Vietnamese Lime Iced Tea (Tra Chanh Hanoi) is a refreshing drink that is well-loved by young people in Hanoi, Vietnam. You need just a handful of ingredients to make this popular Vietnamese drink.
Overview of Vietnamese Lime Iced Tea (Tra Chanh Hanoi)
I don’t know since when lime iced tea got popular in Hanoi. Ever since I was in university (about 10 years ago), it has been a part of the street food scene. So many street vendors sell tra chanh in Hanoi, especially around the Old Quarter area.
Young patrons often sit on plastic chairs with a glass of lime iced tea in front of them, munching on some sunflower seeds and chit-chatting all night. People sometimes order tra chanh while eating street food snacks, such as grilled pork sausage (nem chua nuong).
How to Make Vietnamese Lime Iced Tea (Tra Chanh Hanoi)
This recipe is how I like to make it at home. Feel free to tweak it to your liking. You will need only 5 ingredients: tea bags, water, limes, honey and ice.
The video below will show you how easy it is to make this iced tea. The amounts in the recipe card are for 2 servings, but in the video I doubled it up to 4 servings.
This drink is usually made with green tea in Hanoi, so I use green tea in the photos as well as in the video and recipe card. However, I actually like it better with oolong tea and I strongly recommend using oolong tea to make it.
The tea may look darker with oolong tea instead of green tea. This is the oolong tea I like, nice scent and no harsh bitterness. For sweeteners, I love the combination of lime and honey, but other sweeteners such as maple syrup or sugar will also work.
I usually don’t drink beverages with lime or lemon juice on an empty stomach. For this lime iced tea, I often drink it with food/snacks or after eating.
Other iced tea recipe you may like: Passion Fruit Iced Tea.
I’d love to hear what you think about the drink, so please feel free to leave a comment. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates. You can find my collection of Vietnamese recipes here.
Vietnamese Lime Iced Tea (Tra Chanh Hanoi)
Ingredients
- 2 green tea bags
- 1 cup hot water (at 175F)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 4 1/2 tablespoons lime juice (about 3 limes)
- ice
Instructions
- Brew green tea in hot water for 3-5 minutes, or to desired strength.
- Discard tea bags and add honey, stir to combine. Set it aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Add lime juice and mix. Pour into serving glasses with a lot of ice and serve.
My Dad made a limeade drink for my brother and I growing up and I crave it often!! So sweet and tart! I would like to try it with some green tea like you have done here.
I also like limeade. I sometimes skip the tea and just make limeade when I’m too thirsty to wait for the tea to brew :D. I hope you will give my lime iced tea a try :).