High Class Tea Drinkers of Chiang Mai and Thailand, Know of Any Tea Houses, Tea Tastings?

[OldChinaHam]

What are your favorite teas that are available in Thailand?

Please provide a photograph or image of the tea as it looks before infusion.

Every tea has a different appearance as it comes out of its packaging, so what does yours look like?

(Sorry you cannot provide fragrance here, too!)

Next, please keep us posted of any Tea Exhibitions, any good High Quality tea houses in Thailand serving Asian teas, or Indian teas, or other very good quality teas. (We are NOT talking about the UK type "so called" tea with milk. Yuck!)

And what kind of music do you like to listen to while drinking tea?

Do you sit on a tatami drinking out of fine ceramic pots and cups?

How do you prepare your tea?

You know, the same old same old things that most tea drinkers like to talk about.

And now I am thinking:

WE could truly use some good confessions from a few worthy TVF tea drinkers here.

Edited July 22, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[thailauren]

Here are some teas i purchased in Sri Lanka.Very refreshing.

Just pour in hot water and if you want only a teaspoon of sugar.

Its really great.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[harrry]

The one thing this forum does show is the amazing ignorance of some topic starters on a Thai Expat forum about Thailand. Have you ever been here?

[OldChinaHam]

The one thing this forum does show is the amazing ignorance of some topic starters on a Thai Expat forum about Thailand. Have you ever been here?

Obviously, some might think not.

But, sorry, I do not understand your reasoning,

Please amplify a bit, or flesh out, and expand upon your statement.

Thank you.

(But, please, ONLY as it relates to tea drinking.)

Edited July 22, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[OldChinaHam]

These days, around the world, in the UK, EU, North and South America, and in Thailand too, there is an ever growing following who worship the good teas available to anyone with just a few dollars to spend.

You might be surprised how many, even some of your friends, in Thailand have a real passion and love for very high quality teas.

Thailand is located "sort of" near the heart of good tea country(s).

I do not really know how many members are on TVF, but I would bet at least 5% of them are serious tea drinkers.

So that is quite a few.

And many of the rest would like to learn about tea, or enjoy its many remarkable benefits to both body and soul.

I noticed one comment above that seems to imply that the members of TVF could not be interested in Good Teas or tea drinking in the "Asian Way".

Of course, I know this is not true, and this is why I posted this topic here.

I do not have a camera here that I can use to post an image of the tea I am now drinking,

But I will see if I can find some fairly representative images of the types of teas I think we are talking about,

And then post the images when I find them.

Hope this topic will be found interesting to many in Thailand.

We are in Asia, why not enjoy some tea,

While we are here?

Edited July 22, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[OldChinaHam]

Here is an example of one tea popular in Thailand,

Doi Mae Salong Dong Ding Wu Long,

Edited July 22, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[OldChinaHam]

One thought about the price of tea in Thailand,

The price of good tea has been steadily rising for some time,

Some say that the reason tea prices have risen so quickly is that many are not able to discriminate between what are the good quality teas and what is not worth paying much for. They pay too much for their tea, and we see this reflected in the price rises for the good teas we want to buy.

I am not that knowledgeable about the current retail prices for these different quality teas in Thailand,

But I think you can expect to pay over about Baht 400 per 100 grams for a fairly good quality tea like this WuLong, maybe more I have not priced what is pictured above.

The tea however is very dense and you do not need much to prepare a small pot of tea.

Baht 400 or 500 for 100 grams might seem like a lot,

But it really is not.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Shouldn't the topic title read 'Drinkers of high class tea in Chiang Mai'.

Not many high class expats found here. I was confused by the title.

Really OCH, I though your grasp of English was better than that.

Edited July 22, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[OldChinaHam]

Shouldn't the topic title read 'Drinkers of high class tea in Chiang Mai'.

Not many high class expats found here. I was confused by the title.

Really OCH, I though your grasp of English was better than that.

Sorry, but my English is not the topic.

[FritsSikkink]

This subject is not my cup of tea, but it seems the OP doesn't need any other posters to fill a few pages.

[OldChinaHam]

This subject is not my cup of tea, but it seems the OP doesn't need any other posters to fill a few pages.

Actually, I really could not while maintaining any decent sort of quality control over my product.

And this is why I hope that we can have maybe 20 or so tea lovers contribute here.

Maybe more.

This actually is a very interesting topic of interest to those in Thailand, for commercial reasons, as well as for maximizing your enjoyment of Thailand.

[Tywais]

A post quoting an article without supplying credit to such and not within fair use laws has been removed. If you are going to copy/paste an article then supply a link to the source and use only the first 2 or 3 sentences for copyright fair use.

[evadgib]

I saw an article a year or so ago about a Brit farmer who purchased land in South America to grow cocoa which he sells as chocolate in his native Devon (he has a milk farm in UK). Given our proximity to India/China (where they 'grow it properly') why can't a Brit grow Tea here for the expat/tourist market, which, to be frank, isn't that well catered for <tea wise>as yet?

Edited July 22, 2013 by evadgib

[OldChinaHam]

There is a too short blurb which describes in a very abbreviated way some of the history of tea in Thailand, which may be of some interest to people interested in tea.

The blurb is published on a tea supplier's site, but is just for general informational purposes, not really for promotion of the company.

The link to the page is this: http://highland-green.blogspot.com/2006/11/tea-history-of-thailand.html

There are probably much better sources of general information about the history of tea in Thailand,

But even Wikipedia basically has relatively little,

Something which seems surprising considering that quite a bit of tea is grown and exported from Thailand, even exported to tea growing ares such as Taiwan.

I will not copy any of the very short blurb here, but if you have an interest, you might read it.

BETTER STILL would be for someone to find and post a much more informative article about the high quality teas that are grown in the North of Thailand.

They seem to be becoming ever more significant and of high value.

[OldChinaHam]

I saw an article a year or so ago about a Brit farmer who purchased land in South America to grow cocoa which he sells as chocolate in his native Devon (he has a milk farm in UK). Given our proximity to India/China (where they 'grow it properly') why can't a Brit grow Tea here for the expat/tourist market, which, to be frank, isn't that well catered for <tea wise>as yet?

Actually, there are those in Chiang Mai, expats, who are doing this.

Not I, but you can find them if you are interested.

[OldChinaHam]

So far, this very worthy Topic does not seem to be proceeding as I had originally dearly hoped it would.

For one thing, so far, I have not been able to encourage or enlist the contributing support of fellow members who also love very high quality tea as much as I.

This is a crying shame because I do not see many other Topics on TVF which are devoted to Tea, the high quality Thai Tea of the mountains in the North of Thailand,

And also the very high quality Teas which are imported and sold to Thai and Farang all over Thailand.

Please get involved here if you are a tea drinker.

We have of course already had 'Confessions of an Opium Eater' written by one of TV's former members, De Quincey.

Since his full comment has already been posted elsewhere, I will just copy the first short "blurb", or ONLY two or three SENTENCES, to wet your whistle about Asian Tea.

The Two, Tea and De Quincey do not go hand in hand except that he had a passion for something Asian while we have a passion for something Asian which should be appreciated and enjoyed worldwide.

This is already in the public commons, and you can find it on the Project Gute, which ought to be one of your favorite websites.

De Quincey's good comment begins thusly, and I am sure that much that was written can easily apply to Tea at one or another time in its history, and even today. Because you know, Tea was also smuggled out of China, being illegal to be exported, by order of the Emperor of China, if I am not mistaken. There is no doubt in my mind that Tea came from China to Thailand very early, although some say Tea was indigenous to Thailand and did not need to be imported here. Now back to our member De Quincey's comment:

"I here present you, courteous reader, with the record of a remarkable period in my life: according to my application of it, I trust that it will prove not merely an interesting record, but in a considerable degree useful and instructive. In that hope it is that I have drawn it up; and that must be my apology for breaking through that delicate and honourable reserve which, for the most part, restrains us from the public exposure of our own errors and infirmities. Nothing, indeed, is more revolting to English feelings than the spectacle of a human being obtruding on our notice his moral ulcers or scars, and tearing away that “decent drapery” which time or indulgence to human frailty may have drawn over them; accordingly, the greater part of our confessions (that is, spontaneous and extra-judicial confessions) proceed from demireps, adventurers, or swindlers: and for any such acts of gratuitous self-humiliation from those who can be supposed in sympathy with the decent and self-respecting part of society, we must look to French literature, or to that part of the German which is tainted with the spurious and defective sensibility of the French. All this I feel so forcibly, and so nervously am I alive to reproach of this tendency, that I have for many months hesitated about the propriety of allowing this or any part of my narrative to come before the public eye until after my death (when, for many reasons, the whole will be published); and it is not without an anxious review of the reasons for and against this step that I have at last concluded on taking it."

So if other members here have an abiding interest in Tea, especially high quality Tea, and they drink it in Thailand, or make ice Tea with it, or just enjoy smelling its aroma while it sits in the can, or they on the can, would they please comment here?

Thank You,

OCHam

And, at this very moment looking at the dire dearth of aromatic comments so far,

I am

Humbly to express

A penitential loneliness

For some of my misdeeds imagined

By members here

Causing them to not contribute

To this penultimate Topic

Which has already surely

Been followed by one more

As usual.

So more with the Tea comments here, please,

Fellow members and readers.

If you have a tea related video, yes please post it,

Please keep it confined to refined Tea Topics

Such as one I found which I will post soon,

And deals with a very small Mom and Pop Tea "Plantation"

Up in the hills around Chiang Rai.

Thank you.

[ToddWeston]

I am a tea drinker and very selective, there are only two brands I drink.

The hi-so tea you speak of doesn't do anything for me, if I want peppermint or cinnamon flavour l'll buy a stick of gum. I've tried many and still prefer my cuppa with milk, don't worry I won't try to convert you.

[jpeg]

I saw an article a year or so ago about a Brit farmer who purchased land in South America to grow cocoa which he sells as chocolate in his native Devon (he has a milk farm in UK). Given our proximity to India/China (where they 'grow it properly') why can't a Brit grow Tea here for the expat/tourist market, which, to be frank, isn't that well catered for <tea wise>as yet?

Even in India you will always be served the ubiquitous Liptons. and as for China, you can get some passable Hom Mali, but it's usually past it's sell by, so the Thai variety's better. I drank Lapsang Suchong in the UK, but you won't find it here. My theory is that China and India export all they're teas to Europe.

I have to fork out ridiculously high prices for the only drinkable Dilmha varieties, and then they're teabags. Local Villa has started selling little tins of loose Thai flavoured teas but again, at much much more than you can buy the same products at Yawurat market in Chiang mai.

As to the OP, if you're based in CM, you really should get out more.

[OldChinaHam]

I am a tea drinker and very selective, there are only two brands I drink.

The hi-so tea you speak of doesn't do anything for me, if I want peppermint or cinnamon flavour l'll buy a stick of gum. I've tried many and still prefer my cuppa with milk, don't worry I won't try to convert you.

Nor I you, today.

Except, have you tried a tall glass of Iced Tea made with very good quality WuLong available in Thailand?

This one has many natural tastes and nuances to the tea which is very refreshing in the heat.

Of course you might also want to try some of these teas that have subtle flavorings added, like mango or something,

Which is just the thing to write home about to England.

Not enough can be said, though, for the cuppa, and it even beats the comfort foods from home to make the drinker feel happy.

[trainman34014]

I buy my Twinings Earl Grey when i travel because i like it best and it's way too expensive in Thailand. For regular 'Breakfast Tea' i get boxes of bags sent over from Blighty in my regular monthly parcels. Liptons tea is not worth cupboard space.

[jpeg]

I buy my Twinings Earl Grey when i travel because i like it best and it's way too expensive in Thailand. For regular 'Breakfast Tea' i get boxes of bags sent over from Blighty in my regular monthly parcels. Liptons tea is not worth cupboard space.

Ugh, Twinings. I never even bought that in the UK. They don't package it properly (no foil) and so all the Bergamot's gone in a few days. And buying it here at these prices, forget it.

[OldChinaHam]

I buy my Twinings Earl Grey when i travel because i like it best and it's way too expensive in Thailand. For regular 'Breakfast Tea' i get boxes of bags sent over from Blighty in my regular monthly parcels. Liptons tea is not worth cupboard space.

Just could not help wondering though:

Is that not sort of akin to carrying your coals to Newcastle?

What kind of tea is in the bags that you are not able to either duplicate the flavor here, or probably upgrade to something better at the same or less cost, and no airfreight charges either?

I am referring to your 'Breakfast Tea'.

Lipton we agree on.

I see that the Twinings has many options, and I used to drink the Earl Grey sometimes, which is sold many places I have been in Asia.

But that was really only when I was driving late at night on the highway and needed something.

Is it really better than the Lipton "yellow label" that I have also seen everywhere in Asia, I do not know.

[FritsSikkink]

You might be surprised how many, even some of your friends, in Thailand have a real passion and love for very high quality teas.

Thailand is located "sort of" near the heart of good tea country(s).

I do not really know how many members are on TVF, but I would bet at least 5% of them are serious tea drinkers.

So that is quite a few.

Maybe your assumptions were far away from reality.

[OldChinaHam]

Patience is a virtue.

[cmsally]

Years ago you could get a tea in Mae Salong called Xing Xing.

it came packed in very simple bags with hand printed labels. It was really good. Unfortunately haven't had time to go there for a long time.

I've had lots of good teas and some not so good but I'm hopeless at recording the names and where I get them.

Sea Luck jasmine tea (long yellow and white packet is not bad)

Love good Assam tea but not really available here.

Making your own Indian tea with orange pekoe and spices is fun (Red Label tea works).

A big fan of mulberry tea too.

[Sam789]

I have a box of tea bags which are exported from haryana. Haryana is known as the place of heaven. Taste damn awesome. I think they have mixed many ingredient in that tea bags.

[OldChinaHam]

Sometimes you might get confused by the different weights/measures used to measure and sell tea.
Here is an interesting conversion explanation I found which might be helpful so that you can compare pricing from various suppliers you contact:

When we buy tea we usually refer to the amount/weight using grams, ounces, or pound. Today let me introduce two more units of weight to you, jin and liang.

In China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, as well as some other south eastern Asian countries, weight is usually measured in jin (斤) or liang (两). The tea trade also uses these units. However, a jin in China is different from a jin in Taiwan. A jin in Taiwan is slightly different from a jin in Hong Kong. These differences are the result of the complicated history of these three places. Prices for tea are usually shown as $$ per jin in these places. Let me explain how these units relate to grams, ounces, and pound.

In China,

1 jin = 10 liang = 500 grams = 1.10 pound

1 liang = 50 grams = 1.76 ounce

1 kg = 2 jin

In Taiwan,

1 jin = 16 liang = 600 grams = 1.32 pound

1 liang = 37.5 grams = 1.32 ounce

1 kg = 1.66666666....... jin

In Hong Kong,

1 jin = 1/100 of a picul (擔 )

1 jin = 16 liang = ~605 grams = ~1.33 pound

1 liang = ~37.81 grams = ~1.33 ounce

1 kg = ~1.653467 jin

When you visit these places, they all just call their unit the jin. But you need to be aware that each jin is different.

==========

Found the above here if you want to read more about tea and weights,

http://derentea.blogspot.com/2011/10/jin-and-liang.html

[OldChinaHam]

Is anybody here able to tell me where I can buy very good quality green and WuLong tea in Chiang Mai from WHOLESALer?

I Need to buy some this coming week.

I prefer to buy from a Chiang Mai wholesaler or reputable tea merchant in the area who will give me a good price, for good quality, and will not try to cheat me.

I know I could try to find a larger merchant in the Bangkok area, or have a tea company in Taipei try to send me some through the mail, good luck on that, but it would be so nice to find a good shop in Chiang Mai so I could buy on an ongoing repeat basis.

You could PM me,

But probably it would be better to post the information here so that

OTHERS could benefit.

Thank you very much, and also please feel free to give this request for seller info to reputable tea merchants who could PM me.

I am not sure what the rules and regs are here on TV about asking for retailer info.

But if not kosher, then pls PM.

THANK YOU!

Please don't leave me hangin without the tea, if you can avoid doing so.

[butterisbetter]

At the airport, there is a store that sells some great teas from Doi Mae Salong. They are eager to let you taste their wares. This store is actually an outlet for one of the biggest tea growers in Mae Salong. They also own Mae Salong Villa which is a hotel.

[OldChinaHam]

At the airport, there is a store that sells some great teas from Doi Mae Salong. They are eager to let you taste their wares. This store is actually an outlet for one of the biggest tea growers in Mae Salong. They also own Mae Salong Villa which is a hotel.

===Is there anyway someone could post the name and telephone number?===

I would like to try calling before I go.

Also, 'how great it is' that it is at the airport because you can just call an airport taxi for about 120 Baht where ever you start from in Chiang Mai city!!!

Then spend a few minutes or hours walking around the vicinity of the airport.

After sampling some good tea.

Thank you very much!