Thai Tea and My Memories...

I have been to Thai Nguyen since the time when the province was still called Bac Thai, that is, before 1997. In 1989, I was honored to be in the delegation accompanying the Minister of the Interior (now the Ministry of Public Security ), General Mai Chi Tho, to work in Thai Nguyen. At that time, Bac Thai was one of the localities chosen to implement Directive 135-CT of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers on strengthening the work of protecting social order and safety in the new situation.

The midlands of tea land. Photo: Dong Dang

At that time, I was a young officer who had just graduated and was assigned the task of “carrying a briefcase”, under the direction of the Deputy Head of the Ministry Office, preparing speeches for the Minister. That was a blessing. Therefore, I had the opportunity to meet the Secretary, Chairman of the People’s Committee and Director of the Bac Thai Provincial Police Department, since then.

I was offered tea by the leaders. When I left, I received a gift from Bac Thai province, which was some dream tea. During the day of traveling with the young people to Nui Coc Lake, I heard singer Thuy Mui, an officer of the Political Affairs Department, sing the song “Legend of Nui Coc Lake” (music by Pho Duc Phuong). Her voice seemed to have the same “sweet aftertaste” as Thai tea from Tan Cuong.

I cannot forget the opening lyrics: “Floating (oh) floating/ Unsteady (oh) unsteady/A region of high mountains and deep water/The boat drifts, the boat drifts/The oars waver at the foot of Tam Dao”. Not only is it a legend about a love story of a couple “Deeply in love but still not destined to be together”, the song anchors in my heart the space of a land, first Coc mountain, Cong river; then Thai Nguyen .

We enjoyed tea together on the island, wandering through the story of “The painful love story that turned into a river and a mountain”. Back then, the island in the middle of the lake was just rocks and soil, unlike now it has become a flower island, a part of the Nui Coc Lake tourist area. Now, enjoying tea on the island has increased its value.

I had many friends from my college days who, after graduating, went to work in Bac Thai (formerly). Among those enthusiastic officers was Le Viet Thang, who later retired as a Colonel. Viet Thang was born and raised in the rice-growing province of Thai Binh (now Hung Yen).

I remember one time when I was on a business trip, Viet Thang called me back to the room where he worked. I still remember that it was a room on the third floor, overlooking the yard of the Provincial Police Department or the street, both full of sunlight.

Viet Thang pointed out the street where there was a small kiosk, opposite the wall of the Bac Thai Provincial Police. There his wife, a fellow countryman, met in the land of Che and became husband and wife, a loving and caring couple. However, his wife did not have a job. For so long, the aroma of Thai tea rose from the warm home.

Viet Thang shoved 2kg of hook tea into me. Oh my, precious, in those difficult times, even a pound of hook tea was precious, let alone a pound. I thanked Viet Thang with the tangle of friendship.

Viet Thang and his wife have two sons. The children are good students, grew up to follow their father's "career", and are now young officers working at the Ministry of Public Security. Having the opportunity to meet the two children again during the school festival held in Hanoi, they all expressed their gratitude for their mother's love, the Thai tea that protected and nurtured their dreams.

I told my two children about my memories of my student days. In the afternoons after finishing “singing and tapping bowls”, groups of people rushed out to the street to enjoy the breeze. At that time, there was no pollution, the Thanh Tri fields around the school were cool. The happiest moment was when we went to the cafe, groups of 3 or 5 students gathered around the table, bought a pot of tea, and the owner brought us a thermos of boiling water and a plate of peanut candy or sausage candy.

There is no greater happiness than on a cold winter afternoon. Holding a cup of tea in the palm of your hand, inhaling and sipping each drop of shimmering golden tea, feeling the grace of heaven and earth. The two children listened and imagined the fairy tale.

Fate in life comes naturally, you can't predict it. In 2023, by chance, during a working trip to 4 islands and DK1.15 platform of Working Group No. 15, organized by the Navy Command, I was lucky to have Military - Civil - Government - Party brothers and sisters from the two provinces of Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan. In the Thai Nguyen Group, there was the daughter of poet Ha Duc Toan, former President of the Bac Thai Literature and Arts Association, former Editor-in-Chief of the Literature and Arts Magazine.

I was assigned to sleep in the same compartment with them. During the nights at sea, we talked about the forest, about Thai tea, about stories about the fate of tea growing and Thai tea.

I have drunk tea in many places, following the footsteps of the sea. From Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen.... to Lam Dong. However, Thai tea is not easy to compare. Why is Thai tea delicious?

The answer is now known to everyone, first of all thanks to the favor of nature. Soil, climate, water source, and special tea varieties, along with the experience of manually drying tea, have created the unique flavor of Thai Nguyen tea. If text and AI cannot replace humans, then the products of human labor must certainly rely on secret knowledge.

Tea growers and roasters of Thai Nguyen tea into tea products have their own secrets, although the steps are the same. It is also a fire, but Thai Nguyen people have a secret to adjust it, it is a traditional fire, the outermost object.

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Thai Nguyen is a vast land. During the Ly Dynasty (1009 - 1225), Thai Nguyen Governorate included Thai Nguyen - Bac Can - Cao Bang and a part of present-day Tuyen Quang. In 1499, the second year of Canh Thong, King Le Hien Tong separated Cao Bang Prefecture from Thai Nguyen, establishing an administrative unit at the provincial level.

On April 11, 1900, Governor-General of Indochina Paul Doumer issued a Decree separating a part of Thai Nguyen to establish Bac Kan province, including four districts: Bach Thong, Cho Ra, Thong Hoa (later changed to Na Ri) and Cam Hoa (later changed to Ngan Son). On April 21, 1965, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued a Decision on the establishment of Bac Thai province on the basis of Bac Kan province and Thai Nguyen province. On November 6, 1996, the National Assembly issued a Resolution on the division of Bac Thai province to re-establish Bac Kan province and Thai Nguyen province.

Implementing Resolution 18/NQ-TW of the Central Committee (Term XII) and Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 dated June 12, 2025 of the National Assembly, from July 1, 2025, the merger of Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan into the new Thai Nguyen province is a return to the history and culture of the land of "One Hundred Years of First Famous Tea".

According to data from the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province (old), Thai Nguyen province (old) alone has about 22.5 thousand hectares of tea, including many concentrated tea production areas such as Tan Cuong, Dai Tu, and Phu Luong specialty tea areas. The average yield is 123.8 quintals of fresh tea buds/ha/year, the processed tea output of the whole province is about 50 thousand tons. According to statistics, by 2024, the value of tea trees for Thai Nguyen will reach over 13,000 billion VND, an increase of over 1,000 billion VND compared to 2022.

Photo: Dong Dang

On average, in the whole Thai Nguyen province (old), each hectare of tea brings in an income of about 280 million VND/year, especially the Trai Cai and Minh Lap tea areas (old Dong Hy district) reaching a value of 500-600 million VND/ha/year; the La Bang and Tan Linh tea areas (old Dai Tu district) reaching 500-670 million VND/ha/year; the Tan Cuong specialty tea area reaching 750 million VND/ha/year. Tea trees have actively contributed to the economic development of the people, up to now the poverty rate in the whole province has decreased to only 2.16%.

Speaking of tea plants, before Bac Kan and Thai Nguyen were merged into the new Thai Nguyen province, on February 3, 2025, the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee (old) issued Resolution No. 11-NQ/TU on the development of the Thai Nguyen tea industry in the period 2025-- 2030.

This is an important Resolution. The Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee (old) determined that developing the tea ecosystem would create a clear change in tea production, processing, and trading associated with deep processing, product diversification, rapidly increasing the proportion of quality products, promoting production according to the value chain... That is the process associated with attracting investment, applying science and technology, digital transformation, integrating the multi-value of tea... Thai Nguyen strives to have the total value of products obtained from tea trees reach 25 trillion VND by 2030, equivalent to 1 billion USD.

This time returning to Thai Nguyen, I and the group of writers and journalists had the opportunity to visit and learn about the tea growing areas of Trai Cai (now in Dong Hy commune), Dap Da, La Bang (now in the new La Bang commune), meet tea pickers, and visually observe the stages of preliminary processing, deep processing, and packaging of tea at Trai Cai Tea Joint Stock Company, Hao Dat and La Bang cooperatives. What caught my attention again was the "story" at Tien Yen Tea and Community Tourism Cooperative.

Director Bui Trong Dat is a "late generation" of the 7X generation. In addition to trading in premium tea products such as Dinh tea, Shrimp tea... the Cooperative also organizes community tourism. Stepping into Tien Yen Farmstay, which is well-invested and has a large capital, visitors will surely be captivated by the green nature and Bui Trong Dat's way of doing business.

Visitors, in addition to enjoying tea, can also participate in experiential activities. It could be picking tea by hand, learning about the tea processing process, or simply walking and exploring the surrounding area. The slogan of Tien Yen Tea and Community Tourism Cooperative is “Experience the Land of Tea, rich in identity”.

In recent decades, I have often met Mr. Dang Quoc Tien, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Thai Province. He is currently holding the "social position" of Chairman of the Ha Tinh Association in Hanoi. I often "show off" him on every trip back to the Tea Land, telling each other the story "A cup of tea is the beginning of a story".

Tea is the language of expression, regardless of whether the people you meet are close or distant, in the mornings at the beginning of a new day, or in various ceremonies. Tea becomes the language of life, whether it is "two drinks", "four drinks"... When there are many people, we "drink together"; when we are alone, we can "drink alone", right? Tea then becomes a "friend" with whom we converse with our thoughts and compassion.

Mr. Dang Quoc Tien is a gentle and honest man. He often tells me: “It seems you are addicted to Thai tea”. I laugh, more than that, addicted to the “spirit” of Thai tea.

Thai Nguyen tea has participated in domestic and international value chains, linking economy and culture for green and sustainable development, bringing added value in all aspects.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-nghe-thai-nguyen/202507/che-thai-va-ky-uc-toi-83301a2/