Farmers produce high quality tea in preparation for Tet

(Baonghean.vn) - With just over 2 months left until Lunar New Year 2018, tea processing facilities in Anh Son are rushing to produce high-quality green tea to serve the Tet market.

This is the peak time of the year, when Vo Van Sang's workshop in village 5, Hung Son commune, is working at full capacity. Photo: Thai Hien

At the tea factory of Mr. Vo Van Sang, village 5, Hung Son commune, the production atmosphere is very bustling because at this time the factory is focusing on processing high-quality green tea in time to serve the upcoming Lunar New Year market.

Mr. Sang shared: At the end of 2015, he went to Thai Nguyen to learn how to process high-quality tea, then returned to invest in a machinery system with a total amount of nearly 400 million VND. This is the peak time of the year, the factory works at full capacity, but to affirm and maintain the brand of handmade tea, the products must not only retain their aroma and deliciousness, but also ensure food safety. Therefore, in recent years, the entire tea area of ​​the factory has applied safe production processes according to VietGAP standards. From the processes of planting, caring to harvesting, roasting, rolling and extracting flavor, all are focused on quality.

Currently, each kilogram of high-quality green tea from his factory costs from 200,000 to 250,000 VND/kg. It is expected that during this Tet holiday, his processing facility will produce 3 tons of high-quality tea to serve consumers.

To have delicious green tea products, the tea must be picked entirely by hand. Photo: Thai Hien

Similarly, it is the peak tea production season, so the handmade tea processing facility of Mr. Nguyen Canh Tuan's family in Village 4, Hung Son Commune is always busy. Mr. Tuan said: On average, his family produces and packages 3 tons of handmade tea each year. With a price of 200,000 - 250,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, he still earns 80 million VND in profit each year. This year's Tet holiday alone, his family's workshop produced 1 ton to serve consumers.

To have a delicious green tea product, the tea must first be picked entirely by hand to avoid crushing or mixing substandard tea. The tea ingredients must ensure the quality of "one bud, two leaves" and must be uniform. In particular, the tea must be picked at the right time from 6am to 10am to keep the tea's delicious, rich flavor and must be roasted on the same day of picking.

The tea ingredients must be “one bud, two leaves” and picked between 6am and 10am to retain the aroma. Photo: Thai Hien

With over 520 hectares of tea, Hung Son is the locality with the largest tea material area in Anh Son district. Currently, the whole commune has over 450 households growing tea, of which 70% of fresh tea output is supplied to the local tea processing factory, the rest is consumed by the people themselves.

Mr. Tran Minh Hoan - Chairman of Hung Son Commune People's Committee said: In 2017, the whole commune harvested 5,900 tons of fresh tea buds. During this year's Lunar New Year, it is expected that the whole commune will have about 4 - 5 tons of high-quality tea, in addition to dozens of tons of industrial tea brought to the market, green tea products will certainly be a significant source of income for Hung Son tea growers.

Currently, each kilogram of high quality green tea costs from 200,000 to 250,000 VND/kg.

With many years of experience in tea production, in recent times, Hung Son people have increased the economic value of tea plants by investing in opening manual tea processing factories. This is a new and promising direction to help tea growers increase their income, while contributing to building a separate brand for the Hung Son tea production area.

Thai Hien