Thanh Chuong people rush to harvest hundreds of tons of 'blind tea' every day
Thu Huyen - Hoai Thu•March 3, 2025 11:59
People in Thanh Chuong district are entering the spring tea harvest season; each day they harvest hundreds of tons of tea buds, bringing in a good income.
Currently, Thanh Chuong district is the locality with the largest tea growing area in Nghe An province with about 5,000 hectares of tea. March 2025 is also the time when Thanh Chuong people start harvesting spring tea. Photo: Hoai ThuIn Thanh Thinh commune, the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Tho (left) is one of the households with a fairly large tea growing area of about 4.5 hectares. Mr. Tho said that each year the tea hills yield about 4-5 harvests with an average yield of about 45-50 tons/hectare. Photo: Thu HuyenMost tea producers in Thanh Chuong harvest tea buds with cutting machines, using gasoline as fuel. With the support of machines, hundreds of tons of fresh tea buds can be harvested every day. Photo: Hoai ThuSpring tea crop in Thanh Chuong is expected to yield about 45-50 tons/ha. Photo: Thu HuyenThe first batch of spring tea is also called the “blind” tea batch. According to the farmers, in the life cycle of the tea tree, around the middle of the 11th lunar month, the tea tree is almost completely cut off from the top, called tea pruning. After that, the tea will sprout, but due to the cold weather and little sunlight, it will grow slowly, not growing densely but only 2-4 leaves. This is the “blind” tea batch that must be urgently harvested and cared for so that the tea can grow faster and stronger. The following batches are the main harvests. Photo: Hoai ThuEach group of tea harvesters usually has 3-5 people. As soon as the tea is picked, it is bagged and transported to the processing facility on the same day, not left overnight to avoid affecting the quality of the product. Photo: Hoai ThuIn the 2025 Spring tea season, in Thanh Tung commune, Mr. Bui Van Son's family's purchasing and processing facility processes about 25 - 30 tons per day with a purchase price of 40,000 VND/kg of fresh tea buds. Photo: Hoai ThuAfter being purchased, tea buds will be put into the raw tea production line. Photo: Thu HuyenThe first batch of Spring tea is not as productive and of lower quality as the next batch, so there is not enough raw material for processing factories to operate. Hopefully, when the tea enters the main crop, the quality will be better and the price will be higher. Photo: Hoai ThuCurrently, in Thanh Chuong district, there are 21 fresh tea bud processing facilities, mainly exporting to Middle Eastern countries. Photo: Thu HuyenThanh Chuong people harvest and process tea. Clip: Hoai Thu - Thu Huyen
