This one-hectare tea plantation is owned by the family of Mr Phàng A Làng in Tà Xùa commune, with trees from 10 to more than 50 years old.
Due to year-round cloud cover, high humidity, and a fresh and cool climate, the local Shan Tuyet tea trees have big buds and a special aroma. Local tea products have become a hard currency earner of many ethnic minority families in recent years.
Ta Xua commune is now home to more than 200 hectares of Shan Tuyet tea, nearly half of which are ancient trees.
Every year, local people in Ta Xua commune collect more than 300 tons of fresh tea and process more than 60 tons of dried tea. With prices ranging from 20-84 USD, tea has become the main crop of local people.
Bac Yen district has attracted Vietnamese tea-processing enterprises to invest in the production of specialised products.
In particular, the Tay Bac Tea and Special Food Company has applied modern processing technology in all stages, ensuring food hygiene and safety and quality and meeting domestic demand and export requirements.
The company has developed 10 tea products so far, including three certified as four-star One commune-One product (OCOP) items.
Recognising the value of tea trees, local people have become more aware about caring for, collecting, and processing tea using proper techniques. As a result, the quality of local tea products has improved greatly, and many tea-growing areas now apply VietGap organic production standards.
With Shan Tuyet tea boasting outstanding economic efficiency compared to other crops such as corn and cassava, Bac Yen district has help people in the highlands area, where the climate is suitable, to expand the tea-growing area. The district is now home to nearly 300 hectares of Shan Tuyet trees, which provide a stable income to nearly 600 households./.
