Themed "Hanoi Lotus Colors," Hanoi’s first Lotus Festival will be held from July 12-16 at the Cultural and Creative Space in Tay Ho district, offering participants a captivating experience around Hanoi's lotus flowers and lotus tea.

Every June, as the lotus buds unfurl their delicate petals, families in Quang An Ward, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, bustle with the enchanting craft of lotus tea making.

“Thien co de nhat tra” (The most premium tea of time) West Lake lotus tea, made with lotus flower grown in West Lake, Hanoi, symbolizes the quintessence of the capital’s culture. The best time for making lotus tea is from the end of May to Sept. when lotuses bloom over iconic West Lake. It requires a meticulous and time-consuming process to make the tea in a traditional way.

A tea server slowly pours tea into cups from a teapot. The pouring is performed beautifully, in a manner known as ‘high mountain-long river', which helps the scent of the tea spread. Gracefully offering guests, she holds a cup with three fingers offering the tea as ‘three dragons flanking a pearl'. That's only a snapshot of the tea drinking culture of the Vietnamese people.

‘Bach diep’ lotuses (literally hundred-petal lotuses) are a rare species found mostly in Hanoi. They are renowned for not only their beautiful look with many petal layers but also its use of flavouring tea. Enjoying lotus scented tea in a tranquil summer morning is an elegant habit of many Hanoians.

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.