The person who elevates the taste of Shan Tuyet tea

(Baonghean) - Following the introduction and guidance of the local people, we went to Hoang Su Phi district (Ha Giang province) to meet Mr. Ly Choi Nhan - the "spiritual father" of Phin Ho Cooperative, which produces the famous Fin Ho Shan Tuyet green tea brand. The conversation with Ly Choi Nhan was really fascinating over a pot of hot tea, welcoming the first chill of the season. The tea is slightly bitter on the tip of the tongue but leaves a subtle sweetness in the throat, giving off a gentle aroma.

Interestingly, the place where we met Mr. Nhan was not "Phin Ho cooperative" but "Hoang Su Phi agricultural cooperative". As if he could guess that question, he explained: "Before, I was the Vice Chairman of Thong Nguyen Commune People's Committee, Phin Ho tea cooperative was my idea and I also mobilized the people of Phin Ho commune to participate, established in 2008. Later, I became Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Hoang Su Phi district, and came up with the idea of ​​establishing an agricultural cooperative. In 2013, this cooperative was officially established, because it was still young, the products of the cooperative had not yet created a brand like Fin Ho shan tuyet tea...".

Mr. Ly Choi Nhan introduces the product to Nghe An Newspaper reporter. Photo: Dao Tuan

Asked why a young Vice Chairman of the commune had the idea of ​​establishing a tea cooperative - a plant that grows on high mountains and is closely associated with the tradition of the Dao ethnic group in the western part of Ha Giang? He said that his family has been attached to the Shan Tuyet tea tree for many generations. The characteristic of Hoang Su Phi's Shan Tuyet tea is that it is extremely fond of high altitudes and cold climates. Only from an altitude of 1,000m or more, the tea leaves will have snow after being roasted - hence the name Shan Tuyet tea - and only then will it have a characteristic sweet aftertaste when drunk, which cannot be found if grown in other localities. There are ancient tea trees that are hundreds of years old, dozens of people can climb up to the canopy, to see that the tea tree has become an important symbol, deeply rooted in the life and ideology of the Dao people here. However, there has not been any effective form of exploitation that can fully utilize the value of the tea tree, ensuring a stable income for the people.

From the concerns and sorrows of a son of Phin Ho village, Mr. Nhan boldly built a project to establish a tea cooperative, which was approved by the leaders of Thong Nguyen commune and Hoang Su Phi district. With personal capital, mobilized capital from the first 20 members, and loans from the bank, the total initial cost for the cooperative was 1 billion 500 million VND. Mr. Nhan personally researched the tea processing and packaging processes, purchased packaging equipment lines, directed the design of product packaging and models, prepared documents to apply for a trademark protection certificate, and built the position of the Fin Ho tea brand in the market. Starting in 2010, the cooperative paid off all bank debts and began to do profitable business. Up to now, the cooperative has 45 members, each earning from 40 - 50 million VND/year. Among the first 20 members, 5 households were poor and have now escaped poverty sustainably.

Having said that, Mr. Nhan took us to visit the cooperative's showroom. There, there were not only Hoang Su Phi agricultural products, Fin Ho Shan Tuyet tea but also other typical products of Ha Giang such as Nang Don wine, mint honey, herbs,... all of which were introduced in detail by Mr. Nhan. He could not help but be proud when giving us a sample of dried upland radish products packaged in new packaging, with a label recognized by the Department of Intellectual Property. To produce the finished product like today, he personally went to Thanh Hoa to buy a saturated steam drying system. "Usually people use this oven to dry precious woods.

If we only dry small quantities of agricultural products, it will certainly not be enough to pay for the fuel to operate the machine. But the cooperative buys radishes from people without limiting the quantity, so there is no need to worry, just worry about people losing their crops". In fact, 2013 was the first year of experimental production of dried upland radishes, and it failed once during the off-season. Learning from that failure, Mr. Nhan optimistically said that he will only produce dried radishes in the main season, and switch to processing mushrooms for the rest of the time. Hoang Su Phi Agricultural Cooperative has conducted experimental and successful planting of high-value mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms, lingzhi mushrooms, etc. Currently, 10,000 mushroom pots have just completed the potting stage, and in about 2 months they will be harvested right on the occasion of Lunar New Year, with an expected harvest of 3 to 5 tons of mushrooms.

Seeing with your own eyes the products are carefully and professionally packaged, meeting the standards not only of the domestic market but also reaching out to the international market, you cannot help but be surprised to know that in your hands are the products of the intelligence and labor of the simple Dao people, closely associated with traditional handicraft agriculture. More than diligence and hard work, it is necessary to have a passionate heart, knowing how to love, appreciate, and honor what you have, along with dynamism and boldness, daring to think, daring to do, and most admirable is the spirit of autonomy and self-reliance as Mr. Nhan said: "The State has a support policy, but when it is in the experimental stage, we proactively invest the cooperative's capital to do it, because what if we fail? We have to have the results in hand, then we can hope to be recognized". To see, success does not only come from big and distant things, but also from the smallest and closest things if our intelligence, labor and enthusiasm are invested without limit. We really need "Ly Choi Nhan" like that so that the mountain peaks of Western Nghe An can also "sprout green" like Shan Tuyet tea hills.

Thuc Anh