Visit our tea gardens in Thai Nguyen

Tea tours at a working Vietnamese tea cooperative, open to visitors all year. Pick the leaf, watch the firing, brew what you made. Ninety households, 40.5 hectares, an hour and a half from Hanoi airport.

If you are planning a trip to Thai Nguyen and want more than a photograph of a green hillside, this page is for you. TRAVINA — Tam Tra Viet Cooperative opens its tea gardens and processing workshops to visitors all year round. You pick the leaf yourself, stand beside the pan while the tea is fired, brew the tea you have just made, and drink it where it was grown.

We are a working cooperative, not a tourist attraction built for visitors. Nothing on this page is staged.

Tea gardens of TRAVINA - Tam Tra Viet Cooperative in Dai Tu, Thai Nguyen — Tea gardens of Tam Tra Viet Cooperative in Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen.

Where we are

Host	Tam Tra Viet Cooperative — brand TRAVINA
Site 1	Go Lon hamlet, Dai Tu commune, Thai Nguyen — facing Nui Coc Lake Formerly Bau Chau hamlet, Luc Ba commune. The commune was merged in 2025, so older licences and certificates still carry the previous address.
Site 2	Dong Khuan hamlet, La Bang commune — between Kem Stream and Cua Tu waterfalls
Partner site	Phu Dat Agricultural Cooperative, Binh Thanh commune, ATK Dinh Hoa historical zone
Scale	90 member households · 40.5 hectares · approx. 120 tonnes of dry tea per year
Certification	VietGAP · ISO 22000:2018 · Food safety certificate · Collective mark "Che Thai Nguyen"
From Noi Bai Airport (HAN)	About 1 hour 30 minutes by road
From Hanoi city centre	About 2 hours by expressway. A 45-seat coach can reach Site 1
Booking	+84 855 318 678 (Zalo / WhatsApp) · admin.travina@gmail.com

TRAVINA tea hills in La Bang commune, Thai Nguyen — Tea rows planted along the slope in La Bang commune.

Why Dai Tu and La Bang, not Tan Cuong

We set the whole question out in our guide to the Dai Tu and La Bang growing areas, with the harvest calendar and the paperwork behind each lot.

Most visitors to Thai Nguyen are taken to Tan Cuong, and Tan Cuong deserves its reputation. But Thai Nguyen has five named tea regions, and Dai Tu is the district with the largest tea area in the province, while La Bang is one of those five.

What makes this corner different is the terrain. The gardens climb the eastern foot of the Tam Dao range, roughly 110 to 300 metres above sea level, with the range itself rising to 1,592 metres behind them. Morning mist holds until nearly midday. The leaf grows slowly and accumulates more amino acids — which is where the sweet finish that experienced drinkers look for actually comes from.

For a traveller it means something simpler: you are not only looking at tea. Within 30 km of our sites there is Nui Coc Lake, Kem Stream, the seven-tier Cua Tu waterfalls, the primary forest of Tam Dao, and the ATK Dinh Hoa national historical site. Few places in northern Vietnam hold that much inside such a short arc.

La Bang itself has grown into this. According to Bao Van Hoa (27 May 2026), the commune received around 195,000 visitors over the past five years, and now has 13 accommodation providers with capacity for 450 guests a day and 16 restaurants serving over 1,000 guests a day. The infrastructure is there for an overnight stay, not just a day trip.

What you actually do here

1. Pick the leaf

Members of Tam Tra Viet Cooperative hand picking tea in Thai Nguyen — Members pick one bud and two leaves by hand, early in the morning.

You are given a basket and taught the plucking standard for each grade, then you pick. This is the part that surprises visitors most — picking correctly is far harder than it looks. Moc Cau takes one bud and one or two leaves. Non Tom takes one bud and one unopened leaf. Tra Dinh takes only the closed bud. One wrong leaf drops the whole batch a grade.

A number to hold on to: Tra Dinh needs more than 10 kg of fresh leaf to yield 1 kg of finished tea. Non Tom needs 8–10 kg. Moc Cau needs 6–8 kg. After half an hour of picking, most visitors look at the price list differently.

2. Stand beside the pan

A row of pan-firing woks along the wall of the TRAVINA tea workshop in La Bang, Thai Nguyen — Fresh leaf goes into the pan within hours of picking.

The leaf comes to the workshop the same day. You follow the full line: withering, fixation (kill-green), rolling, drying, grading, packing. The step worth watching is fixation — very high heat for a very short time to stop oxidation. Get it wrong and no later step can repair it. We describe each stage, and what it does to the cup, in how a Thai Nguyen green tea is made clean and sweet.

Our La Bang workshop is the ISO 22000:2018 certified facility, with signed zones for the withering racks, the fixation room, drying and cooling. If you come during a firing session, the person at the machine may be the one who won Second Prize at the Thai Nguyen Golden Hands Tea Processing competition 2025.

3. Brew what you made

Freshly brewed TRAVINA green tea in the tasting room — The tea you picked, brewed in the tasting room.

In the tasting room you are taught the northern Vietnamese method for green tea: 4–5 g to 200 ml, water at 80–85 °C, first infusion 20–25 seconds, adding 10–15 seconds for each following infusion. Good Thai Nguyen tea holds 4 to 6 infusions. Boiling water at 100 °C ruins it — the single most common mistake, and almost everyone makes it.

We pour several grades side by side in the same session — Tra Bac, Moc Cau, Non Tom, Tra Dinh — so you taste for yourself how the astringency, the sweet finish and the young-rice aroma differ between them. It is the fastest way to learn, faster than reading ten articles.

A zisha clay teapot and six cups on a carved wooden tea tray, set for tasting TRAVINA green tea — The tray is set before you sit down: a clay pot, six cups and a fairness pitcher, so everyone tastes the same infusion.

4. Sit down and listen

Visitors in the TRAVINA tea tasting room in Thai Nguyen — The tasting room at the cooperative, open to visitors all year.

The last part is the one we like most and the hardest to package: sitting with tea while the growers talk. Why the bushes are pruned for winter dormancy. Why a year with more mist gives sweeter tea. Why the cooperative chose its six-no standard even though it yields less. No script, no host.

Tea hills and mountains around the TRAVINA growing area in Thai Nguyen — The growing area sits between the Tam Dao range and Nui Coc lake.

Three suggested tea tour itineraries

Half day, 3 to 4 hours

Arrive at Site 1, welcome tea and an introduction to the region; picking in the garden; the workshop line; brewing and tasting four grades; buying at the garden. Suitable for business travellers with half a morning, and for families with small children.

One day: tea and water

Morning at La Bang: picking, the full workshop, brewing and tasting. Local lunch of hill chicken, stream fish and forest greens. Afternoon at Kem Stream for swimming and a picnic on the rock flats, or trekking the tiers of Cua Tu. Late afternoon tea before departure. This is our most booked itinerary, and it works well for groups of 10 to 30.

Two days, one night: tea, nature and history

Day one: Hanoi to Dai Tu, tea overlooking Nui Coc Lake, then on to La Bang to pick, enter the workshop and fire a small batch yourself. Overnight at a La Bang homestay with a fire and music with the villagers. Day two: trek Cua Tu or swim at Kem Stream, then ATK Dinh Hoa on the way back to Hanoi.

This is the itinerary we recommend to foreign groups, and to importers who want to see the growing area with their own eyes before signing.

Tea tours for tour operators and travel companies

We are looking for travel partners, and we will say plainly what we can and cannot do.

We are a tea producer. We do not run a travel business, we do not operate accommodation, and we do not take commission on hotels we recommend. What we offer a travel partner is the part we are actually good at: a real working tea cooperative that opens its doors, with documentation a serious client can inspect.

If you are an inbound operator bringing foreign guests to Vietnam

A half-day or full-day tea module that slots into a northern Vietnam circuit. We are 1 hour 30 minutes from Noi Bai airport, so it works as a first-day or last-day stop.
Hands-on activity, not a demonstration: guests pick, watch the firing, brew and taste.
An English-speaking guide, arranged if you tell us in advance.
Groups up to 45 by coach at Site 1; smaller vehicles for La Bang.
Tea available to buy at the garden at listed prices, which travellers reliably want after picking it themselves.

If you are a Vietnamese travel company hosting foreign guests

We can host your groups on a fixed schedule through the picking season and coordinate around your itinerary.
We book local meals and accommodation for you and quote them in advance, at cost, without taking a cut.
We connect local vehicles and local guides for groups of 15 or more.
Terms for regular group programmes are agreed directly. Call us and we will talk numbers rather than publish them here.

If you are an importer or a retail buyer

The same visit doubles as a supplier audit. You see the gardens, the households, the workshop, the laboratory documentation and the certification originals. For a serious buyer, transparency persuades faster than any brochure.

Partnerships: +84 855 318 678 (Zalo / WhatsApp) · admin.travina@gmail.com

A young woman standing among the tea rows under a blue sky in the Thai Nguyen gardens — A visitor in the rows on a clear morning. The gardens are open to visitors all year.

When to come

Season	What it is like
March to April spring crop	The best weeks of the year. After winter the leaf grows slowly, the buds are plump and the aroma is clear. This is when the highest grades are made. Book at least a week ahead.
May to August summer crop	Highest volume, deep green gardens, plenty of picking. Also the best season for the water: Kem Stream and Cua Tu are at their best. Choose this if you want both tea and nature.
September to November autumn crop	Dry, cool, little rain, excellent light for photographs. The most balanced season.
December to February	The bushes are pruned for dormancy. Low yield and bare gardens, so there is no picking. The workshop and the tasting room stay open, and this is the season for flower-scented teas and gift boxes.

Lotus-scented tea is made only during the lotus season, roughly June to August, and in very small quantity. If you want to see the scenting process, say so when you book.

Two hands offering a small cup of clear yellow-green TRAVINA tea on a wooden coaster over a stone tea tray — The first cup is poured for the guest. That part of a visit is not on the price list.

Cost and booking your tea tour

There is no admission charge. Individual visitors and our trade partners walk the gardens, see the workshop and taste for free. You pay only for the tea you take home, at the same listed price as anywhere else, and for meals and accommodation if we arrange them for you.

Large groups, in-depth guiding and small-group tea firing classes are quoted by group size and content. Please ask.

To book, message us on Zalo or WhatsApp at +84 855 318 678 with three things: your date, the number of people, and what you most want to see. We schedule you into an actual picking session, rather than accepting a booking and letting you arrive at an empty garden.

Send us your dates

What to bring

Shoes with grip. The garden rows are earth and become slippery after rain. Cua Tu requires proper footwear on rock.
Light long sleeves. Early mornings at the foot of Tam Dao run 2 to 4 °C cooler than the lowlands.
Hat, sunscreen, insect repellent.
If you plan to swim: a change of clothes, a towel, a waterproof phone pouch.
Tell us in advance if your group includes small children, so we can use a gentler slope near the road.
Tell us your language in advance so we can arrange interpretation.

What you will see about the source

Withering line 2 at the Tam Tra Viet Cooperative tea factory — Withering line 2 at the cooperative workshop.

More detail on the growing area and the workshop: Origin and Factory and Our Clean Tea Journey.

This section is for visitors coming on business: importers, retail chains and distribution partners.

Growing area	40.5 hectares in Dai Tu and La Bang, Thai Nguyen
Members	90 households, each keeping a cultivation record book
Dry tea output	Approximately 120 tonnes per year
Cultivation standard	Six no: no herbicide, no chemical pesticide, no chemical fertiliser, no growth stimulant, no artificial flavouring, no preservative. This is our own production commitment, not an organic certification.
Harvest	100% hand-picked, on every grade, with no mechanical harvesting
Processing	Two facilities: La Bang (ISO 22000:2018) and Dai Tu
Laboratory	Tea Research and Development Centre, NOMAFSI
Certificates	VietGAP no. DVCL-VG-TT-24-19-68 · ISO 22000:2018 no. GOODVN91025.FSMS · Food safety no. 14/2025/UBND-NNMT-TNg

Recognition

Scans of every certificate and licence we hold are published on our certificates page.

Food safety certificate issued to Tam Tra Viet Cooperative by Dai Tu district. It records the cooperative address as Bau Chau hamlet, Luc Ba commune, the name in use before the 2025 merger; the same site is now Go Lon, Dai Tu.

Top 10 Vietnamese Beverage Brands 2025, Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA), 28 December 2025
High-Quality Product and Service 2024, VATAP, decision 68/VPHH, 29 November 2024
Second Prize, Golden Hands Tea Processing 2025, team No. 08 of La Bang commune; decision 1338/QD-SNNMT of 20 December 2025, Thai Nguyen Department of Agriculture and Environment
Encouragement Prize, La Bang Tea Culture Space — awarded at the same festival, “Thai Nguyen — Fragrance of Famous Tea”, 20 December 2025

Frequently asked

Is there an entrance fee?

No. Walking the gardens, seeing the workshop and tasting are free for individual visitors and trade partners. You pay for tea you buy and for meals or accommodation we arrange on your behalf. Large groups and in-depth firing classes are quoted separately.

How far is it from the airport?

About 1 hour 30 minutes by road from Noi Bai International Airport, and about 2 hours from central Hanoi. A 45-seat coach can reach Site 1.

How far ahead should we book?

One to three days for a small group. At least a week during the March to April spring crop, which is the busiest and the best.

Can guests really pick and fire the tea themselves?

Yes. Picking is part of every visit. Firing a small batch yourself is arranged for groups who ask in advance, because it needs a machine and a supervisor set aside for you.

Is an English-speaking guide available?

Yes, if you tell us when booking so we can arrange the interpreter. We ask for the language in advance rather than promising it on arrival.

Can this be combined with other sites?

Yes. Nui Coc Lake, Kem Stream, Cua Tu waterfalls, ATK Dinh Hoa and the Tan Cuong tea region are all within an easy radius. The two-day Dai Tu to La Bang to Dinh Hoa route is the one we recommend.

Do you handle accommodation?

We do not operate accommodation. We recommend places that fit your budget and book them for you without taking commission. For large groups or international guests, hotels in Thai Nguyen city, 30 to 40 minutes away, are the safer choice.

Buyers and visitors who have already made the trip

The gardens are not an idea we are trying out on you. Importers, distributors and private visitors have been coming to Dai Tu and La Bang for years: they taste at the table with us first, then walk the rows the leaf came from. Both photographs below are published with the agreement of the guests in them.

International buyers tasting TRAVINA tea with the founder at the cooperative — Tasting with visiting buyers at the cooperative table. The same grades, brewed the same way, in the place they are made.

International visitors walking the TRAVINA tea gardens in Thai Nguyen — Walking the rows with visitors. The path between the plots is where most of the real questions get asked.

Meet us at the Thai Nguyen tea festival

Thai Nguyen holds a provincial tea festival every December. TRAVINA takes a stand there with the full range on the table — Moc Cau, bud tea, our 6 No clean tea, Nui Coc black tea, Tam Dao oolong, West Lake lotus tea and the An Khang gift boxes — and it is the easiest place to taste several grades side by side in one afternoon. If your trip to Viet Nam falls in December, tell us and we will send the dates.

The TRAVINA stand at the Thai Nguyen tea festival, December 2025 — Our stand at the Thai Nguyen tea festival, December 2025. Every grade we make, open for tasting.

Visitors inside the TRAVINA stand at the Thai Nguyen tea festival, with the tasting tables and product shelves — Inside the stand at the Thai Nguyen tea festival. The tasting tables at the front are where most conversations start.

The TRAVINA product table at the Thai Nguyen tea festival, with Moc Cau, bud tea and gift sets on display — The product table: Moc Cau, bud tea, lotus tea and the gift boxes, side by side so a buyer can compare grades in one look.

The festival also runs live demonstrations of the old hand method: fresh leaf is rolled by hand in a wide wooden tub, the way tea was made here before rolling machines arrived. It is slow, and it is the clearest way to see why shape and aroma differ from one grade to the next.

A tea maker hand rolling fresh green tea in a wooden tub at the Thai Nguyen tea festival — Hand rolling fresh leaf in a wooden tub — a live demonstration of the method that preceded rolling machines.

TRAVINA at the National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers Union

In June 2026 Thai Nguyen province brought a tea culture space to the National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers Union, held at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi. TRAVINA served tea there. The space is a shared provincial stand rather than a single brand: several Thai Nguyen cooperatives show their tea side by side, and we are one of them.

TRAVINA serving tea in the Thai Nguyen tea culture space at the National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers Union, Hanoi 2026 — Serving tea at the Thai Nguyen tea culture space, National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers Union, Hanoi, June 2026.

Thai Nguyen tea brands on display at the National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers Union, Hanoi 2026 — The shared Thai Nguyen stand. Cooperatives of the province display their tea together; TRAVINA is one of the producers represented.

Compressed ancient tea cake in the Thai Nguyen tea culture space, Hanoi 2026 — A compressed cake pressed from old-tree leaf, shown in the same space. Thai Nguyen tea is not only loose leaf.

Do Huu Thuan, founder of TRAVINA, at the National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers Union 2026 — Do Huu Thuan, founder of TRAVINA, at the congress in Hanoi.

Groups in the workshop at our second site

Visiting groups are received at the second site in Dong Khuan, La Bang, where the processing workshop stands. A visit follows the leaf rather than a script: it comes in from the gardens in the morning, goes onto the withering troughs, is checked by hand, and is then fired. Members of the cooperative carry on working alongside the group instead of performing for it.

Fresh tea leaf on the withering trough at TRAVINA facility 2 in La Bang — Fresh leaf spread on the withering trough at the second site, the first stop of a workshop visit.

Member households checking fresh leaf quality at TRAVINA facility 2 — Checking the leaf by hand. Bud, one bud and two leaves, stalk length: this is where the grade is decided.

Pan firing machines in the processing area of TRAVINA facility 2 — The pan firing machines in the processing area of the second site.

TRAVINA members sorting fresh tea leaf at facility 2 — Members of the cooperative sorting the leaf together with the visiting group.

The TRAVINA founder brewing tea for visitors at the cooperative office — The visit ends at the cooperative office, tasting the grades brewed by the founder.

Ask about festival dates See what we bring

Come and see

You are welcome here whether you come out of curiosity or to choose a supplier. We treat both the same way: out to the gardens, through the process, taste every grade, and every quality document on the table.

Want to bring the tea home with you? See our Tea Boxes and Gift Sets — boxed and packed the same way you will see it done here at the cooperative.

Tam Tra Viet Cooperative — TRAVINA
Site 1: Go Lon hamlet, Dai Tu commune, Thai Nguyen
Site 2: Dong Khuan hamlet, La Bang commune, Thai Nguyen
Phone / Zalo / WhatsApp: +84 855 318 678
Email: admin.travina@gmail.com
Open 08:00 to 18:00, seven days a week, including public holidays