Nuage Sauvage, organic Vietnamese tea right in the heart of Paris

Author: on the occasion of a 100% Vietnamese tea salon: Nuage Sauvage opening in Paris thanks to a lot of help on Ulule, I’d like to introduce you to Vân, the owner of a small, charming tea shop that’s very Vietnamese.

Hello Vân, can you introduce yourself? How did the idea for Nuage Sauvage come to you?

I’m Vân, a Vietnamese person who has lived in Paris for 12 years. I used to work in an office, but like Diệu Anh, I wanted freedom and to discover myself, so I quit my job and started up two years ago, creating a company with the aim of reconnecting with my roots and wanting to create my own values. Before quitting, I took a photography course at Gobelins, and then went back to Vietnam to look for photo subjects. By chance, I saw that in Vietnam, in the northern mountains of Hà Giang, there are ancient Shan Tuyết tea trees, some of which are deep in the forest, up to 5-10 meters tall, and hundreds of years old. I was really surprised by this beauty, because at the time, like most people, I thought tea plants were bushes, low to the waist, not tall trees like that. It turned out I didn’t know at the time that tea plants grown today are monoculture crops, bred to be short for easier harvesting. The original tea plant is a tree, which if not pruned, can grow very tall. Its scientific name is Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, native to the mountainous region of Southeast Asia: China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Later, with the development of the tea industry, people cross-bred many different tea varieties to adapt to different climates and soils, and they are grown as monocultures.

In the world, only on the borders of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and China do such wild tea forests still exist. It’s truly a natural and cultural treasure that needs to be preserved.

So Wild Cloud it’s also my passion to accompany this treasure.

I could also say it’s a matter of national spirit, because I want Vietnamese tea to have a place in world tea culture. As a country with delicious, rare teas and a thousand-year-old tea-drinking culture, this isn’t well known. When we think of grand cru teas, we often think of Japanese and Chinese teas, or Darjeeling from India. A few years ago, when you went into independent tea houses in Paris, Vietnamese tea wasn’t on the shelves. That’s a shame, because most people who visit Vietnam are often offered green tea that’s been steeped too long, so it’s very bitter. According to Vietnamese popular culture, our grandparents and parents like to drink green tea brewed very strong and very bitter. This has made the world mistakenly think Vietnamese tea isn’t good. But in reality, in Vietnam, behind the popular tea culture, there is also the refined Vietnamese Court Tea with the philosophy of Trà Nô, initiated by Lord Tĩnh Vương Trịnh Sâm (1767-1782). A philosophy that is simple yet profound. From the highest position, above all people, the Lord discovered a “truth” that sounds very rustic: To appreciate the deliciousness of tea, become a servant to the tea! And the Trà Nô philosophy was born. Unlike the title “Maître de thé” in Japanese and Chinese tea culture, in Vietnam, tea is the master in the ceremony, elevating nature and all things above humans.

With all that, driven by pride, I want Nuage Sauvage to become a lasting brand of Vietnamese tea in Europe, to introduce Vietnamese tea culture, and the delicious and rare teas of Vietnam that the world hasn’t heard of.

What’s the difference between drinking tea Vietnamese style and French style?

That’s a great question, Diệu Anh, because it’s interesting to see that tea is a drink that, as it passes through each culture, is used, brewed, and enjoyed differently.

In Vietnam, tea is present on every street corner. And in Vietnam, the majority only drink green tea, very strong. On busy commercial streets, every few meters, you can stop and buy a glass of iced tea sold at sidewalk stalls, or if you go eat at sidewalk food stalls, most people order iced tea as a drink. At home, the older generation still brews a pot of strong green tea to drink all day, but Vietnamese youth have dropped that habit. They prefer imported, trendy drinks. Unfortunately, convenient Lipton tea bags, with various added flavors, are preferred over traditional green tea.

But in recent years, a few small groups of young people are trying to rediscover values that are fading away. Traditional tea boutiques in Hanoi are gradually appearing, spaces that recreate the past, where in quiet contemplation, you brew a pot of hot tea and have heart-to-heart talks around small tea tables, like Quán Thưởng Trà , literally at Phòng 301, apartment block no. 2 Tông Đản, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi, Vietnam; Hien Minh Tea House, No. 13 Phố Ngô Tất Tố, Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam; Tâm Trà Quán (51 ngõ Phan Chu Trinh – Hoàn Kiếm)

In France, although street tea culture isn’t everywhere like in Hanoi, I notice there are more independent tea boutiques than in Vietnam, hidden in Paris and other French cities. Each boutique has hundreds of different teas from around the world: Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai, Laotian, and many blends with flowers, herbs, and fruits, very rich in flavors, but Vietnamese tea is almost absent. That’s what drove me to make sure Vietnamese tea gets coverage in Paris and Europe.

How is the tea you sell in France different from that in Vietnam?

It’s no different; it’s tea produced in Vietnam, from human-scale tea cooperatives. I select and taste along with my producers, and we control quality together. I stay loyal only to my three suppliers in the northern mountainous regions of Vietnam: Hà Giang and Lào Cai, where the trees still shelter… rare ancient tea trees, free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. There, Van fully trusts the purity and flavor of every tea leaf. And the tea culture is more diverse, producing the most types of tea: white tea, green tea, black tea, fermented Pu-erh tea, yellow tea, etc.  Staying true to this tea source, Van believes it is the best way to contribute to sustainable regional economic development (agroforestry culture). 

And if we expand the sourcing area, tea in Vietnam is grown and processed from the northern mountains to the plains: Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Ba Vi, mainly producing green tea,  and the highlands of Lam Dong, Da Lat, mostly produce oolong tea. Van hopes these areas will shift to organic farming, because most of the tea-growing area in Vietnam is currently dedicated to exporting tea to the Middle East and to Lipton. Monoculture farming to increase yields uses a lot of chemicals and chemical fertilizers. Currently, Vietnam is the world’s fifth largest tea exporter, with an output of 137,000 tons in 2020. And from that output, Van selects a few hundred kilos of the best, cleanest tea from the northern mountains of Ha Giang, at altitudes from 1000m to 2400m.

For someone who has never tried Vietnamese tea, what kind would you recommend?

I think they should try jasmine tea and lotus tea. These are two types of scented tea, characteristic of Vietnam, with a very sophisticated scenting technique that creates a drink rich in tea flavor and warmly fragrant with fresh flowers. Completely different from floral teas that use flavorings. It’s truly an art.  Especially lotus tea, with a flower that is a symbol of Vietnam. It carries the spirit of the nation; it’s a flower that grows from murky mud, yet its fragrance and color are brilliant and refined. From that, we, a people often overwhelmed by war, always remind ourselves to rise up and cultivate our souls and minds to be truly pure and fragrant. 

The scent of lotus flowers is intense, warm, helping to relieve stress and headaches. To scent 1kg of lotus tea, you need 1000 lotus flowers, and the technique of scenting with lotus stamens is very delicate. Drinking this tea, you will truly discover the philosophical beauty of Vietnam, the essence of Vietnamese culinary and beverage culture. 

What unique products does Nuage Sauvage sell? 

Nuage Sauvage selects all styles of tea: white, green, yellow, oolong, black, fermented Pu-erh, and Van creates blends with flowers, spices, and leaves from Vietnam. Each one has its own uniqueness, but we have to mention a very rare white tea called Dragon Scale, from the very rare ancient tea species Camellia taliensis, with purple buds and leaves. It is because of this leaf color that it has a special aroma of roses and ripe lychee. 

When you visit the Nuage Sauvage tea room, how is the tea experience different from other tea salons in Paris? 

Nuage Sauvage is located in the heart of Boutique Trà art ở 34b rue bichat 75010 Paris, behind a charming little canal in Paris, Quai Jemmapes. The biggest difference is that Van only features and sells Vietnamese tea, and there’s a wall dedicated to a Gallery of works by young Vietnamese artists. This is a space introducing Vietnamese tea and art. A small bookshelf with novels and comic books by Vietnamese writers and painters is also there so you can sit and read while sipping tea.  That’s why Van calls it tea art.

T-R-À A-R-T, a wordplay and beyond. Trà /ʨa̤/ pronounced Tcha, meaning “tea” in Vietnamese, is the mirror of Art. In our culture, art is found in tea and tea is found in life, a form of art.