Ancient tea-making machine ranked the oldest machine in Indochina
.NGỌC HIẾU
Arriving in Cầu Đất, tourists not only drop themselves into the vast and romantic space of the tea fields which are green all the year round, but also visit the tea-making machines ranked the oldest machines in Indochina .
Early morning in the cold land with mist covered the mountain peak, the ancient shan tea area at the altitude of 1,650m above sea level since the last century has been steadily harvested and processed by the 100-year-old machines to generate products with the essence of heaven and earth of the western highlands. The first shan tea stumps existing in this land were planted by the French owner named Monsieur Lortholary in the early twentieth century. The French right from the discovery of the ideal land of Cầu Đất wanted to turn this place into a plantation specializing in planting and producing black tea to export to France for consumption. At that time, black tea was a drink almost exclusively served the aristocracy in Europe.The poor but strong farmers along the central provinces were immediately recruited to work as tea workers. Not long after that, the area of tea was raised to approximately 600ha, the French established Cầu Đất Tea Department with the then most modern equipment brought from their country to serve production. Mr. Trương Văn Út, now over 90 years old, recalled that when the Cầu Đất Tea Department was established, the number of tea workers reached nearly 1,000 people. Their daily work started very early when the sound of gong repeatedly resounded and ended when it was completely dark. The hard work under the rule of the French owners became harsher and harsher. After 1960, the wealthy Chinese owners bought Cầu Đất Tea Department to continue maintaining production. After that, the business continued to face many difficulties, the products were mainly imported to China and the market was difficult, tea could not be sold, so these owners "gave up and left behind their asset". After 1975, thousands of w orkers faced unemployment. The miserable tea-makers started earning their living from other jobs. Then the old, shan tea stumps were gradually replaced by new varieties of tea for higher yields. Today, the ancient tea hill is only about 7ha left under the management and exploitation of Cầu Đất Tea Joint Stock Company. Mr. Nguyễn Đức Máy, a staff of this company, said that these shan tea stumps are about 100 years old, but still harvested regularly throughout the year despite their low productivity. The owning unit decided to maintain the whole area of ancient tea to witness the history of tea industry No. 1 in the Central Highlands. Here, almost all year round in the early morning, ancient tea hill is covered with white colour. The tree has a maximum height of approximately 2m, the diameter of the largest stump is less than 40cm but covered with moss from root to top. Tree stumps, leaves and branches each emerge their old stilted mounds exposed to the sun and wind for hundreds of years.What even surprised people more is that the tea-rolling machines were operated by French bosses from 1927 until now, i.e., 92 years old, experiencing many events but never stopped. Today, these ancient machines continue to carry their historical mission. All the machines are in good working condition. Even the managing unit has set up a "living museum" for the machines and they are certified by the Vietnam Book of Records. Mr. Máy added, currently the unit still owns 6 tea-rolling machines and 1 clutch tea-screening machine was manufactured and put into use since the French established Cầu Đất Tea Department (1927). These tea rolling machines were branded Marshalls, the French-based company that produced it and stopped operation in 1975. Cầu Đất tea factory was once built by a French owner with a height of 4 floors with iron frame and wooden planks. Later, a fire occurred in the factory, causing the top two floors to be damaged. In order not to spend money on repair work, but to take advantage of a large amount of iron and steel for sale, the top two floors were removed. The state of the plant after the fire is still intact until today. This area is used as a "museum" and is also where Cầu Đất tea production is being manufactured. The Cầu Đất tea making machines from 1927 to the present time are being widely displayed by the managing units for tourists to visit and admire the most "ancient" tea making machines in Indochina.We say goodbye to the rolling machines buzzing noisily and the old shan tea when the sun has leaned down the mountain. The sunlight at the end of the day passed through the tea beds on the Cầu Đất plateau, so beautiful and mesmerizing. It is a tea region that has gone into the myth of the people whose generations have associated with ancient machines, tea plants and roots from the French colonial period to the present day.
