoring slowly on your own but also for gatherings with others.
- A wide variety
From flavored teas to health teas, the range is broad, and its appeal is that you can easily choose to match the recipient's taste.
- High quality
Another reason for its popularity is that high-quality tea—not just the cheap teas circulating on the market—is easy to obtain. Tea leaves grown in highlands like Thai Nguyen and Da Lat are highly fragrant and prized for their quality.
- Price
Tea-bag types you can buy at a supermarket start from around 300 yen a box, and even mid-grade ones can be had for around 1,000 yen. Whether as handout souvenirs for the office or gifts for someone important, there's enough range to choose from within any budget.
Types and features of Vietnamese tea
| Type | Characteristics | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| lotus tea | Gorgeous aroma / a sense of luxury | When you want to buy a distinctly Vietnamese souvenir |
| Green tea | Fragrant, full-bodied flavor | Everyday use |
| Jasmine tea | Crisp and easy to drink | Handouts |
| Artichoke | A gently sweet health tea | Health-conscious |
Lotus tea
蓮の花を緑茶にブレンドしたものは、ベトナムを代表するお茶です。特にハノイの西湖（タイホー）で収穫された蓮の花を使用したものは最高品質とされ、1キログラムで2万円～3万円の値段がつくこともあります。
The finest grade is made by repeatedly layering the "flower core (stamens)," of which only a tiny amount can be taken from each lotus flower, onto the tea leaves to transfer the aroma. It's distinguished by a unique flavor: at first you feel the firm astringency characteristic of green tea, and afterward a faint sweetness spreads.
Meanwhile, the types you can easily buy at a supermarket often have their scent cleverly enhanced, giving them a flavor that's easy to drink daily. With a soft floral aroma and a green-tea base familiar to Japanese palates, they're very well received as souvenirs.
Green tea
Vietnam's green tea is famous for the leaves produced in Thai Nguyen Province, the "holy land of tea," about an hour and a half to two hours by car from Hanoi.
Whereas Japanese green tea is made through a "steaming" process, in Vietnam the mainstream is the "pan-firing method," in which the leaves are roasted all at once in a high-temperature pan. As a result, the aroma stands out and you feel a firm bitterness and astringency.
Jasmine tea
Jasmine tea is produced in cool highland areas such as Quang Nam and Bao Loc, made by transferring the scent of jasmine flowers to fragrant tea leaves.
It's said to help settle the stomach and offer a relaxing effect, and its appeal is that it drinks refreshingly even in hot weather. With little off-note and easy for Japanese palates to warm to, it's also popular as an easy everyday souvenir.
Artichoke
Artichoke tea (Atiso tea) is a health tea that's a specialty of Da Lat, made by drying the flowers, leaves, and stems. Distinguished by a naturally faint sweetness, it's an easy-to-drink tea.
Rich in antioxidants, potassium, calcium, and more, it's said to support liver function and help lower cholesterol and triglycerides. It also helps with swelling, making it popular as a souvenir for the health-conscious.
Recommended Vietnamese tea brands you can buy at the supermarket
Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have large supermarkets such as Lotte Mart, Win Mart, and Aeon, and the tea section carries a surprising number of varieties. The advantages of buying at a supermarket are that it's easy to drop by during your stay and there's a large selection.
Here we introduce some of the representative Vietnamese tea brands you can buy at supermarkets.
Phuc Long
Phuc Long is one of Vietnam's most trusted tea brands. Beyond selling tea-bag tea, it runs a café chain across all of Vietnam.
It uses high-quality tea leaves while keeping prices affordable, and is beloved by locals and tourists alike.You can enjoy various leaf types such as black tea and peach tea, so it's handy even as a casual souvenir for yourself.
Cozy
Cozy is a popular brand you can easily buy at supermarkets too.It has a solid lineup of tea-bag types, with various flavors including lotus tea.You can buy it from around 50,000 VND (about 300 yen) a box—a souvenir you'll want to grab at least one box of for handouts.
Vietnamese tea you can buy at specialty shops
If you're after high-quality tea, specialty shops and select shops are recommended.
The appeal of specialty shops is that, because only carefully selected products are on the shelves, quality is high and the packaging is stylish. They're ideal when you want to choose a tea with a special feel as a reward for yourself or a souvenir for someone important.
[Nationwide] Lang Farm
Lang Farm is a high-quality food brand committed to organic cultivation, with more than 40 stores centered on major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.It handles a wide variety of products beyond tea, such as coffee and dried fruit—a convenient shop where you can gather Vietnam's main souvenirs all in one place.
For tea it carries a lot of artichoke, and products come in various forms such as liquid types and tea bags. Tasting is often available, so if you're unsure, try before you buy.
