Developing specialty tea - There is still a lot of room

With nearly 24 thousand hectares, after the merger, Thai Nguyen continues to maintain its No. 1 position in the country in tea production. In the first 6 months of the year, the value of tea trees in the province reached about 14.5 thousand billion VND, 1.1 billion VND higher than the whole year of 2024. This spectacular breakthrough has a large contribution from the development of specialty teas. Aiming to develop tea into a "billion dollar" tree, specialty tea continues to be chosen as the spearhead in investment.

Bringing mechanization into production contributes to improving productivity and quality of tea products.

Famous specialty tea regions

Thai Nguyen is known as the first famous tea region with many famous specialty tea regions for decades, even a century. Among them, Tan Cuong land has been associated with tea trees for 100 years, is the "origin" of Thai Nguyen tea trees. With over 1,000 hectares of tea, Tan Cuong has the largest specialty tea area in the province.

Unlike many other places, Tan Cuong tea has a mild aroma and rich taste. When brewed, the tea has a clear green color, is astringent on the tip of the tongue, sweet in the throat, and this sweet and fragrant aftertaste lingers on the lips of tea drinkers.

From a scientific perspective, tea researchers have also studied, experimented and explained that tea grown, fertilized and harvested in the Xinjiang region is delicious because the effective heat radiation in this region is lower than in other regions.

According to Mr. Duong Son Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, Tan Cuong tea is not only a famous domestic brand but has become one of the Vietnamese products that has conquered foreign markets.

With over 60 years of tea production, La Bang is one of four tea regions producing high-quality, high-yield products in Thai Nguyen. After the merger (Hoang Nong and La Bang communes), La Bang's tea area is currently about 800 hectares.

Bringing mechanization into production contributes to improving productivity and quality of tea products for Thai Nguyen people.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thep, former Party Secretary of La Bang Commune, said: Nurtured from the source of cool water originating from Tam Dao mountain range, La Bang tea has a very unique flavor. When brewed, the water shimmers with the color of honey. Bring the tea cup to your lips, take a small sip, the aroma spreads in your mouth, the sweetness falls down your throat. Those who have ever drunk La Bang tea will always remember the rich flavor, carrying the love of the land and people here.

In addition to Tan Cuong and La Bang, Thai Nguyen also has specialty tea regions such as Trai Cai (Dong Hy), Khe Coc (Vo Tranh) with an area of ​​over 1,000 hectares. If Trai Cai tea has a characteristic green rice flavor, the difference of Khe Coc tea is that the tea fibers are even, long, and light in color. When brewed, Khe Coc tea has a clear green color, the tea has a slightly astringent taste mixed with an extremely attractive sweetness.

With a long tradition, these tea regions have become famous domestically for their specialty tea products such as Dinh tea, Tom Non tea, and Moc Cau tea. The selling price of tea in these specialty tea regions is therefore higher than in many other places in the province, averaging from 300 to 500 thousand VND/kg for Moc Cau tea; Tom Non tea is sold for around 1 million VND/kg; Dinh tea is sold for 2 to 5 million VND/kg.

Specialty tea has brought people a more prosperous and comfortable life. However, developing more specialty tea areas in the province still requires efforts from the government and the people.

There is no shortage of room for making specialty tea.

On the way to conquer the “billion dollar” figure, specialty tea is considered one of the spearheads to build the brand of Thai Nguyen tea and Vietnamese tea. Accordingly, the construction of specialty tea areas is associated with the province’s production of safe tea, meeting organic and VietGAP standards, ensuring food safety.

Mr. Nguyen Ta, Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said: Thai Nguyen has good soil quality and high micronutrient content, which is a favorable condition for tea trees to produce high productivity and quality. Along with the characteristics of mountainous terrain, the rainfall, high humidity and air temperature in Thai Nguyen are also very suitable for growing tea trees. Therefore, not only Tan Cuong, La Bang, Khe Coc, Trai Cai but also many tea areas in the province can develop into specialty tea areas when properly invested.

Serious in intensive cultivation, production and processing of tea, Song Cau tea area (now in Dong Hy commune) has built a brand name throughout the country.

Mr. Ta's sharing is very well-founded when in the past 5 years, many other tea regions of the province have built their brands and created specialty tea products that delight tea connoisseurs.

For example, in the Song Cau tea area (formerly Song Cau town, now Dong Hy commune), by introducing Japanese tea and hybrid tea varieties into production; actively cultivating tea that meets organic standards, hundreds of households here have successfully built the Song Cau tea brand with the selling price of dried tea buds up to 500,000 VND/kg, some types are sold for over 1 million VND/kg.

Or like the people of Van Han commune have also successfully built the tea brand of their hometown. Now, Van Han tea is present in all provinces and cities in the country.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, the owner of a tea production household in Tien Phong hamlet, Van Han commune, shared: Thanks to actively investing in intensive tea cultivation according to VietGAP standards, my family has built up a reputation with customers. Currently, my family's tea products have become a specialty chosen by many customers in Hanoi, Hai Phong... as gifts on holidays and Tet. The price of my family's tea has therefore doubled compared to before (from 300 to 500 thousand VND/kg).

In fact, the potential for specialty tea production in Thai Nguyen is still very large. Almost every tea region in the province can build a specialty tea brand and increase the value of tea trees. Especially when the province has mechanisms and policies to support people with seedlings, fertilizers; granting certificates of organic standards, VietGAP, granting codes for growing areas, etc.

However, in addition to the support of the province, the seriousness of tea producers is needed. Only when tea producers devote much passion to this plant, invest time and effort, from the stages of planting, fertilizing, harvesting to processing, applying science and technology to serve production, then the products made will ensure quality, become a specialty favored by the market with a higher selling price...

Resolution No. 11, dated February 3, 2025 of the Provincial Party Committee sets a goal that by 2030, the whole province will have 70% of its tea area certified for production according to GAP and organic standards; 70% of its tea area will be granted a number of growing areas; 100% of the establishments producing, processing, and trading tea and tea products will ensure food safety regulations.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202509/phat-trien-che-dac-san-du-dia-con-nhieu-7301887/