Rejuvenating the value of Vietnamese tea.

Amidst the misty mornings of Xinjiang, where rolling green tea hills stretch like waves, a young man quietly makes a choice against the current. Instead of the noisy tech startup or the fast-paced city life, Le Son Hai chooses to stay with the land, with the tea, and with the aspiration of creating a tea that embodies the flavors of time. From original tea buds to lotus tea and flower tea, his journey of innovating Xinjiang tea is a story of how a young person preserves the essence of the past with a completely new mindset.

An Hai Tea's Chrysanthemum Black Tea - a delicate blend of smooth tea flavor and pure chrysanthemum aroma, offering a gentle and peaceful tea-drinking experience.

Distilling the essence of earth and sky

Few people know that, when Lê Sơn Hải decided to return to his hometown and dedicate himself to tea cultivation, he secretly harbored the dream of creating a special type of tea – a tea that could distill the essence of the earth and sky, harmoniously combining tradition and innovation.

After many years of perseverance, Hai has now cultivated nearly 3 hectares of tea and flowers. For him, to have clean products, one must first have clean land. Only when he successfully manages the process himself and controls it does he consider collaborating with neighboring tea growers, ensuring that every stage of cultivation – from soil preparation and fertilization to harvesting – adheres to strict standards. The philosophy of "doing things properly and meticulously" has become the foundation for his long-term development.

Not stopping there, Le Son Hai also painstakingly obtained lotus seeds from West Lake ( Hanoi ) to cultivate, ensuring a reliable source of raw materials for infusing his tea. Through countless experiments, adjusting the temperature, time, and infusion methods, he successfully combined the flavor of Tan Cang tea with the aroma of West Lake lotus, creating a unique signature for the An Hai Tea brand – where tea is not just a beverage but a cultural experience.

Le Son Hai meticulously prepares lotus tea, extracting the pure essence of lotus and pouring his heart and soul into each batch.

In the tea-making process, Hai chooses ancient midland tea varieties, growing, caring for, and processing them himself with the ultimate goal of creating a product that is good for consumers' health, while simultaneously enhancing the value of Thai Nguyen tea. He meticulously records each stage of the plant's growth and each harvest season on video , like a "professional diary." This serves both as a way to learn from his own experiences and as transparent documentation, helping customers understand the journey of creating the product they are using.

Changing consumer perceptions

To change consumer perceptions, starting from the foundation of Tan Cang natural tea - with its hand-picked, traditionally processed "one bud, two leaves" tea leaves - Hai began expanding into new product lines.

Black tea is produced through a carefully controlled oxidation process, resulting in an amber-red tea with a round, smooth, and sweet aftertaste, reduced bitterness, and the characteristic flavor of tea from the midland region.

Chrysanthemum tea offers a gentle, refreshing experience, as the chrysanthemum only serves to balance and enhance the flavor of Xinjiang tea without overpowering it. Lotus tea, in the higher-end segment, is the clearest embodiment of the "preserving essence - innovating" philosophy, where the delicate lotus fragrance permeates, elevating the tea's flavor without losing its inherent character.

Le Son Hai is passionate about preserving the value of clean tea and continuing to write the story of innovation for Tan Cang tea.

According to Le Son Hai, innovation is not just about creating new products, but more importantly, about changing how consumers understand and perceive tea. He frankly shared that many people have long been influenced by habits and preconceived notions, while the true value of tea lies in the production process and the experience of enjoying it. Despite his small scale, Hai persistently provides customers with complete information so that, with proper understanding, they will trust him, return, and be able to distinguish between different types of tea, avoiding the purchase of low-quality products containing chemicals.

It is this transparency that has helped An Hai Tea gradually build trust with consumers. Customers are not only buying tea, but also "buying the story" about the land, the people, and the ethical way of doing business. From plain tea to black tea, from chrysanthemum tea to lotus tea, each product represents a different approach, but all share a common core: authentic Tan Cang tea.

Le Son Hai's story shows that innovation does not mean abandoning tradition. On the contrary, when tradition is respected and placed at the center, all creativity has a solid foundation. It is this innovation based on originality that is opening a sustainable path for Tan Cang tea in particular and Vietnamese tea in general, allowing the aroma of our homeland tea to reach further in contemporary life and on the journey of integration.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202512/lam-moi-gia-tri-tra-viet-a56351e/