Lemon tea costs 12,000 VND on a hot day

On hot days, lemon tea shops on Hanoi's sidewalks and streets earn millions of dong, but also compete fiercely with each other.

Nguyen Van Long, who often goes to drink lemon tea with his friends in the area of ​​Nha Tho Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi), said that from 8 pm is when the tea shops here are most crowded. "That's when there are many people going out, the heat of the day is also dispelled by the cool breezes," said Long. The lemon tea shop where he and his friends often gather, has about a few hundred customers coming in and out every night.

In the hot weather, the price of lemon tea has also climbed from 10,000 VND to 12,000 VND per cup. This is the common price of most shops in the Old Quarter. "Lemon tea sellers compete fiercely, but still agree on the same price. Selling lower is not possible, selling higher is not possible either. There is a common price, no one dares to break it," a drink seller in front of the Great Church revealed. In Hanoi, this area was famous for lemon tea shops from 2011-2012. After a few years, the price of this popular drink, from 5,000-7,000 VND, has doubled.

Mr. Quang, the owner of a lemon tea shop in the old town, said that on hot days, he sells 200-300 cups every evening. Not to mention other drinks, just from lemon tea alone, Mr. Quang earns 2.5-3.5 million VND. "The shop is quite small so there are not many seats for customers. As for shops with large areas, it is normal for them to sell 4-6 million VND per day," Mr. Quang said.

Fighting for each customer and taking advantage of every square meter of space is what is happening at lemon tea shops in neighborhoods like Nha Tho, Ta Hien, Dao Duy Tu or the Old Quarter. On Nha Tho Street, each lemon tea shop has staff standing outside to wave at customers, park vehicles, and arrange chairs. “Their attitude is also enthusiastic, not as eager as before, because there are more and more places selling this type of drink,” said Mr. Long, a regular customer of these shops. According to Mr. Long, the quality of drinks at these shops is not too special. But because the atmosphere is quite interesting, customers still come in large numbers.

Ms. Hoa, who sells lemon tea in the flower garden in front of the Opera House, also said that before, this area only had a few drink shops and she was the only one selling lemon tea, so it was quite crowded. But recently, when Hanoi is hot, some other shops also sell lemon tea, so the competition is increasing. Ms. Hoa's luggage every night to sell drinks is just a bicycle and a styrofoam box. The styrofoam box contains all the necessary items such as tea, boiled water, cold water, cups, ice cubes and lemon. "Last year I sold 8,000 VND/cup, but this year it increased to 10,000 VND because all costs have increased," Ms. Hoa shared.

In Hanoi, the "war" of popular drinks, including lemon tea, occurs commonly during the summer. However, the "victory" only belongs to 1-2 types that meet the criteria of being cheap, suitable for taste and accepted by many consumers. "Besides the 'unique' position as a cultural feature of Hanoi, which is iced tea, this summer, iced sugarcane is still temporarily in the top position. Next is lemon tea", said Mr. Huy, who sells drinks at the square in front of My Dinh Stadium. Some other types of cool drinks in the more expensive segment such as white jelly tea, foreign teas, soft yogurt... are also blooming and competing more and more strongly to win customers.

According to the newspaper