Myanmar - the country that gives life to fine tea and coffee
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is a beautiful country rich in ancient monuments and temples with a very diverse nature including exotic beaches, lakes and mountains that reach the foothills of the Himalayas. Myanmar is part of Southeast Asia on the coast of the Bay of Bengal and borders Thailand, Laos, China, India and Bangladesh. This strategic location between the two largest countries in the world has greatly influenced Myanmar's history and continues to do so.
Myanmar is very diverse ethnically, culturally and religiously - there are 144 officially recognized ethnic groups in the country and many other ethnic groups that have their own very distinctive culture and customs. Administratively, Myanmar is divided into seven regions and seven ethnic states that are on the borders of Myanmar. Almost 90% of the population adhere to Theravada Buddhism, with the main center being the golden Shwedagon Pagoda in the former capital Yangon, and there are also approximately 6% Christians (Catholics and Protestants), 4% Muslims and a smaller number of followers of animist religion and Hinduism.
Historically, the country was made up of smaller kingdoms, the most important of which was the Bagan Kingdom, which built thousands of temples and pagodas between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, of which 2,200 survive today, and the city of Bagan is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The last royal dynasty was the Kobang dynasty, based in the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar. In 1885, the country was annexed by the British and became a colony within the British Empire (originally administratively within British India), and the ethnic states were given a great deal of autonomy. After World War II, Myanmar gained independence in 1948, with the liberation movement led by General Aung San, father of political leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was assassinated before independence was declared.
Since the military coup in 1962, Myanmar has been fully in the hands of the military, which has become the most powerful institution, and despite several attempts to change the regime, the military had a firm grip on the government until 2011. Myanmar has changed from the richest country in Asia to one of the poorest countries, and there has been a great deal of plundering of the natural resources in which Myanmar is extremely rich (precious stones such as rubies, sapphires and jade, other minerals and teak wood). Due to the great backwardness of the country and also due to its great dependence on China, the military decided to proceed with liberalization in 2011 in order to attract foreign investment, and in 2015 the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by leader Aung San Suu Kyi won the elections. The country has made great economic progress, but not all disputes with Myanmar's ethnic minorities have been resolved and their distrust of the majority Burmese continues.
After the 2020 elections, which the NLD won again, the military carried out a military coup in February 2021, but greatly underestimated the resistance of the entire population and their will not to allow another decade of military rule. Even now, the military has not been able to fully control the country. As in modern-day Ukraine, the people have united and guerrilla units have emerged in a number of areas. In cooperation with ethnic military organizations and under the leadership of the opposition government of national unity, they are trying to establish a federal state under civilian leadership. The military is suppressing the resistance, bombing villages in some regions from Russian planes and helicopters, imprisoning thousands of opponents, including the country's top leadership. The military repression so far has cost more than 1,600 lives, and yet the military has not achieved its goal and has not even managed to gain support from the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China. After the coup, the economic situation in Myanmar deteriorated significantly, Western countries imposed sanctions, and more than half of the population fell below the poverty line, so it will take a very long time for the situation to improve again.
Some parts of the country are less affected by the conflict. This includes Shan State, bordering the Chinese province of Yunnan, which is a major tea and coffee growing area due to its mountainous nature and climate. Other suitable areas for tea and coffee growing are Karen and Kayah States, bordering Thailand, and Chin State, bordering India, but tea and coffee are also grown in other regions.
Tea is undoubtedly the most important Myanmar drink, famous for its exceptional quality and variety. The first mentions of its cultivation in the Shan state date back to the 8th century, and according to some data, tea trees that are almost a thousand years old can be found in the remote Wa region bordering China in Myanmar. However, tea began to be cultivated on a larger scale in the 11th century and was called the royal drink of the Bagan dynasty. Myanmar has its own name for tea , laphet , which is not derived from the Chinese cha , which also indicates a unique ancient tea culture. In Myanmar, various variants of high-quality green tea are processed, as well as black and white tea. Purple tea, which is grown on a very small scale and distributed only by a single company, Mother's Love, is considered a specialty. In remote mountain areas, a very characteristic sour tea is also prepared, which is very popular in Myanmar and is considered very healthy.
All types of tea come from the same plant – the tea plant camellia sinenis , and the tea leaves were traditionally dried in the sun, and in many regions this is still the case. The tea leaves are harvested from April to November, with the highest quality being harvested from late March to mid-April. With the exception of China and Thailand, Myanmar tea was exported very little and was virtually unknown on foreign markets. Due to economic reforms and the opening up of the country, there has been a large increase in green tea exporters in recent years, especially to Japan and Southeast Asian countries. In 2016, the first exports also took place to the EU – especially to France, Germany and the Netherlands. Myanmar tea producers also participated in the BIOFACH trade fair focused on organic agricultural products (the most famous is the Pindaya company), which further increased interest in Myanmar tea.
Myanmar is a unique country where tea is consumed not only as a drink but also as a dish, which is lahpet thoke – a salad made from fermented tea leaves, traditionally grown by the people of Shan State. Laphet is considered a national specialty and also plays an important role in traditional Myanmar hospitality, as it is usually served to guests. Traditionally, steamed tea leaves were placed in bamboo poles or baskets and allowed to ferment. Oil and salt were then added, and possibly other ingredients were added, which created the specific flavors of the different variants. Tea leaf salad traditionally played a large role in Buddhist ceremonies and weddings, and this dish was also very popular in the Burmese royal court. In the pre-colonial period, laphet was traditionally served as a food confirming a peace agreement between feuding kingdoms. In regions that traditionally practiced animism, laphet was presented to honor the protective spirits of forests, mountains, rivers and fields.
Myanmar has its own unmistakable “tea culture”, which originated more than a century ago and is a mix of strong British, Chinese and Indian influences. It is characterised by teashops, which are on every street and practically on every corner and have a very relaxed atmosphere. They are all over the country – whether in the largest Myanmar cities of Yangon and Mandalay or in the smallest villages. Teashops certainly do not correspond to our ideas of peaceful places to enjoy tea. They are mostly open spaces with low tables and chairs, with small cups and teapots of green tea and characteristic small dishes. The local teashops are a place for all generations to meet, discuss all sorts of things or even watch films or matches of the popular British football league on television. However, in recent years, teashops based on British colonial tradition have also begun to emerge, trying to restore the atmosphere of that time and serving only the highest quality teas.
A very popular drink is Burmese milk tea, which has a characteristic taste and a special preparation method and differs from, for example, the Thai version of milk tea. Traditionally, condensed milk is used to prepare milk tea, as well as sweetened condensed milk. Fresh milk was not used in the past because many teahouses did not have an electricity connection and therefore could not use a refrigerator to store it. Condensed milk has a lower water content and is added to very strong black tea, which leads to a creamy consistency of this drink. The proportions of these ingredients determine the final form of milk tea and create a number of different combinations. This tea is traditionally drunk warm, but refreshing iced variants are also available, especially in the hot months.
Coffee has been grown in Myanmar since 1885, when the country was a British colony. Myanmar has very suitable climatic conditions for high-quality coffee in the mountains along the eastern borders of the country (Shan and Karen States) and in its western part (Chin State). Missionaries, who tried to convert the Buddhist population to Christianity, began to establish small coffee farms around Pyin Oo Lwin on the border of Shan State, and coffee was grown in this area on a smaller scale for many years. Originally, the coffee variety grown was mainly robusta, which also contains more caffeine than the currently more popular arabica coffee variety, whose plantations began to be established in Shan State around 1930.
The opening up of the country in the last ten years has contributed to the expansion of the selected Arabica variety. Many farmers who have started to focus on coffee production were previously engaged in the production of opium poppies. The “poppy to coffee” projects, which were also supported from abroad, have provided farmers with better sources of stable income. In a relatively short time, the selected coffee from these farms has begun to achieve truly exceptional quality, appreciated even abroad.
The highest quality Myanmar coffee is considered to be the products of Sawbwa Coffee. It was also originally created from the concept of substituting coffee cultivation for opium and gradually achieved exceptional quality on an international scale. In recent years, Myanmar coffee has begun to be exported to Europe and the USA on a small scale. Due to the very favorable climatic conditions, coffee cultivation has great potential and the area of plantations will undoubtedly grow. In addition, the consumption of fine coffee is gradually growing in Myanmar itself, where tea traditionally prevailed and coffee was most often consumed in the form of instant mixtures with powdered milk and sugar. A number of new cafes are being established, thanks to which the culture of drinking fine coffee is expanding even further.
Soon you will find great tea and selected coffee from Myanmar in our menu.