Finding a direction for Truoi tea

Mr. Nguyen Phan in the tea garden

The area is gradually shrinking.

In the early morning in Truoi, dew still lingers on the tea buds. The green that once covered the hillsides has now thinned out. In a garden of more than 1.5 acres, Mr. Nguyen Phan, 77 years old, and his wife diligently pick handfuls of leaves to put into conical hats. His calloused fingers seem to be touching a lifetime spent with tea trees. “Back then, gold was made thanks to tea trees. Many people learned from tea. Now… they can’t live with tea trees anymore,” Mr. Phan said softly, his eyes distant.

Fresh tea costs only 7,000 - 10,000 VND per kilogram, so cheap that only old people like Mr. Phan can stick with tea trees. However, even he had to cut down 5 sao of tea to plant other trees, a decision he called "as painful as cutting off a part of his memory".

As a person who is attached to his homeland, Mr. Truong Thanh Tin, Head of the Economic Department of Loc An commune, is also very concerned. Before 2010, Truoi used to own more than 10 hectares of tea. "The saddest thing is that the tea area is shrinking day by day. On the old slopes, acacia trees grow rapidly, replacing the deep green tea areas of the past," Mr. Truong Thanh Tin regretted.

People “love” tea trees, but have to face worries about food, clothing, rice, and money, forcing them to make comparisons: A day of logging or peeling cajuput bark earns 300,000 VND; while a day of picking tea, from picking, bundling, to selling at the market, only earns about 100,000 VND. The job that used to be “making gold” has suddenly become a job of survival, of the elderly who still regret the past.

The output has been the difficulty of Truoi tea for many years. Fresh tea is only sold at traditional markets, hand-picked, and has low productivity. To enter supermarkets or modern distribution channels, tea needs to be processed and preserved for a long time. For people who are used to picking and selling directly, processing technology is still a distant dream. Because of that, ancient tea gardens, like the assets of many generations' memories, are at risk of gradually shrinking.

According to Mr. Tin, the current tea area is only about 5 hectares, reduced by half after 15 years. The peak was in 2023, when people started selling tea roots: Each root was 500,000 VND - 1 million VND. The elderly in Truoi regretted: At that time, seeing the tea roots dug up, it was as if the whole heritage of the homeland was reduced to a few bills. On the new acacia hills, the old tea roots lay, quiet and sad as witnesses of a green time.

Deep processing, increasing value

However, there are still people who are quietly looking for ways to “save” Truoi tea. One of them is Mr. Hoang Viet Thang. When many people left the tea tree, he started the journey of processing dried tea. In the Truoi An Linh tea production facility, machinery was invested. Tea leaves were imported, sorted, cleaned, sterilized, rolled, dried, and then sorted again. Each batch of packaged tea was fragrant. “Troi tea is very precious so it needs to be opened up,” Mr. Thang said, not forgetting to affirm his willingness to share knowledge and guide people to invest in machinery. He believes that only when tea can go further, can growers keep their profession.

Not only looking for a solution to dry tea, Mr. Bui Nguyen Phuc, who is always concerned with Truoi tea trees, also chose a bolder direction. The current market price of tea is from 7,000 - 10,000 VND/kg, he buys it for 15,000 VND/kg to encourage people to preserve the old tea gardens. From that tea, he researched to make soap, matcha powder, tea bags - modern products, approaching the needs of customers. Mr. Bui Nguyen Phuc shared that when the process is complete, he started the procedure to apply for a license to bring the product to the market.

Not only stopping at commercial products, Mr. Phuc also set out another open direction: Bringing Truoi tea into experiential tourism . He analyzed: Chan May Port, Bach Ma, Truc Lam Bach Ma Zen Monastery... are all located on a favorable route. If the ancient tea gardens are preserved, connected with sightseeing tours, telling the stories of the people themselves, Truoi tea will not only be an agricultural product but will be a part of the culture. European tourists who love peaceful villages and traditional crafts, who knows, from the old tea beds, a new tourist destination will be formed.

Currently, the local government is persistently encouraging people to preserve tea trees as they preserve their traditional beauty. Because tea is not only a livelihood, but also a memory, a mark of many generations of ancestors. For a long time, the area of tea growing areas has been affected by unstable product output. When Truoi tea finds a new direction, reaching out from traditional markets, people will also be ready to return to tea trees, as if returning to the memories of their growing up.

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