Lam-tube tea is a tea product that is preserved in Schizostachyum aciculare tubes or fresh Bambusa nutans tubes (types of bamboo); this not only helps the tea not being musty, but also enhances the taste of the tea thanks to the sap of the tree discharging during the processing stages. This is an exclusive product from Ha Giang, where the Dao people have had their simple yet effective way to preserve the tea and keep its fresh flavor.
Lam-tube tea has been existing since the first generations who mastered the tea making technique. At first, after screening, the tea is kept in a tube to keep it lasting. This is the simplest way of preserving that utilizes the natural material such as Schizostachyum aciculare, Bambusa nutans or binary tree tubes. There are many kinds of Lam-tube tea such as “fairy lam-tubed” tea, “flower lam-tubed” tea, “dragon tail lam-tubed” tea, Shan Snow tea…
The most important part that makes the final taste of the tea is the processing part, from choosing the tube, the material and especially how the tea is skillfully dried through fire that maintain the signature of the mountainous people; creating the premium-quality tea that can hardly found anywhere else. Shan Snow tea is processed right after harvesting, kept in the tube and dried near the fire until the tube is evenly caught fire without getting the shelf burned, the tea buds that are tightly packed inside starts to absorb the sap and ferment, then they continue to ferment after being heated through fire. The brewing process of traditional Dao green tea is believed by many experts to be the origin of the famous Pho Nhi tea today.
Ha Giang Shan Snow tea has been gifted with the green rice scent and the sweet flavor, after being packed and heated in the tube, the fermented process is able to keep its original flavor and make it become a separated product among others. Lam-tube tea is better than other tea by its green rice combined scent combined with the fire smoke. The transport and preservation of the tea is much simpler than others. With the clean production movement, protecting nature and limiting plastic use, the preservation way of the tea is a reasonable choice.
Nowadays, producing lam-tube tea is still popular in Thuong Son, Cao Bo (Vi Xuyen); Phuong Do, Phuong Thien (Ha Giang City). Passed by many generations and seems to be lost because of the emergence of more modern methods of processing, lam-tube tea still gains the interest and keeps improving to meet the market’s need, which really diversifies tea products and helps to bring Ha Giang’s Shan Snow tea closer to the consumers.
