The rich flavor organic Snow Shan tea

Shan tea in Hong Thai commune, Na Hang district is from a few dozen to a hundred years old. The tea trees are in white-mold color, have big leaves, fat buds, there are hairs white as snow on the buds and young leaves. They have strong growth, good moisture and cold tolerance, high yield and outstanding quality, providing a stable income for the Dao and Mong people here. The fresh bud tea in Hong Thai is currently being purchased at VND 10,000 - 15,000/kg.

Because it is grown at an altitude of 800 to 1,000 meters above sea level, with a cool year-round climate, covered by clouds all four seasons, Snow Shan tea in Hong Thai commune, Na Hang district has a very special aroma.

According to tea connoisseurs, Hong Thai Snow Shan tea converges all three elements including a very characteristic strong aroma, green water, a slightly acrid taste then gradually sweeter when drinking, without causing a feeling of gnawing when hungry. Since planting, tending, harvesting, processing ... are all completely natural, in 2020, Snow Shan tea here is recognized as organic with an area of 21 hectares. In April 2021, the National Office of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Science and Technology, has signed a decision certifying the registration of geographical indications for Snow Shan Na Hang tea products, of which most of the area is located in Hong Thai commune.

On the top of Kia Tang mountain, there live 41 households, mainly Mong and Dao ethnic minorities. This is the raw material tea area of Che Nui Kia Tang JSC, which purchases raw materials through Son Tra Tea Cooperative.

According to Mr. Dang Ngoc Pho, Deputy Director of Son Tra Cooperative, Hong Thai commune, Na Hang district, in the past, households only participated in tea production cooperative groups together, in the process of organizing production and business, they realized that the activities of cooperative groups had many limitations.

In 2017, the members of the cooperative group invested in modern machinery and equipment. In June 2018, the Son Tra cooperative was established, with the participation of 8 members. The establishment of a cooperative for the production, processing and consumption of specialty Snow Shan tea stemmed from the needs of the members in the management board themselves, because for a long time, Hong Thai specialty Snow Shan tea could not find a consumption market, due to the fact that very few people know about it.

Son Tra Cooperative’s Snow Shan tea products also meet clean and safe standards. Tea buds are picked from old tea trees; the process of firing and drying is ensured in accordance with safety standards. As shared by Deputy Director of Son Tra Cooperative Dang Ngoc Pho, on average, the cooperative produces from 6 to 8 tons of dry tea every year, sometimes reaching 10 tons. With the selling price of 300 thousand to 1 million dongs/kg, the more tea is produced, the more it is consumed. Particularly for tea priced from VND 1 million/kg, customers need to order in advance in order to acquire it.

Up to now, Snow Shan tea products of Hong Thai commune have achieved 3, 4 OCOP stars. In particular, tea products of the highland people here were also selected by the Prime Minister as a gift to the Malaysian Prime Minister on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam in 2019. It is proof that the quality of tea from the land of Tuyen is increasingly affirmed, and the brand name is expanding further and further.