— Mulberry trees

Vangviang Organic Farm grows mulberry trees using strictly organic methods. These traditional methods of farming are being lost in Laos, as they have been lost in much of the world. We are training local villagers to use sustainable, natural methods to produce food and fiber for themselves and for sale. We use natural fertilizers, organic mulch, and native lizards and toads to control insect pests. When the mulberry trees are large enough, they are pruned to a good working height. The resulting trees (see the photo at left) produce clean, high quality leaves that we can use in our silk and tea production. The leaves are hand picked each morning and processed to make tea, or are fed to the silk worms to produce silk.

— Mulberry tea

The production of mulberry tea begins with washing the freshly picked leaves. After washing, the leaves are cut into thin slices and then boiled in water. After another rinse, the leaves are dried over a low heat. The drying leaves are carefully stirred by hand to ensure even heating, and a good finished product. The finished tea is hand-packed into bags of various sizes for sale (see the photo at left).

Mulberry tea is very healthy, with many positive effects for the body. Mulberry leaves contain a number of helpful chemicals, including phytosterols and antioxidants such as beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol. Tests in Japan have shown that these chemicals can reduce the frequency of diabetes and heart disease. Like all green teas, mulberry tea is good for you, and it tastes great. And tea made from organic mulberry trees is the best of all!

We offer our organic mulberry tea for sale here at the farm, and at shops around the world. If you are interested in obtaining some tea for your own use, or in quantities for resale, please contact us. Email is probably the quickest and most reliable method to reach us.

— Mulberry wine

We regularly produce wine from the berries of our mulberry trees. When other fruits are in season and pleantiful we make wine from them as well. When you visit, you can sample our mulberry wine (photo at left) and our other fruit wines, including star fruit, Malaysian apple, and a banana liqueur. We think you will find one or two of them that will suit your taste.