Vietnam has a long tradition of drinking tea. Wild tea trees known as Shan tea (of Assamica variety) grow in the mountainous northern area along the border with China’s Yunnan Province.

Native ethnic minorities harvest wild Shan tea to produce a specialty tea called Man Cha or Chi Cha. The history of Man Cha might be as old as puerh tea, and the processing is similar to that of raw puerh, except for the final stage. Man Cha is not completely sun-dried; instead, it is dried under the sun on the first day and then panned to fully dry the tea. The purpose of pan drying is to reduce moisture content as well as uplift aroma. The fully dried tea is then stored in bamboo tubes or cloth bags to be smoked over a period of time until the leaves turn brownish yellow. Ha Giang region in the North produces the best Man Cha in Vietnam.

Another unique specialty tea is lotus tea, which is traditionally made from top grade Ha Giang Man Cha scented with Hanoi West Lake lotus flower. According to Hanoi tea makers, lotus flowers from other places are not fit to make such a delicate tea, as they don’t have sufficient flavor as the West Lake counterpart. To produce lotus tea, only the stamen is collected from freshly blossoming lotus flower to be used for scenting. This strict prerequisite on raw materials makes the tea, which is a popular gift item over traditional Vietnamese holidays such as Tet, extremely rare and valuable.

Commercial plantation in Vietnam started in the early 20th century by French colonists. During the separation period, the South Vietnam government supported by the French continued to promote black tea production in its territory to cater to the export market. Since reunification in 1975, Vietnam started to expand its tea plantations in both the North and Central highlands, and switched exportation to its Soviet alleys.

Vietnam tea has seen production grow rapidly since the early 1990s as the country embraced a free economy and was it is now the fifth largest tea producer and exporter globally. The country produces black tea (60%), followed by green tea (Vietnam green teas are made from Assamica variety, and therefore taste quite strong), jasmine tea and oolong tea. Major export markets are Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, the Middle East, India and its ASEAN neighbors.

Domestic consumption is dominated by the strong tasting Vietnam green, while in recent years black and oolong tea have found favor with the younger generation.

Unlike Vietnam, tea is not a native plant to Indonesia. Tea was first planted on Java Island in the late 1600s using Japanese tea seeds, and about a decade later Chinese tea seedlings were grown on Papua Island. Commercial plantation started in the early 1800s when Dutch colonists imported Chinese tea seeds (sinensis variety), equipment and professionals to Java. From the late 1800s, the Dutch switched to imported tea seeds (assamica variety) from India and Sri Lanka, as the assamica variety produces stronger black tea. Tea plantations expanded to Sumatra Island in the early 1900s, and before World War II, Indonesia had a remarkable 230,000 ha under tea production. More than half of the plantations were destroyed during the war, and after Independence in 1945, the government started to restore the tea industry. Though the area of land planted with tea was never restored to pre-war levels, productivity rose significantly.

Indonesia was the world’s fifth largest tea producers before overtaken by Vietnam in 2008. When Vietnam overtook Indonesia to become the top leading tea producer and exporter in ASEAN.

According to ITC statistics, in 2008, Vietnam exported 104,000 tons (6.35% of global exports) out of 166,400 tons of tea produced (4.37% of global production) while Indonesia exported 96,200 tons (5.8% of global exportation) out of a total crop of 137,500k tons (3.6% of global production). The average unit price for Vietnam and Indonesia are US$1.403/kg and US$1.652/kg respectively.

Orthodox black tea accounts for 66% of Indonesia’s total tea production, CTC black 10%, green tea 22%and sencha green 2%. In recent years it has also produced some oolong and white tea. Indonesia is now the seventh largest producer globally, and ranks sixth in tea exports. Most tea is exported through the Jakarta Tea Auction Center, with Pakistan, Russia, the US and Australia as leading importers. In the domestic market, black tea sales just outstrip green tea sales.

Although they have a significant presence in international markets, teas from both countries are still considered to be of mediocre quality and are often used in blends for economy in cost. Common problems facing the two countries include: pesticide residue; inconsistent quality; poor infrastructure; old equipment and facilities and inadequate capital investment. Strengthening pesticide regulation, increasing value-add products and developing national branding should be given top priority to increase production volumes and export shares.

Singapore has no tea garden yet many international tea brands and famous specialty teas are available here thanks to its multi-ethnicity and its role as a regional trade hub.

TWG is a local tea boutique and salon selling a wide range of teas from famous origins worldwide. Here you can enjoy teas from India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan and Africa. This upmarket tea specialist has opened two retail outlets, in Republic Plaza and ION shopping mall, in downtown Singapore that also serve traditional afternoon tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Both outlets carry hundreds of teas for sale, most of which are loose leaf tea stored in metal canisters lined up on shelves. The selection of teas is overwhelming, including fine estate teas, premium seasonal teas, gourmet specialty teas, classic Western blends, TWG house blends and tea tisanes. Customers can sniff the tea in the canister before making a final choice. When dining in, tea is served with the leaves strained. This practice is not common in Asia where tea connoisseurs like to enjoy the fine differences in aroma and density between initial and later brews from the same pot of tea.

If TWG represents the westernized old world style of savoring tea, Tea Chapter bears a more oriental and Chinese aura. Tea Chapter is one of the oldest teahouses in Singapore, nestling in a shophouse near Tanjong Pagar in Central Singapore.

Tea is sold at the ground floor, while tea and tea snacks are served upstairs. There are Chinese, Japanese and Korean-style tea rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors where tea ceremonies are performed on request. Customers are required to take off their shoes at the upstairs teahouse to keep the place quiet and make them feel more relaxed. A decent selection of gourmet Chinese tea is available consisting of black, green, oolong, white, yellow, puerh and flavored tea, and an organic Darjeeling tea is also on offer.

Local cafés (or food courts) typically serve Teh (a Fujian dialect for tea), a sweetened milk tea. This local tea is made from low grade black tea (most often teabags and tea dust), condensed milk and sugar, and is served hot. Its less creamy and more sweet than English tea. The milkless local version is called Teh-O, a sticky-sweet brownish drink that tastes quite unlike what most of us know as tea. Another more spectacular version is Teh Tarik (pulled tea), which is usually prepared by Malay or Indian-Muslim vendors. After the tea is brewed, strained and mixed with condensed milk and sugar, the mixture (Teh) is poured from a height from one container to another and back again and again. This pouring process is called ‘Tarik’ in Indonesian. When adequate foam is formed on top of the tea, the pulling is over and the tea is ready to serve. Teh Tarik tastes smoother in texture than Teh and is not as hot as the latter.

Not only can tea be drunk, it also can be chewed and eaten here. Singapore imports pickled tea from Myanmar, a regional delicacy consumed mostly by ethnic Burmese, Northern Thai, Northern Vietnamese and Chinese from Yunnan Province. Traditionally pickled tea is made during the monsoon season only. Raw tea leaves are steamed, cooled down, drained of excessive water and then packed into banana leaf-lined pits in the ground or in terracotta cotta with weighted lids. After 3-6 months of fermenting, when the tea leaves turn yellow and became sour, the tea is ready. Pickled tea is often mixed with salt and spices and eaten as tidbits or served during meals.