This significant milestone opens a new journey for ancient tea trees that are hundreds of years old, allowing the mountain fragrance to carry stories of the land, its people, and their aspirations to reach further markets. It is quite a feat to see these ancient trees, as weathered as the village elders themselves, now carrying the “passport” of a state-certified brand to global destinations.

In Hấu Chua village within Sín Chải commune, Hạng A Chư is often regarded by the local community as the one who keeps the “soul” of the ancient tea trees. His family owns more than 500 ancient Shan Tuyet trees that have remained green and lush through countless seasons since the time of his grandparents. In the past, villagers harvested these leaves primarily for their own consumption or traded them for basic necessities like salt and rice. Even when traders later entered the area to purchase the crop, prices remained volatile, leaving farmers worried about their output even during bountiful harvest years.

When the locality implemented policies to preserve and develop the Shan Tuyet tea region, Hạng A Chư was among the first to participate actively. He received technical training on harvesting and care processes, learning how to identify the precise moment to pick buds of the highest quality. He believes that since these tea trees live as long as the village elders, they must be cherished to provide the best yields. Since the Tủa Chùa Shan Tuyet brand gained recognition, purchase prices have stabilized, allowing his family’s life to gradually prosper. Chư takes great pride in knowing that his village’s ancient tea roots are now officially linked to the regional name with state certification. Each tree produces about 16kg of fresh buds per crop, yielding approximately 3kg of dried tea after processing. With careful maintenance, his family can harvest four to five times a year, totaling nearly one ton of dried tea and generating a revenue of over VND 200 million annually after labor expenses.

Despite being a high-value specialty, Tủa Chùa’s Shan Tuyet tea was sold under various labels for many years, making it easy for consumers to confuse it with products from other regions. Processing cooperatives operated on a small scale with limited consistency in packaging, logos, or traceability stamps. Recognizing these branding and quality challenges, the local Party committee and authorities intervened to guide residents and cooperatives in perfecting their production processes and packaging. This support aimed to elevate the prestige of the product and foster a stronger link between growers, processing facilities, and the market.

Nguyễn Mỹ Linh, Director of Hương Linh Co., Ltd., chose Tủa Chùa to launch her startup with ancient tea products under the Diệp Thanh Trà brand. From the beginning, she chose to work closely with the tea growers by living in the village to understand their harvesting habits and processing stages. Through experimenting with various roasting, withering, and fermentation methods, she managed to preserve the natural, distinct fragrance of Shan Tuyet, defining a unique identity for the Tủa Chùa region.

To date, her company offers three products including Black Tea, Diep Thanh Tea, and Pho Nhi Tea. Notably, Diep Thanh Tra was honored as one of 108 national typical industrial-rural products in 2025 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Linh emphasizes that when a brand is built professionally, consumers understand that behind every cup of tea is a century-old tree and the careful hands of the Tủa Chùa people, making the true value of the product reside in trust and heritage rather than just flavor.

With the support of authorities and the dedication of residents and businesses, the điện biên provincial people’s committee approved the geographical indication map for “Tủa Chùa” Shan Tuyet tea in August 2025. Simultaneously, the Intellectual Property Office issued registration certificates for Shan Tuyet green tea and Pho Nhi tea from the region. Trần Văn Sơn, chairman of the sín chải commune people’s committee, confirmed that this approval is an essential step toward protecting and developing existing tea areas. This certification serves as a “passport” for the product, providing a legal basis to protect the brand from counterfeiting while motivating enterprises to invest in machinery and build sustainable value chains with farmers.

The fragrance of Tủa Chùa’s Shan Tuyet tea is now traveling to new lands through every package and cup of tea. While the road ahead still holds challenges, the established geographical indication and the combined efforts of the people, businesses, and government provide a firm foundation for this specialty to assert its position and reach further through its intrinsic value.