A decade of promoting beauty of Shan Tuyet tea aroma

Awakening the aroma of tea within the great mountains

I met Nguyen Ngoc Pho, Director of Son Tra Cooperative, amid the vast mountains of Hong Thai (Tuyen Quang). It was a fresh morning with clouds floating gently over ancient hills, and the young tea buds seemed newly awakened. That very land of tea had accompanied him through countless seasons of rain and shine, countless days of hardship, before prosperity returned to the village.

Pho recalled the year 2014, when he first started making tea. Hong Thai was still very poor. Shan Tuyet tea here offered a rich fragrance and sweet aftertaste, yet it was only known within nearby villages. Meanwhile, in lowland or urban markets, people still associated tea with Thai Nguyen or Suoi Giang. His entrepreneurial journey thus became even more challenging.

“Back then, the cooperative group was inexperienced, production techniques were limited, product quality remained low, so the output was almost nonexistent. It took me four to five years of struggles to finally find the right processing method so the tea had the right color, flavor, and aroma. Only then did I have the space to think about building a brand,” he said.

To create today’s fragrant cup of tea, he could no longer count how many experts he hired for guidance. “Perhaps they wanted to protect their craft, so each only shared a little. I gathered every bit of knowledge like collecting dew drops from tea leaves,” Pho said with a contemplative smile.

When funds dried up and products could not sell, he had to dump tea worth hundreds of millions of dong at the base of trees to use as fertilizer. Tears just fell. Looking up at the mountain slopes, the path ahead felt unbearably steep and long for Pho.

When I asked whether he ever wanted to quit, he shook his head, “Never. Because I believe there are still people out there who need real, clean tea. Shan Tuyet tea from Hong Thai is exceptional. Every tree is centuries old, untouched by chemicals or human interference.”

His faith was eventually rewarded. In 2019, Son Tra Cooperative’s Shan Tuyet tea was selected by the Prime Minister as a gift for the Prime Minister of Malaysia. “The joy was indescribable. I knew I was on the right path,” Pho said.

Today, Son Tra Cooperative’s Shan Tuyet tea sells out immediately upon production. The tea buds, enriched by the mountain wind and forest mist, not only elevate the regional brand but also help improve the livelihoods of hundreds of Mong, Dao, Tay, and other ethnic households.

Building quality from green, clean tea buds

In the beginning years, Son Tra Cooperative purchased fresh tea leaves for only VND 12,000/kg. The low price, limited output, and insufficient raw material discouraged many farmers, as tea-picking earnings could not sustain daily life.

The situation took a turn in 2018, when the cooperative decided to increase purchase prices, ensuring that tea pickers could earn VND 400,000-600,000/day. Seeing profitability, villagers voluntarily returned to the hills, tending tea trees as carefully as they tended their maize and rice fields.

In 2019, the cooperative’s products were chosen to be presented at the Government Office - a milestone that fueled greater motivation on the arduous journey. From the initial purchase price of VND 12,000/kg, Son Tra Cooperative has now increased it to VND 30,000-70,000/kg, providing stable livelihoods for hundreds of mountain workers.

Many families have transformed their lives thanks to Snow Shan tea. Trieu Van Thanh from Pac Khoang Hamlet is a prime example. Once struggling with food shortages and having to sell livestock to cover even minor expenses, his family now earns hundreds of millions of dong annually from tea and has built a solid home, something he once never dared to dream of.

Ly Van Tha, a member of the Mong ethnic group from Hong Ba Hamlet, has a similar story. His life in a small, crowded home on the mountainside has been replaced with stability after working with Shan Tuyet tea since 2014. With over 2 ha of tea, his family now earns over VND 100 million every year. “Thanks to Snow Shan tea, our Mong people can buy rice, build sturdy houses, and ride motorbikes to take our children to school,” Tha said.

Not only has Son Tra Cooperative improved livelihoods, but it has also gradually strengthened its market position. It now has four OCOP-certified products, including one 3-star product and two 4-star products, while its “1 bud, 2 leaves” Snow Shan tea product has been submitted for recognition as a 5-star national OCOP product.

In addition to tea, the cooperative has expanded into safe Hong Thai white rice, Bao Hong tea, and Snow Shan tea bags, continuously diversifying products to meet market demand. These OCOP products have established a strong foothold and bring the value of highland agricultural products to a new level.

According to Tran Hai Tuyen, Head of Tuyen Quang Sub-Department of Rural Development and Quality Management, Son Tra Cooperative has become a prominent model contributing positively to local socio-economic development. These achievements strengthen the reputation and Tuyen Quang tea brand on the national map, ready for global integration.

*Currency exchange: USD 1 = VND 26.378 - Source: Vietcombank, November 17, 2025.