Laos celebrated its coffee and tea heritage on, marking the opening of the International Coffee & Tea Day 2026 (ICTD 2026) in Vientiane.
The celebration took shape through a three-day event run 22 to 24 May under the theme “Two Brews, One Culture,” organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in partnership with France and the European Union (EU). Nearly 50 Lao brands filled 40 exhibition booths at Parkson Mall, alongside workshops, traditional tea ceremonies, and panel discussions on climate resilience and market access.
Nyot Ou tea from Phongsaly province claimed a gold medal at an international tea competition in China in 2025, while Lao coffee exports surpassed 43,000 tons shipped to 23 countries last year, generating over USD 27 million, a 19 percent increase from 2024.
Building on that momentum, the event hosted the Lao Tea Excellence Awards 2026, the first-ever national tea competition in the country.
Independent juries, including recognized tea masters from France and Germany, evaluated entries through a blind tasting process across four categories. Phongsaly took the White tea title, Xayabouly claimed Green tea, Champasak won Black tea, and Xieng Khouang secured the Puerh tea award. All winning products will represent Lao tea at the Paris Tea Festival in France in June 2026.
On the coffee front, the 6th Lao Green Coffee Competition, held in April, drew 111 samples from 26 producers, assessed by 24 experts from nine countries against internationally recognized standards. The Phoumakor Farmer-Nongluang producers’ group from Champasak province stood out, claiming three awards across five categories, including a special prize of a coffee roasting machine. Award-winning coffees also earned a platform at the World of Coffee trade show in Bangkok earlier this month.
Agriculture and Environment Minister Linkham Douangsavanh said both sectors had evolved from cultural staples into strategic national export commodities, with their development central to the government’s vision to 2030 for sustainable and inclusive agricultural growth.
French Ambassador Bénédicte Deschamps described the export figures as the fruit of more than thirty years of collaboration between producers, researchers, and development partners, expressing confidence in Lao coffee and tea’s growing international standing.
EU Ambassador Mark Gallagher pointed to rising European demand for authentic and sustainably sourced products as a real opportunity for Lao exporters, reaffirming the bloc’s commitment through the ongoing Green CUP project.
Behind all of it, officials stressed, stand more than 310,000 farming families across Laos whose livelihoods depend on the two sectors.
