Tea priced at 3,000 USD/kg cultivated under the sacred mountain foot

The one who shines the La Bang tea bright

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, the Chairwoman of La Bang Tea Cooperative (La Bang commune, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen), is renowned as the pioneering female leader who, as a result of her passion and fervor for her hometown tea, introduced La Bang tea to customers throughout the country.

In 2006, Ms. Hai mobilized long-standing tea-growing households in La Bang commune to contribute to the establishment of La Bang Tea Cooperative. The cooperative had nine members and an initial charter capital of only 60 million VND.

In 2007, Ms. Hai submitted a courageous application to the Intellectual Property Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) for the certification of the La Bang tea trademark. In October 2008, she obtained brand certification and registered the trademark "La Bang tea" using the English transliteration.

The cooperative's charter capital has increased to 1.5 billion VND after 18 years of formation and development. It has 15 members and 200 affiliated households.

The female leader of La Bang Tea Cooperative recognized the significant potential of the tea plants in La Bang commune, which is situated on the eastern slopes of the Tam Dao range. However, she was unable to produce a product that would make a significant impact. Consequently, Mrs. Hải conducted her own research and developed Thanh Hai Tea, a rural industrial product that has been nationally recognized for its exceptional quality and adherence to organic standards.

The tea's unique and remarkable qualities are derived from the natural conditions and cultivation methods. The product is sourced from fresh tea buds that are grown on the highlands of eastern Tam Dao, where the climate is cool year-round. Mrs. Hai stated that the tea is maintained following organic standards, fertilized with compost derived from eggs, soybeans, honey, and probiotics, and daily nourished by the cold water of Tien Sa stream, which originates from the headwaters of Tam Dao.

Thanh Hai Tea has been a nationally recognized exemplary rural industrial product since 2019, and it is presently in the process of being upgraded to 5 stars. Additionally, it is a 4-star OCOP product.

Ms. Hai described the process of producing this distinctive product, stating that "Thanh Hai Tea is sourced from tea regions that adhere to organic standards and are harvested in the early morning (buds are still sprouting, unopened leaves, 1 bud - 2 leaves)." The tea is not bruised, and the growers are instructed in techniques to ensure that ten buds appear identical. The tea is transported to the factory after being harvested, where it is distributed on mesh floors and lightly wilted for 2 to 4 hours.

To preserve the original fragrance of fresh tea, it is essential to adhere to the processing rule "according to the scent of the variety" and achieve a golden honey-like water color, a slightly bitter taste, and a creamy aftertaste. 

"Thanh Hai Tea must undergo 6 to 8 moisture-balancing steps to achieve this. The moisture-balancing process is exceedingly intricate, necessitating twice the amount of labor in comparison to the preparation of other varieties of tea. Only then can we produce a tea brew that intensifies in fragrance as it cools", Ms. Hai elaborated. 

At present, Thanh Hai Tea is segmented into two groups, each with a retail price of 1 million VND/kg and 1.5 million VND/kg.

Organic production bring benefits all around

La Bang Tea Cooperative initiated the transition from VietGAP cultivation to organic methods in 2018. The cooperative has certified 10 hectares as organic and 6 hectares as planting area codes, out of the 37 hectares associated with households. It is anticipated that an additional 7 hectares of the cooperative's tea will receive organic certification by August of this year.

The members of La Bang Tea Cooperative were apprehensive about the high investment costs and reduced productivity at the outset of the organic transition, as the market was not yet stable.

At present, the price of fresh VietGAP tea varies between 30,000 and 35,000 VND/kg, while the price of organic tea varies between 40,000 and 60,000 VND/kg of fresh tea, thereby increasing the income of the producers.

The members of La Bang Tea Cooperative have reported that the soil has become loose again after only one year of organic cultivation. This has resulted in the appearance of numerous earthworms, purified air, and a return to the living environment that was present 30 years ago.

"In the past, certain producers employed an abundance of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on their tea crops. The fish in the ponds and streams at the base of the tea highlands would perish after each rainfall. Fish have returned to the ponds and streams since the transition to organic methods, and there have been no incidents comparable to those of previous years", said Ms. Hai.

La Bang Tea Cooperative's motto, "Clean from the Heart, Safe for Life," serves to foster self-awareness in households, emphasizing that dishonesty in production will result in its elimination from the supply chain. Organic tea production at La Bang Tea Cooperative necessitates households to adhere to strict self-imposed guidelines.

Consequently, the cooperative exclusively purchases fresh tea, as opposed to gritty tea. The payment for fresh tea is not made at the tea field; rather, it is made after the tea is processed into a finished product and its quality is evaluated in accordance with the agreement between the cooperative and the affiliated household.

The cooperative will return the product to the affiliated household if the initial quality standards are not met. The household is responsible for paying the cooperative for the tea processing costs.

The arduous journey to a 5-star OCOP

The Prime Minister's decision No. 148/QĐ-TTg, which was issued on February 24, 2023, establishes the OCOP program with extremely rigorous criteria and evaluation processes. For 4-star OCOP products to be upgraded to 5 stars, they must not only adhere to the current 4-star standards but also maintain a consistent export market. Thus, they encounter even more formidable obstacles.

La Bang Tea Cooperative encountered numerous challenges while composing the dossier to elevate the product to 5-star OCOP. In order to satisfy the criteria, they were required to modify and enhance their facilities and products. This necessitated a significant investment, providing the cooperative with significant difficulty in managing it. For instance, the cooperative needed advanced quality management certifications (ISO/GMP/HACCP/...), international standard quality management certification, sufficient food safety conditions for export, and other legal procedures as required by the target market.

To satisfy the global market opportunity criteria, the product must possess export contracts. Nevertheless, the implementation procedure is exceedingly complex.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, La Bang Tea Cooperative was compelled to engage consulting firms and export support services, which resulted in a cost of hundreds of millions of VND. Although the product had already undertaken domestic sample analysis, it was still required to pass quarantine and sample analysis by foreign import partners.

Additionally, the cooperative was required to allocate hundreds of millions of VND to the implementation of closed factory systems in order to satisfy the 5-star OCOP product criteria. Ms. Hai, like many other cooperatives, believes that the cooperative always encounters disadvantages when obtaining bank financing, despite the fact that this was a relatively substantial investment.