For the ancient Chinese, selecting the right kind of tea among the numerous varieties available was crucial. The best teas were reserved for emperors and high mandarins. These teas included Hầu Trà (monkey tea). Trảm Mã Trà (slaughtered horse tea) and Trinh Nữ Trà (virgin tea). Trảm Mã Trà was made by first feeding tea buds of excellent quality to a white horse which had been starved for a week. After waiting 10 minutes for the gastric juices to permeate the tea, the horse's head was cut off, and the tea buds were removed from its stomach and dried. To make Trinh Nữ Trà, a beautiful virgin usually between the age of 14 and 18, was bathed in perfumed water and then dressed in a loose-fitting garment stuffed with tea leaves. The virgin then slept in the garment overnight, after which the tea was removed and roasted.
In Hue, the processing of tea never reached such extremes, but there were many excellent varieties of teas such as Tước Thiệt and Tịnh Tâm tea. Tịnh Tâm tea, named after the man-made lake in Hue built by the Nguyễn Kings, was especially famous. At sunset, royal servants rowed out to the middle of the lake and placed tea inside the lotus buds in order to perfume it. Procuring the water for the king's tea was an even more time-consuming task. Servants were sent out each morning to collect the drops of dew condensed on lotus blossoms, or to search for water in underground streams in mountains. Rain water was used when none could be procured from the other sources.
There is no one correct time to drink tea. Tea can be consumed in the morning or the evening. For Hue people in the past, tea was both an art form, full of rituals and rules, as well as a humble pleasure. Its tradition stretches beyond recorded memory, and throughout the ages it has been praised and celebrated by famous men and poets, as well as by common people. There is a folk saying:
As a man you must know how to play "Tổ tôm" cards,
How to drink tea in Hue fashion and how to recite fine lines from the Tale of Kiều.
For residents of Hue, drinking tea has involved more than just the tea itself. One must not only learn to appreciate the flavour of tea, but also the conversations which are inspired by it, the beauty of a properly arranged tea set, and the decorations inside of a tea house.