Experience the Mountains That Shape Vietnam's Teas

Our Northern Vietnam Tea Expeditions take you beyond tourist routes into mountain regions where tea has shaped communities for centuries. You'll visit ancient tea forests at various altitudes, observe different processing methods, and spend meaningful time with the H'mong, Dao, and Tày families who tend these trees.

These journeys are designed for tea professionals—roasters, shop owners, buyers, and serious enthusiasts—who want deeper understanding of Vietnamese tea culture. You'll gain context that enriches how you think about these teas, whether you're sourcing for your business or developing your personal knowledge.

The experience goes beyond tasting and observation. You'll walk mountain paths to reach remote tea groves, share meals with producing families, and see how landscape, tradition, and economic realities interweave. This immersion creates understanding that reading or brief visits cannot provide.

We've designed these expeditions based on years of relationship-building in Vietnam's northern provinces. Our itineraries focus on depth rather than breadth—spending meaningful time in fewer locations allows for genuine exchange rather than rushed observation.

The journey includes visits to ancient tea forests at different altitudes and in different provinces, giving you understanding of how terroir affects tea character. You'll observe various processing methods from withering to firing, seeing how technique choices shape final flavor profiles. Time with producing families provides context about the social and economic dimensions of tea cultivation in these communities.

Our guides understand both tea and cultural context. They facilitate conversations, translate nuances, and help you ask questions that lead to meaningful answers. They also handle logistics—transportation, accommodation, meals—so you can focus on learning and experiencing rather than managing travel details.

Group sizes remain small, typically four to eight participants. This allows for flexibility, ensures everyone can engage meaningfully with producers, and creates space for individual interests and questions. You'll travel with others who share serious interest in tea, often creating lasting professional connections.

We're transparent about what these expeditions offer and what they don't. This isn't luxury travel—accommodations are comfortable but simple, days can be physically demanding, and mountain conditions sometimes require itinerary adjustments. We want you to have realistic expectations so you can make an informed decision about participation.

If weather or local conditions require significant changes to the planned itinerary, we work with the group to find alternatives that maintain the expedition's educational value. Our goal is meaningful tea education and cultural exchange, and we prioritize that over rigidly following a predetermined schedule.

We provide detailed pre-departure information about physical requirements, what to pack, health considerations, and what to expect culturally. This preparation helps ensure you're ready for the journey both practically and mentally.

If you have questions about whether this expedition would be appropriate for your situation—whether related to fitness levels, dietary requirements, or specific learning goals—we encourage you to ask before committing. We'd rather help you make the right decision than have you invest in an experience that doesn't meet your needs.