Visiting the thousand-year-old Snow Shan tea “elder”
Mr. Dang Van Chung, Chairman of Cao Bo commune People’s Committee (Vi Xuyen district, Ha Giang province), welcomed us with a pot of Snow Shan tea from his hometown.
Unlike the tea from midland, Snow Shan tea’s water tinges with a honey-like, shimmery golden color. Its rich flavor leaves an acrid scent after the first taste, soon followed by an alluring sweetness. If midland tea is only drinkable until the second or third water turn, Snow Shan tea can still maintain the taste and density after its fifth turn.
It was still raining heavily outside.
Mr. Chung asked: “Do you still want to go to the forest in this rain? The road will be slippery, and a lot of leeches might appear.”
“Yes, please!” – I nodded, firmly.
The villages in Cao Bo commune were like threads of silk twirling around the middle of West Con Linh range. The tea trees also followed the breath of life of humans, spreading their presence all over mountains and forests…
