The essence of Thai Nguyen tea market

Early in the morning, when the city was still sleeping, we left the town, followed the green tea hills to La Bang mountain area, to once get lost in the tea market of the local people here. Arriving at La Bang tea market when the sky was still dark, we could hear the murmur of people talking in the market, the rustling sound of tea bags being transported into the market.

From the roads, footsteps cut through the mist down the mountain, some carrying baskets, others carrying tea, trudging down to the market, their shoulders wet with the night dew. Their faces were still a bit sleepy, but their eyes were still bright with hope for a tea market where they would meet customers quickly and get a good price.

The sky gradually brightened, the market gradually became crowded, around 6:30, the market was bustling. Bags of tea as big as a person's arms, heavy, entered the market. The tea was just like that, plain in large plastic bags, carefully covered by people with a layer of pineapple sacks on the outside.

They find a place in the market, skillfully open the bag, revealing tightly twisted, shiny black tea buds. And a scent of young rice spreads through the air, waiting for customers to come and buy.

Mr. Van Trong Nhiem chose a position in the middle of the tea selling area. When he saw us, he smiled brightly, holding the tea bag in one hand to keep it from spilling, and holding a cardboard piece in the other hand, fanning himself as if he was trying to bring the fragrant scent to our noses. Then he quickly invited us:

- Buy some tea, Long Van tea, grown clean, how clean!

As if to further affirm his reputation, he continued: My family has more than 1 hectare of tea, we grow and process it ourselves from A to Z. I come here to sell at every market, if the tea is not of good quality, just come to the market and I will return it!

Standing next to her were women who were also holding bags of tea, chatting about the harvest season. Seeing a stranger coming to the market to see the tea, Mrs. Hoang Thi Luyen said enthusiastically: Buy some now, because it's almost time to close the market. The market only opens early in the morning and closes around 8am.

According to Mrs. Luyen, even though she lives far away, when it is her turn, she always brings tea to La Bang market to sell because the market here is more crowded, with more buyers. For each market session, she has to prepare the goods the day before, load them onto the car, and then wake up at 4am the next morning and just bring them to the market to sell. Each session sells nearly 100 kg of dry tea.

From La Bang, we continued our journey to other tea markets to explore the flavors and customs of each region. A must-see is Phuc Xuan market, a trading place for communes in the famous tea regions: Tan Cuong, Hong Thai, Phuc Xuan. Here, we met Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung, a trader, she said: This market has a special kind of tea, when you rub it by hand, the tea buds make a light "cracking" sound like the sound of ceramic pieces hitting each other, spreading the scent of young rice, very good for the water.

During the interesting experience of going to the tea market, we also leisurely went up to Trai Cai area, Minh Lap commune, which has been mentioned in the Thai Nguyen idiom: "Che Cai, girls Hich" (talking about the specialty of Trai Cai tea and the beautiful girls of Hich street in the old Dong Hy district).

This market was formed more than thirty years ago, including tea from the specialty tea regions of Minh Lap commune, Hoa Binh , Song Cau town (Dong Hy); Tuc Tranh, Phu Do (Phu Luong). This is also the tea market with the most sessions (12 sessions) in a month, the main sessions are on the 10th and 15th.

In the tea market, most of the people are connoisseurs, with a lot of experience in choosing tea, so it is almost impossible to see grade 2 tea being sold at grade 1 prices. Customers buying tea, go around the market, look at the bags of tea, if they like it, they will put a pinch of tea in the palm of their hand, spread it out to feel, look at it with their eyes, bring it to their nose to smell the aroma, and only when they like it will they decide to try brewing it. Seeing us struggling to choose tea, Mr. Nguyen Van Dong from La Bang commune said: "Kha wine, carp tea", if we don't taste it directly, how can we classify it.

For that reason, at every corner of the tea market in Thai Nguyen, there are wooden tables, a few sets of small cups and thermoses of boiling water. The tea tasters here do not use a pot, but only two small cups placed side by side. A pinch of tea is put into the cup, boiling water is poured over, covered for about twenty seconds and then poured out.

Just by looking at the clear yellow-green color of the water, smelling the faint scent of young rice, and taking a small sip, connoisseurs can know what kind of tea it is, how it is fertilized, and whether it is ripe or not, and from there make a decision to close the order.

Depending on the quality and variety, tea has different prices. It also depends on each person's taste to choose the right type of tea: Long Van tea is always chosen by many people and has a high price because it always has a fragrant smell and bright green water. Bat Tien tea, although the water is light red, gives a sweet aroma with a hint of sticky rice, and hybrid tea F1, Tri777... all have their own flavors that are not difficult to distinguish. Customers are also the most objective assessors and evaluators of product quality.

Mrs. Bui Thi Huyen, Minh Lap commune (formerly Dong Hy), shared her experience in choosing good tea: Tea must achieve the five noble qualities of color - air - scent - taste - spirit to be considered top-notch. Therefore, tea buyers often carefully select, and sellers therefore freely let customers choose.

The tea market is mainly for wholesalers, so the tea sold at the market is mostly processed into unfinished dried tea buds, still raw. To achieve the best aroma and taste, the tea must be roasted with a rotating metal sheet, winnowed, winnowed, and scented. For retail customers, especially tourists who come to experience the tea market, the seller will introduce them to a facility near the market to get the scent, vacuum-seal, and pack according to their needs.

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No need for loud advertising, at each Thai Nguyen tea market, tea sellers do their job with prestige, with the hands and heart of tea makers, buyers do not need to force themselves, freely choose, bargain, without being forced.

At Trai Cai tea market, we saw that before 7am, Mrs. Pham Thi Nga (a trader in Vo Tranh commune, old Phu Luong) had bought several hundred kilograms of tea, then filled a small truck parked at the market gate. She said: The tea in this region has a rich, delicious flavor, so I don't need to choose much, just small, even petals, brewed into a light green water, fragrant, slightly astringent and gradually sweet, I will buy. After saying that, she continued to close the deal with a firm handshake with the seller.

The tea market is not only a major sales channel for Thai Nguyen tea, but also a cultural space. People come to the market not only to sell and buy normally, but also to exchange feelings between tea lovers and tea makers. Even if they are just walking around and not buying or selling, visitors can freely choose tea to drink. The sellers are friendly and cheerful even if they have not sold any products.

Through the market, tea growers have the opportunity to meet each other, exchange experiences about land preparation, choosing varieties, pruning tea, and are willing to pass on valuable farming secrets that are not recorded in any books. Along with that, tea growers also meet with customers and grasp market demand. Sellers and buyers meet over cups of tea, chat, and the buzz spreads throughout the market.

We leave each tea market, not forgetting to bring a few small tea bags, but in our hearts we bring back a whole range of memories. Each market makes us remember the image of mothers and sisters carrying tea in the early morning mist, remember the sincere handshake, and remember the affectionate countryside, where the aroma of tea not only dissolves in water, but has permeated the soil, the people, and the simple lifestyle of farmers for generations.