Grandpa is addicted to tea

Article & photos: Hien Duong – NLĐO

Offering tea when guests visit has become a custom among Vietnamese people. Conversations between neighbors and old friends who have met for a long time come from sharing tea.

My grandfather suffered from glaucoma, which was not adequately treated during his war years, so he became blind when he was just over 40. Since the day he lost his sight forever, he became brutal, irritable, and fierce. Only when he drinks tea does he feel relieved; his face also becomes gentle and gentle.

My dad and uncle drink morning tea.

He gets up early every morning and goes to the kitchen to cook water. Grumbling and touching each item from the lighter, bag of coconut leaves, dry firewood, grate, and kettle to the stove, he carefully lit the stove. Several times, the fire almost burned the wall. Luckily, someone saw it, and no fire broke out, but my grandfather still couldn’t give up his tea. A pot of morning tea is perhaps the only joy of his late life.

Tea at that time was not expensive, but the family needed more money, so it took a long time to buy a 100g package. I remember the red three-crab tea shop number 8—acrid tea with large leaves flavored with jasmine.

Whenever he bought tea for him, he was pleased. Groping again, he opened the tea and divided it into many small bunches wrapped in calendar papers. Tiny tea packets that he divided into dozens of pots. He put half of it in guigoz cans to bring out to drink every day. For the rest, he put a few packets under the feet of a pair of bronze urns and a few packets stuffed behind glass paintings. That’s his to save for when he’s “stuck,” or the house has guests, and there’s always tea to offer.

Offering tea when guests visit has become a custom among Vietnamese people. Conversations between neighbors and old friends who have met for a long time come from sharing tea. Grandpa always saved small packets of tea that he didn’t dare drink often, waiting for his friends to visit him.

Following my grandfather’s example, my father is now addicted to tea. From Long Phung tea, Bao Loc pineapple ginseng tea, Tan Cuong tea, and ancient Shan Tuyet tea. Every time I have a chance to go on a business trip to the tea area, I try my best to buy it. My only regret is that my grandfather is no longer there.