DIEN BIEN PHU | ANCIENT TREE, RAW TEA 2023

Sourced from ancient tea trees in Dien Bien Phu, this rare Vietnamese raw tea offers a mineral-rich, complex profile with long aging potential.

TASTING EXPERIENCE:   NOTES OF ROASTED, TURNIPS, PIPE TOBACCO, BIRCH WOOD.

The highlands of Northwest Vietnam remind us of Yunnan in the early 2000s, wilder and less developed. While this tea should not be called Pu Er (since this is considered a denomination of origin), the ancient trees of Ha Giang are very similar to their close cousins in Yunnan.

Origin: Xin Chai Commune, Tua Chua district, Dien Bien Phu Province, Vietnam

GPS: 22.1°N 103.3°E   - Alt. 1500m

Harvested and Handcrafted by:  Lo Seo Ngan, who belongs to the Xa Phang (Hoa) nation of Dien Bien Phu.  The Xa Phang trace their origins to China, back in the days when national borders were less rigid, and speak a Chinese dialect.  You may learn more about Vietnam's nations here.  

Harvest:   March 2023

Tree type:  > 300-year-old, ungroomed

Experience:  Roasted Turnips, Mild Tobacco, Birch Wood

Handcrafting:  hand plucking, withering, pan-firing, hand-rolling, sun-drying, sorting

Brewing Suggestions:  6g tea / 110g water @100°C, 10"

About Dien Bien Phu - and why we find this a fascinating origin

Most people know Dien Bien Phu for the 1954 battle. Far fewer know that the same mountains harbour ancient tea trees that were old before any of that happened. In Tủa Chùa district, at 1,400–1,800 metres above sea level, these trees sit at one corner of the scientific "golden triangle" considered the birthplace of Camellia sinensis itself, alongside Yunnan and Laos's Phongsali. In October 2022, a cluster of a hundred of these trees was formally recognised as Vietnamese Heritage Trees. 

Really cool fact: the Hmong communities of Tủa Chùa brew their Shan Tuyết with rainwater, not tap — tap water, they'll tell you, flattens the mineral coolness that rises from centuries-old roots.

What keeps these trees alive is something practical dressed up as belief. Among the Hmong, an ancient tea tree is an ancestral gift — to sell it or neglect it is a betrayal of your lineage.[⁵] That's a conservation ethic that survived wars, economic pressure, and the full weight of the twentieth century.

This is one of those overlooked tea origins that relatively few people ever explore. We think that's worth fixing.

References

Vietnam Tourism — Dien Bien: Historical Destination, Culture and Tourism — https://vietnamtourism.gov.vn/post/60532

Tea J Tea — Unveiling the Richness of Vietnamese Tea Culture — https://teajtea.com/blogs/tea-region/unveiling-the-richness-of-vietnamese-tea-culture

Kill Green — Vietnamese Tea: Origin, Geography, Cultivars, Current Affairs — https://www.killgreen.io/main/vietnamese-tea-origin

Kill Green — Tea Production in Vietnam: A History and Evolution — https://www.killgreen.io/main/vietnamese-tea-production-history

Du Lịch Điện Biên — Các loại trà Điện Biên Phủ được du khách yêu thích nhất — https://dienbientour.com/cac-loai-tra-dien-bien-phu/