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Sixth Cup: Snow Shan tea of Ban Lien, Lao Cai – From organic certifications to global markets
| To both international and domestic travelers alike, Lao Cai has made its name with Sapa, with Fansipan the “roof of Indochina”, and with alluring, colorful love markets. Lao Cai, today, is also known for another extraordinary delicacy: the Snow Shan tea in Ban Lien commune, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province – with over 400 ha of wild, ancient, organically-certificated tea trees From such natural resource comes more than 15 lines of organic Snow Shan teas, supplying for demanding markets such as Europe, America, Canada, and Japan. Among these lines, the premium ones can fetch as high as 100 USD/ kg. Although plantation area steadily increases 20 ha each year, Snow Shan tea productivity still fails to meet orders, especially when Snow Shan tea has been favored more and more on the international market. |
In 2004, Ban Lien tea co-operative was established, gathering over 400 Shan-tea-producing families of the Tay people. The co-operative has received IFOAM organic certification, and Fairtrade certification provided by ATC for entering the EU markets.
Every year the co-operative purchases around 600 – 800 tons of fresh tea from the ethnic minority and processes them into 5 - 6 types of teas, amounting to over 130 tons of dried tea, exported to European and other “picky” markets. Demand is always greater than supply, though.
Which has caused this Snow Shan “fever”?
First are the soil and climate of this land. At an altitude of 1,500 m above sea level, Ban Lien’ climate is cool all year round; sometimes fog can become so thick that it blocks out vision. This is precisely what the tea trees need to thrive without human cares.
The wild tea trees, as a result, are utterly clean, and delicious with medicinal properties, much loved by the international markets. Snow Shan tea from Ban Lien, Lao Cai is characterized with a clear, bright water; with a strong, rich and wild aroma-flavor of the Northwest mountains and forests; and a deep aftertaste that stays intact brew after brew.
Snow Shan tea is harvested and processed manual, with long-standing techniques handed down from previous generations. However, because the tea trees grow naturally without any sizable concentrations, the people still take spontaneous approaches to tea production.
The establishment of Ban Lien tea co-operative, as well as organic certifications, is a firm step forward in upgrading and maintaining the tea making tradition and the precious Snow Shan tea reservoir in Ban Lien, Lao Cai.