Gay Tea Region

(Baonghean) - Now, Gay tea (Cao Son - Anh Son) has become a specialty of Nghe An. But to take root and sprout to give life its rich sweet and bitter taste, the tea tree of this land has also gone through many ups and downs...

The elders of the tea land also do not remember how Cao Son land became involved with tea, or whether tea came to this barren hilly land to contribute a bit of hometown love to those who have gone far away and still yearn for it. They only know that in Cao Son now there are still many tea gardens up to 40 - 50 years old, and tea trees have now become the pride of the people of the hilly land.

Tea hills in Cao Son commune (Anh Son).

In the past, the four communes of Cao Son, Tao Son, Linh Son, Lang Son were originally new economic zones, people from all over the district came here to settle down on the barren hilly land, with almost no human footprints. Growing rice at that time was a "gamble" with the sky because the climate, water sources... were all difficult. Cao Son people also tried many ways to make a living, there were many forests and mountains, but "Eating from the forest makes one cry", that was not a long-term direction. Anh Son land was originally tea land, so Cao Son people at that time had to find tea varieties to plant on their land. Tea could only be grown by the only way of making holes (punching holes to plant seeds). The hilly land was endlessly barren, with only wild plants crowded together. One had to go very far, through fields, through deserts for half a day to find a place to cut down trees, and to dig sparks with the hoe blade into the hilly soil to make grooves for the weak tea seeds to be born.

Growing tea is so hard, that's why there's a saying: "Don't marry a gay man/ You'll have two meals a night, no meals a day." Every year, the tree only needs to be weeded, trenched, and fertilized twice. When the time comes, people will make a rafter (remove ineffective branches) for the tree. In the third year, from the time the seeds are sown, the tea can be harvested regularly. The tea tree is also very capricious, forcing the harvester to only break the branches with their hands, not using a sickle or knife, as if the tree doesn't want to be hurt, only the hands of the caretaker can separate the branches and leaves from the mother tea tree.

The taste of Gay tea is fragrant and sweet, the leaves of Gay tea are also different. Each leaf is big, shiny, very crispy and easy to break. The land does not disappoint the people, the tea tree grows in this land, suitable for the valley and the weather, so it has created a very different and unique flavor, only Gay tea has. Leaving Cao Son land, the taste of the tea has changed. Like the Xa Doai orange tree, only in that land, the orange is so fragrant and sweet. The tree seems to have a predestined relationship with people, or is it thanks to people's love that the tree repays?

Nowadays, Cao Son regularly has a large fleet of trucks transporting tea to remote areas. Tea just picked from the branches, not yet dry of sap, is loaded onto carts to go everywhere. According to the old people in Cao Son, in the past, tea trees were brought down to Dong Ben, onto merchants' boats going down to Sa Nam (Nam Dan), then following the Lam River further. The name Gay tea originated from the old days, Cao Son tea was brought down to Gay market (in Linh Son land) to sell because there was a boat dock there, making it easy to transport and trade. Consumers only focused on finding Gay tea and seemed to forget Cao Son land, the land that had to endure the sun and rain to make that famous tea.

Tea harvest.

To have a pot of delicious Gay tea, first of all, people choose thick and lush tea leaves (not too old and not too young). The water used to cook the tea is usually rainwater or water from a well with gravel so that the water is sweet. Cooking the tea usually uses a pot or a clay pot. The tea must be put in properly, not crushed, but also not left intact because it takes a long time to soak, but must be gently crushed, and yellow leaves and rotten leaves must be picked. The firewood used to cook the tea must be the kind that does not fade the flavor of the tea such as eucalyptus wood, xoan dau wood, bamboo wood... Green tea water is like a sincere, gentle friend that is very close to every family here. Every day is the same, fresh green tea water greets the new day to many people before going to the fields.

Looking at the tea hills and tea gardens stretching out in the golden sunlight at the end of the day, I suddenly thought that the Cao Son tea tree has given life its bitter taste and aroma, giving life all the essence of a tree's life, and now the tea tree wants someone to name it, to define that silent sacrifice.

Cong Manh