Thai Nguyen tea maintains its brand's longevity.

It has been exactly 100 years since Mr. Doi Nam first produced Canh Hac tea and sold it to tea connoisseurs throughout the country. For a century, generations of descendants in the Thai Nguyen tea region have persistently preserved and promoted the title of "First-class tea" by continuously improving packaging, enhancing quality, and gradually building a stronger and more established Thai Nguyen tea brand.

Korean tourists experience life alongside tea farmers in Phu Dinh commune.

Crane Wing Tea is a type of tea made with one bud and two leaves. Simply put, when harvesting, farmers only take the part with the two leaves embracing the bud, then roast it until fragrant. Wherever tea plants grow, farmers can easily produce a similar product.

However, no matter how skillfully processed, it's not always possible to create a product with an attractive appearance; achieving perfection in aroma, flavor, and color is difficult everywhere. This is because the soil is the decisive factor in creating the rich, sweet, and memorable aftertaste of tea, and only the Thai Nguyen region possesses these conditions.

Many tea artisans from the Lam Dong plateau, Phu Tho, or the Shan Tuyet tea region of the mountainous provinces of Tuyen Quang and Lao Cai, when visiting Thai Nguyen to sample its tea, all agree: When it comes to tea, nowhere in the country can compare to Thai Nguyen. For centuries, the saying "Thai Nguyen is the best tea" has been etched in the hearts of people nationwide and its fame has spread to many parts of the world .

These are the rural areas at the foot of Tam Dao mountain, with rolling hills shaped like inverted bowls, brimming with vitality. Tea plants are grown in plots and rows, and are watered with spring water flowing from the streams of Tam Dao mountain and the Phia Bioc mountain range.

Mr. Le Quang Nghin, a renowned tea artisan in Tan Cuong commune, said: "In the past, farmers in this area basically produced products such as hook-shaped tea, loose leaf tea, and dust tea. But nowadays, they produce specialty teas with strong brands."

Hook-shaped tea is the finest and most expensive type, but its price is affordable, meaning everyone can buy and enjoy this delicious tea. "Bồm" tea is a type of tea harvested at the end of the season, with leaves and buds spread wide, making it impossible to process into hook-shaped tea. "Cám" tea is tea made from broken pieces of leaves during the roasting process. But that's "old news."

In recent years, traditional tea varieties like "Cánh Hạc" and "Móc Câu" have been transformed by tea artisans into many premium tea products with prices many times higher than "Móc Câu" tea. These are called "Chè Đinh," a type of tea where artisans only harvest the tender buds, excluding the leaves.

Premium tea products are essentially made from bud tea. A prime example is the "Ding Wang Pin" product from Hoang Binh Tea Company, which won the Special Prize at the 2017 North American International Tea Competition. It can be affirmed that the introduction of bud tea has created a significant turning point for the Thai Nguyen tea region, becoming a highlight that contributes to building and elevating the local tea brand.

Tea products bearing the name "Dinh" (meaning "premium tea") are flourishing throughout the province, with special varieties such as "Dinh Ngoc Tea," "Dinh Tea infused with lotus," "Dinh Tea infused with jasmine," and "Dinh Tu Quy Tea"... There are also products like "Dinh Tea for Mandarins" and "Dinh Tea for the King." Currently, tea products associated with the word "Dinh" are synonymous with top-quality, high-end teas with the highest brand value.

Thai Nguyen tea has won over domestic and international consumers with its product quality.

From Crane Wing tea to bud tea, it's been a long journey, reflecting the transformation in the mindset of tea-growing communities, closely linked to the evolution of society. In tea-growing regions, many generations of people have dedicated their lives to tea cultivation and have experienced significant changes in processing technology.

From hand-roasting and foot-rolling tea leaves to the early 1990s when the process still involved "foot-stepping and hand-rubbing," the tea roasting process was moved to a sheet of metal placed over a stove, increasing productivity and reducing labor. By around 2000, most tea processing stages were mechanized, while still preserving the flavor and appearance of traditional tea products.

Subsequently, a major event took place in the province that marked a significant turning point for the tea-growing region. This was the first International Tea Festival held in Thai Nguyen in 2011. Following this success, tea festivals continued to be held in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

Due to some special circumstances, the Thai Nguyen Tea Festival will only be held again in December 2025. This is a festival honoring tea growers and tea products, attracting tens of thousands of people and domestic and international tourists to enjoy tea, socialize, and discuss tea and the Thai Nguyen tea brand.

From these intersecting spaces, tea artisans in the region continuously explore and innovate, building upon traditional products to create many new product lines with diverse names such as lotus tea, jasmine tea, and ngau tea, along with plain tea, tea bags, and matcha tea, contributing to enriching the image of Thai Nguyen tea in contemporary life.

Artisan Bui Trong Dai, from Hong Thai 2 hamlet, Tan Cuong commune, said: "Having been involved with tea cultivation for a long time, people in tea-growing regions are always striving to produce high-quality products. The region currently has tea varieties such as Long Am, Nhat Pham, and Loc Xuan. The price of tea depends on the packaging and quality of the product. Tea makers don't push prices up too high, because the quality of the tea is clearly reflected in each cup enjoyed at the table."

Sharing with us, artisan Mai Viet Ai from Go Phao hamlet, Tan Cuong commune, said: "The premium tea varieties, priced at 2-5 million VND/kg, are not always readily available. Customers who want to buy them usually have to place orders one to three months in advance."

Through the story, we learned that to produce one kilogram of premium specialty tea, the tea plantation owner must develop a production and processing plan very early on. From the beginning of the season, the tea growing area is demarcated for cultivation according to proper technical procedures. Harvesting takes place between 7 and 9 a.m. and requires 17 to 20 laborers to gather enough raw materials for one batch of tea.

The sweat and creativity of labor have crystallized into the enduring brand of Thai Nguyen tea, spanning a century. What is truly valuable is that this brand has been built on experience and reputation accumulated over time, and on the trust of tea connoisseurs both domestically and internationally.

From the Crane Wing tea of ​​Mr. Doi Nam to the premium tea of ​​today's tea artisans, it has been a long journey of intellect, hard work, and aspiration. It is this perseverance that has created the core value of a name deeply rooted in the hearts of tea lovers, a strong brand for centuries.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202512/che-thai-nguyen-vung-ben-thuong-hieu-d1e2293/