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| Ms. Carine Baudry, Chairwoman of the Jury of the AVPA World Tea Competition 2024, appraised Vietnamese tea. (Photo: VNA) |
Sense Memory Lemon Spice Tea (Gold Award), Be Better Flower and Honey Tea (Silver Award), Flying Red Dragon Gold Tea and Hoang Lien Son Memory Fermented Tea (Bronze Award) are 4 out of 10 Vietnamese teas honored at the AVPA award ceremony.
Nine of these awards went to Sobica Sodeli, bringing the total number of awards the company has received in international tea competitions to 45. Six of the winning teas are the result of the company's collaboration with Artisan Nguyen Cao Son in an effort to promote Sapa ancient Shan tea from Lao Cai province and Moc Chau Oolong tea from Son La province. This success affirms the solid steps of a Vietnamese company in France on the journey to create high-quality health tea products, and at the same time demonstrates the right direction of Sobica Sodeli in accompanying domestic tea production partners on the journey to spread the reputation of Vietnamese tea to the world.
Sharing with reporters the secret to success, Ms. Vu Thi Thu Hang, Chairwoman of Sobica Sodeli Company, said that in order for Vietnamese tea to become a product with its own identity and reputation in the world market, it is necessary to change the production mindset, focusing on highlighting the special flavor of tea and combining flavors to create healthy products, suitable for the taste of consumers. With the desire to create many different types of tea to serve French customers, Ms. Thu Hang has worked with artisans in Vietnam, testing small batches of tea to create brands such as Tay Con Linh of Hoang Lien Son, Cao Bo of Ha Giang and this year, products from Lao Cai with the cooperation of artisan Nguyen Cao Son, in fermented tea and yellow tea products, which are especially rare and good for health, and are favored by many French customers.
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| Ms. Vu Thi Thu Hang, Chairwoman of Sobica Sodeli Company, introduces her award certificates. (Photo: VNA) |
Determined to pursue the journey of quality, Sobica Sodeli always strives to contribute to promoting the dynamism of domestic tea markets in Vietnam, especially export activities to new international markets with strict requirements. Expressing the desire to join hands with farmers and artisans in the country to help Vietnamese tea be felt and loved not only by Vietnamese people but also by the French, Ms. Thu Hang expressed: “The French have a lot of affection for wine, but have not given the same affection to tea. However, if we together introduce special products with traditional flavors, with the hard work of farmers to highlight that flavor, together with businesses enthusiastically introducing tea products to French and European consumers, then Vietnamese tea will also become a precious product like French wine”.
Although unable to attend the award ceremony in France, as a direct producer of the award-winning tea products, artisan Cao Son, who has organized tea parties for the reception of high-ranking foreign delegations from Vietnam, expressed his honor to see Vietnamese tea products named at the AVPA Paris World Tea Competition 2024. He wishes to "visit many new tea regions of Vietnam, make many special teas to introduce special Vietnamese tea products to tea lovers around the world".
Sharing her impression of the richness and diversity of Vietnamese tea, Ms. Carine Baudry, Chairwoman of the Jury of the AVPA World Tea Competition 2024, expressed her wish to see Vietnamese tea continue to reap awards in the coming competitions. She emphasized: “The richness of Vietnam creates a diversity of tea growing regions from the mountains to the plains, bringing richness from the colors to the types of tea. We Europeans appreciate the quality as well as the rich flavors of Vietnamese tea.”
For his part, Mr. Philippe Juglar, President of AVPA, said that Vietnam has brought him wonderful experiences with tea and coffee. He expressed: “Your country has great products and I hope there will be more Vietnamese products participating in the annual AVPA awards”.
Mr. Anton Tourtier, a guest at the event, said that the richness of Vietnamese tea is not yet widely known to the world, so bringing products to an international award like AVPA is a good idea to help Vietnamese tea products be introduced to a wide audience and the award is a guarantee of the product's value.
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| Artisan Nguyen Cao Son, the direct producer of this year's award-winning tea products. (Photo: VNA) |
First held in 2018, the AVPA’s “Les Thés du Monde” competition aims to recognize teas and herbal teas that have a true culinary value that goes beyond the consumption of the packaged product. In addition to teas of traditional origin from China, India, Sri Lanka, etc., the competition also allows tea drinkers to discover new, innovative products from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and even Europe.
According to a study by Research and Markets, the growth of the tea industry is increasing due to changing lifestyles and increasing consumer awareness of the health benefits of drinking tea. The global tea market is expected to reach 37.5 billion USD by 2025, far exceeding the 24.3 billion USD recorded in 2016. Vietnam currently ranks 5th in the world in tea exports and 7th in global tea production.
In 2023, Vietnam's tea exports will reach 121,000 tons, worth 211 million USD. Vietnamese tea products are now available in 74 countries and territories. Statistics from the Vietnam Tea Association also show that up to now, Vietnam has 34 provinces and cities growing tea with a total area of 123,000 hectares, an average yield of nearly 95 quintals/ha, and an output of 1.02 million tons of fresh tea buds./.
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