Vietnam has always been one of the major tea producing and exporting country, attracting a lot of importers from all over the world. Vietnamese tea products are diverse in type and quality and are highly appreciated in the international market. To earn that reputation, Vietnam has developed tea regions across the country to meet domestic and international demand.
1. Phu Tho Black Tea:
Mid-land area in Phu Tho is famous for their tea mass production.
Main tea product of Phu Tho is for exporting and their signature ones is black tea.
2. Thai Nguyen green tea
Thai Nguyen does not have a typical climate for the development of tea plants. The altitude of the Thai Nguyen tea hills is from 150 to 200m.
Although Thai Nguyen is not a high-land area, its natural conditions are relatively favorable, in comparison to other areas, for the development of tea plants. The soil is quite good with a thick cultivation layer while the local people have suitable cultivation techniques, especially the habit of using organic fertilizers. They only pluck young buds, mostly with two leaves and even when buds with three leaves are collected, they are still very tender.
The dry leaf characteristics of Thai Nguyen tea are black green and curly while the tea wings are small and tight with a lot of white powder. The liquor is bright, green with a little yellow, and thick. It has a comfortable acridity with a sweet after-taste, and no taste of bitterness. It gives off a pleasant and attractive sweet fragrant odor.
Thai Nguyen tea’s qualities, including appearance, water color, taste and odor are not derived from the characteristics of the tea variety but, instead, are the result of the painstaking and skilful process. The typical scent of the tea is mainly formed during temperature treatment.
Thus, Thai Nguyen has become one of the localities that produce high-quality special tea.
3. Ha Giang Ancient tea
Ha Giang is one of Vietnam’s exceptional tea areas. It has many Shan tea forests which grow wild on the mountains with an altitude of over 1,000-metres. The local climate and land conditions are very favorable for the development of Shan tea plants. Shan tea leaves have a lot of white snow; therefore, it is called Snow Shan tea. For long, ethnic minorities in Ha Giang have picked up tea leaves, processed them in their own way and created a famous product called Ha Giang ancient tea. Each year, tea buds are plucked from 4 to 5 times, in lunar March, June, August, September and late November. Because Shan tea plants are very high, people have to bring with them knives and crates for use on terrace fields to harvest the leaves.
The liquor with a very special taste. The dry tea is brown-yellow while the liquor is brown-red, bright and thick. It has a typical fragrance, a tempting and gently acrid taste.
At present, Ha Giang can be considered to be the most striking Shan tea area and a priceless natural resource of the country with its premium tea product such as: White tea, Red tea (Oolong), Black tea and Puerh tea.
4. Suoi Giang Yen Bai Ancient tea
In Yen Bai, there are many tea forests of hundreds of years old. Especially, in Suoi Giang, Van Chan district, there is a concentration of thousands of old tea plants. They have been exploited by local people to produce a very famous snow green tea called Suoi Giang Snow Shan tea. Unlike Ha Giang tea area, Suoi Giang tea area grows at a lower altitude (about 600 to 1,000 metres).
The characteristics of Suoi Giang Snow Shan tea are a slightly rough appearance and a yellow-green colour with a lot of white snow. The liquor is a little red-yellow, clear and thick, and the acridity is strong and a little bitter when first drunk. Subsequently, though it becomes sweet with a typical scent of Suoi Giang tea. Suoi Giang Snow Shan tea is well-known to many consumers for its outstanding qualities of green and yellow tea.
5. Moc Chau Snow Shan tea
Moc Chau in Son La province is the only high-land area of the North which is over 800 meters. The local climate and land conditions are very favorable for the development of Shan tea plants and, in this area; Snow Shan is domesticated and cultivated intensively, realizing very high productivity. The tea plants are nutured with organic fertilizers and are cared for and harvested with suitable techniques. Processing technologies have been modernized so that the product is of good and consistent quality. That is why Moc Chau Snow Shan tea which mostly consists of buds with two leaves has become famous for its quality. Tea leaves with a lot of white snow are not crushed.
The characteristics of Moc Chau Snow Shan tea are that it is a little rough in appearance as compared to those from the midland areas or imported varieties. Dry tea has the black green color and a lot of eye-catching white snow. The liquor is bright, a bit yellow-green, and thick. It has a strong acridity, a pleasant after-taste, sweet with the typical odor of Moc Chau Snow Shan tea, which is highly favored in Middle East countries.
Besides Snow Shan Tea, Oolong has been growing as one of the most important tea product of Moc Chau, turning Moc Chau into the land of Oolong tea.
This December, from day 15th – 18th , as a part of National Trade Promotion Program, Vietnam Tea Association will organize an Vietnam International Trade Program, which includes a tour to visit specialty and industrial tea area, taste typical Vietnam tea products as well as experience the rich tea culture of Vietnam and meeting with Vietnam tea producers. Don’t miss this unique opportunity and contact us at:
Vietnam Tea Association
46 Tang Bat Ho street, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: 0084 436250908
