Hundred years of the ‘first famous tea’: Anxiety for the 'soul'

Ms. Dao Thanh Hao said this is the happiest honor in her whole lifetime of “life and death” with tea trees.

She could not hide her pride in saying, "Farming, which is used to hard work and less investment than other professions, is so happy to be visited by the General Secretary. Because that visit both shows the attention of the party and state leaders to agriculture, farmers, and rural areas and is an affirmation that the quality of our agricultural products is getting better and better. There is nothing happier than when, standing on a tea hill, the General Secretary asks about the people’s lives and the cooperative's business and then self-plucks a fresh tea bud and puts it in his mouth as well-trained as a person born in this tea land."

There is also no better promotional word than that image, and the people of the tea land feel both encouraged and extremely proud. And after years of changing the mindset to improve product quality, now the people of the tea land will continue to change to be worthy of that trust.

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Tan Cuong tea growing and processing knowledge become a national intangible cultural heritage

In the past, the "first famous tea" land had a situation where people used a lot of fertilizers and chemical pesticides. The expensive lesson is that the quality of Tan Cuong tea products is not guaranteed; the land is so degraded that almost only tea can be cultivated. Besides tea trees, no other crops can be cultivated on this land. In recent years, thanks to a change in mindset, people have switched to making more clean tea and organic tea, so the ecosystem has been restored. In addition to tea trees, people can plant more fruit trees and shade trees. At the foot of the hill, along the stream, people can grow more rice, dig a pond to release fish, make a lotus pond, etc. Tan Cuong is now a picture whose beauty can easily be compared to some famous eco-tourism areas without feeling inferior. The people of tea land are also sprouting to do agricultural tourism services such as building check-in points in tea hills, homestays, traveling to experience the tea-making profession, etc.

"We must continue to change, to not only sell tea products but also sell cultural values and landscapes of Tan Cuong, integrating multi-values as the call of the agricultural sector," asserted the Director of the famous tea cooperative in Tan Cuong.

Still with the character of talking the talk, walking the walk, and doing it at any cost, at the end of last year, Hao Dat tea cooperative came forward and associated with three other tea cooperatives to establish the Union of Tan Cuong Community Tourism Cooperatives. Along with that, a tea culture space for the cooperative was built.

The space includes a tea garden, a modern production and processing area, a handicraft production area, a finished product packaging area, a community house, a space to enjoy tea, a space to display products, etc. The shared objective is that whoever comes to this land can feel the kindness of the land, tea, and people of Tan Cuong. Drink a cup of tea, enjoy some dishes, and listen to stories about the Tan Cuong land and people so that tourists have more affection and attachment to this place.

"I always wonder how the Chinese can make such high-value teas. Maybe it is because they know how to blow “soul” into their products. Therefore, in the tea culture space we are building, guests can enjoy the “first famous tea” while listening to Tan Cuong artisans tell stories about the land, people, and tea profession here. They can also directly make tea products or experience all stages of tea production and processing. Only then will the value of Tan Cuong tea continue to be further improved," said Ms. Hao.

In 2022, Thai Nguyen province recognized Tan Cuong as a community tourism site, along with Mo Ga hamlet and Phu Thuong commune of Vo Nhai district. The Chairman of the Union of Tan Cuong Community Tourism Cooperatives said that there are many potentials and advantages in terms of resources and indigenous culture in this land that have not been awakened and exploited.

Especially tea culture. Among more than 170 products certified OCOP standard from 3 to 5 stars in Thai Nguyen province, the tea-making profession has contributed more than 121 products. Tan Cuong tea growing and processing knowledge has also been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Those are great values that need to be exploited to develop community-based tourism in association with sustainable rural agriculture and agricultural production in association with processing and consuming products. The orientation aims to both create tourism products and serve tourism, contributing to improving people's income.

The theme of Thai Nguyen Tourism Season 2023 is "Experience the land of tea, rich in identity." The desire to "bring the market to the production area" is being realized in the “first famous tea” land.