Around the table are several small wooden stools. This is traditionally a complete description of a make-shift tea shop which is a very popular part of Vietnamese street life. The owner skillfully lifts the cap of the tea cozy, takes out the tea pot, and then pours the hot tea into a small cup. The owner then hands the cup of steaming tea to the customer. This drink is considered indispensable to every inhabitant of the city.
Tea is drunk every day from the early morning until late at night.
People drink tea at their homes, at their work places, and even in tea shops on their way to and from work. Whenever the Vietnamese feel thirsty, they are likely to look for this drink. It is drunk in both the summer and the winter months. In the winter, a sip of hot tea makes you feel warm inside and better able to cope with the cold temperatures outside. Unlike northerners, whose preference is for a cup of hot steamy tea, people in the south like to drink their tea cold, tending to add ice cubes.