The Bangkok tea party

The Bangkok tea party

A growing number of establishments offer more than a handful of brews

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Just like bell-bottoms morphing into boot-cut and eventually skinny jeans, the way people enjoy their cuppa also changes over time. Sipping tea from porcelain cups with pinkies raised may not be a common sight in Thailand just yet, but tea-drinking is very much a part of our everyday life whether we realise it or not. The availability of tea is more relevant when it is staring at us through a plastic bottle, usually with a brightly cluttered tag, or in a tea bag that we mindlessly dunk into hot water. In other words, it is produced for the masses with nothing personal or delicate at all. The recently opened tea salons around town, however, are looking to stimulate the fine culture and experience of tea time: scones, timers and all.

There are many variables to consider when it comes to making the perfect cuppa.

Enjoying a fine cup of tea is becoming a trend in Thailand, to some extent feeding off the "healthy" trend.

As people are becoming more health conscious, tea is becoming a new alternative to coffee, due to having less caffeine and more antioxidants. Given the fact that Thai people are also very open and receptive to new things, as well as having a high usage of social media, it is no surprise that the tea trend has no problem of catching on here.

Thailand's heat has no mercy and some may question the survival of hot tea in such a place, but wonder no more. Whether served hot or cold, a function of tea has always been to calm you down and make you relaxed, while coffee's function is to wake you up.

Speciality teas at these salons cater to the most exquisite of tastes, with the prices usually reflecting the arduous labour that comes with this fine craft. As opposed to mechanical machinery that swipe tea (stems and all) to be made into our sweet, artificial drinks, tea leaves used for making loose tea sometimes require hand-picking on a mountain side during specific months of the year. After all, the craft of creating the perfect cup goes down to the very boiling minutes, storage, water temperature and even the freshness of the water as well. There are many nitty-gritty details to this art and to keep things from becoming overwhelming or complex, there is usually always a tea master or tea connoisseur who will welcomingly educate you and guide you towards your best fit.

We inspected established tea powerhouses around town that offer more than a handful of brews and what's to love about them.

TWININGS TEA BOUTIQUE

A fair price while delivering the substance is probably the aspect that has ensured Twinings' survival since 1706. With a rich history and a Royal Warrant for tea from Queen Victoria in 1837, this is also the company that created the ever-popular Earl Grey tea as a tribute to the then British prime minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey.

Strawberry cream cake and Virgin Strawberry from Simply W.

Their tea boutique which recently opened in CentralWorld is the first one ever to open outside of London, and aims to deliver authenticity in a modern English setting to create affordable luxury for all.

The colourful sofas and classic marble floor clearly move away from the old-world charm, but the genuine essence of the brand can still be found in their 50 different blends on offer.

Positioning itself as a tea salon, the Twinings boutique's main purpose is to serve tea, with everything else considered complementary.

''The sense of expertise is lost if you start to serve everything,'' explains Piyapong Chitchumnong, Twinings Business Unit manager. What's to love about Twinings is having two sizes of teapots (140 baht for small, 240 baht for large), for big sippers and vice versa. At this salon, expect to find only a handful of tea-infused desserts, some sandwiches and salads and the afternoon tea set, all meant to be enjoyed alongside the tea, of course.

The Twinings Elegant Afternoon tea set (850 baht for four people) is de rigueur. The rose jam, Earl Grey scones, colour-blocked macaroons, salmon avocado sandwich and shortbread tea bag cookies in the set are flawlessly divine.

Thailand is cruel with her heat, but a range of iced teas are available for your delight as well, ranging from 150-170 baht. The seasonal special, only available until May, is the Summer Sunshine (160 baht). It's tangy and sweet; the peach tea and pineapple base give a strong, perhaps even overpowering fruity note to this cold drink. Another favourite is the Twinings Summer Green Tea Pudding Cake (160 baht). It's sheer delight, thanks to the deliciously light texture and soft jasmine aroma, also coming from their own tea, Jasmine Earl Grey.

SIMPLY W

Whittard of Chelsea is a cafe we've seen around for the past six years in Thailand. Nevertheless, it might easily slip our minds how they were practically one of the first to offer a large selection of tea brews along with coffee and other beverages.

The drink is clearly cultured, but here they don't stress that the occasion has to be all hoity-toity and complicated. Head for this cafe if you want your tea minus the frills. With the intention to simplify sophistication and make life less difficult than it already is for people on the go, tea is served in a variety of forms _ instant, in satchels or loose, for traditionalists who really still can't bear to see tea-on-the-go.

The reason there's actually no Whittard of Chelsea cafe in Britain lies in the fact that there, people have no know-how in enjoying their tea simply, without the ritual. The casualness and creativity doesn't end there _ as tea is also an ingredient in the desserts, ice creams and mocktails, thus trying to get across that tea never has to be boring ol' Earl Grey or English Breakfast.

A range of cakes are available and it's really dandy how the direction here is not sickly sweet. Our favourite was the strawberry cream cake (155 baht). The light yet moist cake texture and juicy strawberries were a real treat. Hot tea such as Earl Grey (90 baht), comes in a tall mug, which is great to bury your nose in, especially on days when delicate and pretentious ware is not really your cup of tea. Cold mocktails that have tea infusions, such as Virgin Strawberry (110 baht), provide a hearty serving and are extremely refreshing, being neither too sweet nor sour.

Other than the cafe and its variety of offerings, the standout of Whittard is surely its instant tea and other products which are on retail as well. There are a myriad of products that will bring you to dizzying indecisiveness, but a marvellous flavour of instant tea to go for is Dreamtime (650 baht), a blend of camomile, apricot, honey and vanilla to get you snoozing into a sweet sleep. The cafe is changing its name to ''Simply W'' this month so don't get confused, and fear not as the warm and welcoming quality is still intact.

TWG TEA SALON & BOUTIQUE

The name is an abbreviation of The Wellness Group, not to be mistaken with Twinings, and was established in Singapore in 2008. Their first salon and boutique opened at The Emporium last year and you can expect to see walls of coloured tea tins and wooden furniture exactly like other TWG salons around the world. Oozing a sense of luxury and refinement, the opulence from the old-world decor creates a magnificently grand setting for sippers to choose from over 450 different tea blends.

One customer faces a tough choice at the TWG salon.

After all, fine tea deserves to be enjoyed in a fine setting and TWG also wishes to serve as a hub of tea-related knowledge, so feel free to stroll in even if only to ask questions about tea. All food courses are also available at TWG, making it a very convenient and complete service stop for customers. Steaks and pastas may be on the menu, but bear in mind how their mission is not to serve the best T-bone ever, but the best tea-infused food. The staples are the same everywhere around the world, but set menus (880 baht) change twice a month to introduce variety if not local relevance to customers.

Until the end of this month, the appetiser is vegetable spring rolls, a simple crispy starter. The main course of rib-eye of wagyu which comes with Napoleon Tea gravy was deliciously grilled; the meat was tender and rich. You can pick either the hot tea, Smoky Russian Tea or the iced tea, Ami The Tea, to go with your meal.

For a darker and deeper taste, opt for the Smoky Russian, but if you enjoy notes of aromatic chocolate and orchard fruits, go for Ami The. The food is already a winner, but you must make sure to leave room for dessert here, which not only looks great but sets a new bar of expectations for sweets.

The lemon parfait, infused with Happy Tea and served with tossed raspberry and orange agar-agar blends the taste of a buttery biscuit, tangy jelly cube and a mildly sweet cream into one bite.

From April 30 onwards, the main course will change to seared salmon fillet with green peas, carrots and cauliflower drizzled with balsamic vinegar caramel and Matcha Green Tea oil. The dessert will be rhubarb and apple crumble served with fresh berry and raspberry sauce, with apple compote and homemade Vanilla Bourbon Tea ice cream. The teas to choose from are hot Jasmine Monkey King or cold Saicho Tea, a green tea blended with pomegranate blossoms.

The Summer Picnic Hamper Iced Tea from TWG.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT