Thai tea

Here you can find teas produced at our tea processing factory in Northern Thailand.

10 products

What is Thai tea?

Thai tea is tea grown in the mountains of Northern Thailand — the provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, near the border with Myanmar. Most of it comes from the large-leaf assamica tea plant that grows wild in the local forests. One note before we go further: this is not the bright orange "Thai iced tea" with condensed milk. This collection is real loose-leaf tea — green, black, oolong and GABA — made at our own factory in Northern Thailand.

Where does Thai tea grow?

The gardens sit on the doi — the high mountains of the far north, where cool nights, morning mist and rich soil slow the leaf down and build flavour. Thailand is a young name on the world tea map, but the leaf itself is old here: the assamica belt of Yunnan continues south through Myanmar into these hills, and long before modern factories the northern Thai were fermenting wild tea leaves into miang, a chewable pickled tea. Chinese families from Yunnan who settled around Doi Mae Salong in the mid-20th century brought their tea craft with them, and Taiwanese cultivars and know-how arrived later — so Thai tea grew up on Chinese roots, with a tropical accent of its own.

What kinds of Thai tea are there?

Our own factory near Chiang Rai lets us control every step from leaf to pack — and turn one mountain harvest into very different teas.

TeaMade fromSignature taste
Black teaWild and garden assamicaHoney, malt, dried fruit
Green teaAssamica and Chinese cultivarsFresh herbs, sweet finish
OolongTaiwanese cultivars — Jin Xuan (No. 12), Ruan Zhi (No. 17)Cream, orchid, spring flowers
GABA teaLeaf oxidized without oxygenRipe fruit, berry compote

Is this the same as Thai iced tea?

No — and the difference matters. Thai iced tea (cha yen) is a street-drink recipe: strong black tea, sugar, condensed milk and usually food colouring that gives the famous orange glow. Delicious in its own way, but it tells you little about the leaf. The teas in this collection are whole-leaf, single-origin and unflavoured. If the iced drink is what you love, brew our Thai black tea strong, chill it and add milk — you will get the honest version of the same idea.

How to brew Thai tea?

Treat it like its Chinese relatives. Green and GABA teas like water around 80–85°C; black tea and oolong take 90–95°C. Brew Western style — a teaspoon per cup, 2–3 minutes — or gongfu style with short repeated infusions: assamica leaf is generous and holds many steepings.

We grow, process and pack these teas ourselves in Northern Thailand and ship them from our Amsterdam warehouse across the Netherlands and Europe. Come taste before you buy at the Moychay tea club — Rozengracht 92H, Amsterdam.

Frequently asked questions

No. Thai iced tea is a drink recipe — strong black tea sweetened with sugar and condensed milk, usually coloured bright orange. Our collection is the leaf itself: loose green, black, oolong and GABA teas grown in Northern Thailand. You can still make an honest iced version — brew our Thai black tea strong, chill it and add milk.

Northern Thai assamica gives generous, rounded teas. The black teas lean toward honey, malt and dried fruit; the greens are fresh and herbaceous with a sweet finish; oolongs from Taiwanese cultivars are creamy and floral; GABA teas taste of ripe fruit and berry compote. Expect a little more body and softness than in their Chinese counterparts.

Closely. The tea forests of Northern Thailand are the southern edge of the same assamica belt that runs through Yunnan, and local tea-making was shaped first by Yunnanese settlers around Doi Mae Salong, later by Taiwanese cultivars and technology. Thai tea is best understood as a young branch of the Chinese tradition, growing in tropical mountains.

GABA tea is oxidized in an oxygen-free environment instead of open air — a method developed in Japan and perfected in Taiwan, now practised in Northern Thailand as well. The anaerobic process changes the chemistry of the leaf and gives a signature taste of ripe fruit and berry compote. We make GABA teas at our own Thai factory.

Control, simply put. Owning the production near Chiang Rai means we manage the whole chain — from picking standards to oxidation, roasting and final packing — instead of buying finished lots. It also lets us experiment with oolongs and GABA processing, and ship each harvest fresh, at a fair price, without intermediaries.