Second Cup: Ha Giang – Vietnam’s biggest Snow Shan region

To travelholics, Ha Giang comes to mind with Meo Vac, Dong Van, Quang Ba, where golden paddy fields, purple stretches of buckwheat, yellow rapeseed and white plum flowers treat the eye to scenic delights. But Ha Giang is also famous for another treasured delicacy – Snow Shan tea.
Ha Giang is the province with the vast majority of Vietnam’s Shan tea areas (around 18,726.3 ha) – making up 90.7% of the province’s 20,646.41 ha of tea plantations (as of 2017). Ha Giang’s ancient Shan tea forests are mostly found at the heights of 700 – 1,700m above sea level. At these altitudes, the tea trees grow in pristine air, without human cares and interventions.
As a result, they produce rare, clean and organic tea materials to make precious Shan teas. Today, 1,400 ha of ancient Shan tea trees in Ha Giang have been certificated as truly organic, in addition to meeting other standards as well.
Along the Tay Con Linh mountain range, Shan tea trees flourish in Bac Quang, Quang Binh, Xin Man, Hoang Su Phi, Vi Xuyen provinces and Ha Giang city, over a total of 16,067.7 ha. Each location’s altitude, soil, climate…, have unique impact on the growth, aroma and flavor of Snow Shan tea leaves.
In Ha Giang, we can find ancient Snow Shan tea trees about 100 years old. Even more impressive, some wild ancient tea trees have been around for 900 years old, with trunk diameter measured at 1.2m.
Traditionally, Snow Shan tea is collected 4 times a year. The first crop, or the spring tea harvest, begins in early April to the first half of May – yields the highest quality tea. The second crop is between June and July, followed by the third crop in August, and the last one in October and November. The tea leaves are hand-picked and processed manually by the ethnic minorities, who have inhabited the forests and mountains from time immemorial.
The locals used to process tea with rudimentary methods, passed down by their ancestors. Yet in time, new understandings, cultures… help Ha Giang people to make premium, higher quality teas.
As a tea-taster sips a cup of Ha Giang Snow Shan, they will immediately notice the singular “ancient wild” tea signature: elegant and deep layers of aroma-flavor, an unmistakable sharp, airy flowery scent, and a deep cool taste that lasts many brews.
It is not overstated to say that Snow Shan tea, wholly natural, entirely clean and uncontaminated, richly aromatic and flavorful, is one of Vietnam’s treasures. And among those gems, Ha Giang’s Snow Shan tea is a force to be reckoned with.