West Lake Lotus Rice Tea (Tra Gao Sen Bach Diep)
Needle grade tea scented with the rice of Bach Diep lotus from West Lake in Hanoi, the most laborious scenting in Vietnamese tea.
West Lake Lotus Rice Tea (Tra Gao Sen Bach Diep) is made from bud and needle grade leaf, plucked by hand in the cooperative gardens at La Bang, Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam, then scented with hand-picked lotus blossom. Every TRAVINA tea is picked by hand; none of it is machine-harvested.
The dry leaf carries the blue-black sheen that marks good Thai Nguyen tea. In the cup it pours clear green gold, with the flower first, then the tea underneath on the nose; in the mouth, soft and sweet, the tea body still clearly there.
The gardens are farmed to Six No practice. That is not the same as certified organic and TRAVINA does not claim that it is. What the cooperative does hold is VietGAP (DVCL-VG-TT-24-19-68), ISO 22000:2018 for the La Bang facility (GOODVN91025.FSMS), food safety licence 14/2025/UBND-NNMT-TNg, registered planting-area code.
TRAVINA is the export brand of Tam Tra Viet Cooperative in Thai Nguyen. Ninety member households farm 40.5 hectares across Dai Tu and La Bang. Every leaf is picked by hand, and every batch is processed at the cooperative own facilities.
Every photograph on this page is our own — our tea, our lotus, our packaging. The tea and the workshop are in Dai Tu, Thai Nguyen; the lotus is photographed where it is bought and scented. No stock images.
- Taste: soft and sweet, the tea body still clearly there.
- Aroma: the flower first, then the tea underneath.
- Liquor: clear green gold.
- Three to four infusions from one measure of leaf.
- Picked by hand and processed by the same cooperative that farms the gardens, so every batch is traceable to a plot.
| Product name | West Lake Lotus Rice Tea (Tra Gao Sen Bach Diep) |
|---|---|
| Type | Scented Vietnamese green tea |
| Grade | Scented tea on a bud or needle grade base |
| Picking standard | bud or needle grade leaf, scented with hand-picked blossom |
| Ingredients | Thai Nguyen green tea leaf and natural blossom, nothing else |
| Origin | Dai Tu and La Bang, Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam |
| Producer | Tam Tra Viet Cooperative (TRAVINA) |
| Production facility | La Bang facility |
| Certification | VietGAP (DVCL-VG-TT-24-19-68), ISO 22000:2018 for the La Bang facility (GOODVN91025.FSMS), food safety licence 14/2025/UBND-NNMT-TNg, registered planting-area code |
| Packing | Gift box with carry bag |
| Storage | Cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and strong odours. Reseal tightly or refrigerate after opening. |
| Shelf life | As printed on each pack. |
| Wholesale | Bulk, private label and export packing available. Minimum order quantity and lead time on request. |
- Warm the pot and cups, then pour the water away.
- Use 8 to 10 g of leaf for one standard pot.
- Water at about 75 to 80 C so the flower aroma is not burnt off.
- First infusion 20 seconds, then add 10 seconds each time. Two to three infusions.
- Do not over-steep. Scented tea turns bitter faster than plain green tea.
