VietNamNet Bridge – Tourists might be familiar with breathtaking terrace rice fields in the northern upland province of Yen Bai in the period between late September and late October. However, the province has another place of interest that should not be missed; that is Giang Stream in Van Chan District.

A H’mong woman serves tea to tourists in Giang Stream in Van Chan District of Yen Bai Province

Why Giang Stream? This is where visitors can taste a unique variety of tea from old tea trees grown in an area nearly 1,400 meters above sea level.

From Hanoi tourists can take a six-hour bus or car journey. Along a snaking road covered by mist, travelers can see many hills clad with big old tea trees which need one person to place his or her arms around. Under the shades of the trees are colorful costumes of ethnic minority people who pick good tea leaves. According to experts, many tea trees in the area date back to 300 years and are more than 10 meters tall.

With average temperatures of 20 Celsius, fertile soil and abundant water resources, tea in Suoi Giang is still of high quality since there is no fertilizer or pesticide used in the cultivation process.

Tourists to Suoi Giang can savor tea and take a look at the tea making process at a house of H’mong ethnic minority people, from picking tea leaves to drying them in a large pan and brewing it.

A closeup of tea buds after being dried in a pan     An old tea tree in Giang Stream

It requires pickers of tea buds to have experience to guarantee the best quality of tea. They have to climb up to high branches to pick the best buds. A grey tea bud is covered by a layer of light white powder. The selected buds are dried in a pan above a small fire. Then the buds are rubbed in a meticulous way to make them thin and small with the origin white powder of a bud retained. They have a special aroma and its taste is quite acrid at first and sweet afterwards.

There are two kinds of tea packed in boxes which cost VND150,000 per 500-gram box of normal tea and VND200,000 per 100-gram box of premium tea.

SGT/VNN