Artisan Nguyen Thi Hai: Reviving ancient tea varieties, bringing the scent of hometown tea far and wide

Among the green tea hills of La Bang, Thai Nguyen province, there is a woman who has devoted all her heart to preserving and renewing the flavor of her homeland. Artisan Nguyen Thi Hai, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of La Bang Tea Cooperative, is not only the "soul keeper" of the traditional midland tea tree, but also a person who is passionate about bringing Vietnamese tea products to the market with creative thinking and new ways of doing things.

Video shared by artist Nguyen Thi Hai:

From the concerns about the risk of the disappearance of the ancient midland tea variety, artisan Nguyen Thi Hai, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of La Bang Tea Cooperative, has found a new direction: turning traditional values ​​into modern products. Creative product lines such as black tea, matcha powder, bamboo tube tea... not only retain the natural flavor of La Bang but also conquer demanding markets such as Japan.

“I have always wondered how to develop the economy while preserving the unique values ​​of my homeland. When establishing the cooperative, I devoted all my efforts to building the brand, constantly researching and creating, developing products that meet organic standards. In addition to traditional tea lines, we researched and launched many new products such as black tea, matcha, bamboo tube tea... which have initially been welcomed and loved by consumers,” artisan Hai shared.

Artisan Nguyen Thi Hai, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of La Bang Tea Cooperative, is always concerned about the ancient tea varieties of her homeland.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, each new product is a way to preserve the ancient midland tea variety, a tea variety that has been associated with the people of La Bang for many generations but is at risk of being "forgotten" because of its low value. "If we do not create a new direction and increase the value of the product, this precious tea variety will gradually disappear. That is why I am determined to research and create products of higher value, so that the cooperative can buy them at a good price, helping people increase their income. When life improves, people will return to growing and caring for ancient tea," Ms. Hai confided.

Among the products, Lam tube tea is the product line she is particularly passionate about. The idea was born from the image of bamboo tubes, bamboo tubes associated with Vietnamese life, combined with ancient La Bang tea, creating a harmony between nature and culture. Meanwhile, matcha powder and organic green tea opened up a new market, serving the beauty and culinary needs of young people, especially women. From body lotions, candies to drinks, La Bang tea flavor is now present in many modern products, even exported to Japan.

Those efforts have brought “sweet fruit”. Under the leadership of artisan Nguyen Thi Hai, La Bang Tea Cooperative has developed sustainably, with revenue increasing steadily year by year: from 3 billion VND in 2020 to 4.5 billion VND in 2024, creating stable jobs for 20 regular workers (mainly women) and more than 100 seasonal workers.

Artisan Nguyen Thi Hai was honored to receive the 2025 Vietnamese Women's Award.

Ms. Hai also organizes many training courses on safe tea planting, harvesting, and processing techniques, shares practical experiences, and provides technical support to farmers in and outside the province. The cooperative currently connects more than 200 households, building a 27-hectare raw material area that meets organic and VietGAP standards. One product has been recognized as a 4-star OCOP, and has won the title of Outstanding Rural Industrial Product at the regional level in 2022 and Outstanding Agricultural Product at the provincial level in 2024.

In parallel, the cooperative has invested in a 1,000 square meter factory, a showroom, a modern machinery system, applied ISO 22000:2018 standards and comprehensive digital transformation, and expanded online sales channels. Thanks to that, revenue in 2024 has reached 9 billion VND, contributing to increasing people's income (average 8 - 9 million VND/month) and creating more jobs in the locality.

“Each tea product is the crystallization of hands, mind and love for the homeland. I want when someone holds a cup of La Bang tea in their hand, they not only enjoy the flavor but also feel the cultural story behind it,” said artist Nguyen Thi Hai.

Not stopping at production, artisan Nguyen Thi Hai also opened a model of tea culture tourism. Tourists, students or tea lovers can go to the fields to pick tea, manually roast tea, learn how to make and enjoy tea in Thai Nguyen style. These experiences help spread the love for tea trees, a symbol of perseverance, diligence and creativity of Vietnamese women. Every month, Ms. Hai welcomes from 200 to 500 visitors, students, international tourists to study and experience Vietnamese tea culture.

The girls enjoy immersing themselves in the green tea hills.

Many activities to experience tea picking, tea drying... by hand in La Bang, Thai Nguyen province.

“Currently, our cooperative is implementing many service activities associated with agricultural tourism experiences, such as organizing for people, tourists and students to visit, directly go to the fields to pick tea with the people, go to the factory to learn how to manually roast tea, package products and learn about tea culture... Tourists can also experience the unique way of making and enjoying tea of ​​Thai Nguyen people, especially the unique features of La Bang region.

However, during the implementation process, we also encountered many difficulties. First of all, people's awareness of the community tourism model is still limited, many people do not really understand the meaning and long-term benefits of doing tourism associated with agriculture. Changing the mindset and production habits of farmers also takes time. Besides, the land fund for developing and investing in infrastructure for tourism is still lacking, making it difficult to expand the scale of operations," Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai shared.

With her constant efforts to innovate and create, artisan Nguyen Thi Hai has contributed to elevating the La Bang tea brand, making the image of rural women a symbol of confidence, bravery and aspiration to rise up. Recently, artisan Nguyen Thi Hai was honored with the 2025 Vietnamese Women's Award. Sharing her feelings when receiving the prestigious award, Ms. Hai said: "I am very happy and excited to receive the Vietnamese Women's Award. This is not only a source of pride but also a recognition of my efforts and dedication over the past time. This award is also a great source of encouragement for me to continue to strive, spread good values ​​and inspire more people, to share together, to spread the spirit of Vietnamese women in the new era." The 2025 Vietnamese Women's Award is a worthy recognition for that journey, the journey of a woman who dares to think, dares to do, and dares to dream of a green future for her homeland Thai Nguyen.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/nghe-nhan-nguyen-thi-hai-hoi-sinh-giong-che-co-dua-huong-tra-que-vuon-xa-20251016100438061.htm