Organic Snow Shan Tea: Three New Grades at Goo Farm

Goo Farm Tea Vietnam now supplies organic Snow Shan tea, a green tea made from old, high-mountain Shan tea trees in northern Vietnam. The tea is hand-picked, processed on the day of picking and offered in three grades, Premium, Select and Standard, so that importers, specialty shops and private labels can choose the leaf that fits their price and their cup.

Old Snow Shan trees in the northern mountains

The "Snow" in Snow Shan comes from the fine white down that covers the buds of the Shan tea variety (Camellia sinensis var. assamica), which grows wild and semi-wild on the mountains of northern Vietnam. The trees in our partner garden stand above 1,000 metres, many of them decades or even centuries old, with trunks so tall that pickers climb into the branches with a basket.

The garden is farmed organically: no synthetic fertilisers, no chemical pesticides and no added flavourings. Mist, cool nights and slow growth at altitude give the leaf its thick texture and the natural sweetness that Snow Shan is known for.

Hand-picked and processed the same day

Every grade starts with hand-picking. The pickers take only the bud with one or two young leaves, the part of the shoot that carries the most aroma and the white down.

The fresh leaf goes straight to the workshop, where it is spread on bamboo trays to wither, then fired in rotating drums to stop oxidation and keep the leaf green, rolled into its curled shape and dried.

Three grades of organic Snow Shan tea

The three grades come from the same garden and the same processing. They differ in the plucking standard and in how much sorting the leaf receives.

Organic Snow Shan Premium

The finest pick: a downy silver bud with one young leaf, rolled into tight curls with plenty of white tips. The liquor is a clear golden yellow and the infused leaf opens into whole buds and small leaves.

Organic Snow Shan Select

One bud and two leaves, sorted by hand to remove broken leaf and stalk, for an even appearance in the bag or the tin.

Organic Snow Shan Standard

One bud and two leaves without the extra sorting: a fuller, more robust cup at the most accessible price of the three.

Documents and testing

The garden is farmed to Vietnam's national organic standard (TCVN 11041-6:2018), processing runs under an ISO 22000 food-safety management system, and the growing area holds a registered code for export to the EU. We share the certificates and the growing-area details with buyers when we discuss an order, and we can arrange a pesticide and heavy-metal report from an independent laboratory for each shipment.

Packing, samples and orders

Organic Snow Shan tea is a small-harvest tea, so it is supplied in smaller lots than our standard export grades. We pack it in bulk bags or in private-label retail packs, and we confirm the available volume and lead time for each order.

To compare the grades, contact us and ask for samples of all three. For our regular Snow Shan, see Snow Shan Green Tea, and for every other leaf grade, our tea specifications.