Sawas-Tea Cup

Mae Hong Son has become in recent years a popular destination for Thailand travelers seeking something interesting outside the well-trodden Bangkok-Chiang Mai-Samui/Phuket route. What some visitors to this adorable province may not be aware of is the local production of teas and coffees. Mae Aw and Pang Ung are two such towns that have made a name for themselves producing caffeinated drinks, and they make for entertaining visits from the provincial capital.

Mae Aw is a small Chinese village that lies just 22km outside of Mae Hong Son, though it feels a lot farther than that. Whether you make your way there by motorbike or car, the switchback roads that slash a path from the city are windy and steep, as the village is located in a high valley within spitting distance of Myanmar. Coming into the town, you may be a bit alarmed to see armed soldiers sitting on the outskirts with mounted machine guns but as any tour guide will assure you, they are simply remnants of a time gone but not yet forgotten. Not long ago, the major cash crop for this area was opium, and fighting among residing drug warlords made it unsafe for travel. Those warlords have since been kicked out of Thailand (over the hill to the Myanmar side), and the area is again safe (fingers crossed).

Thanks to one of Her Majesty the Queen’s Royal Projects, the farmland here once used to grow opium is now employed growing edible crops—rice, garlic, cabbage, etc.—which contribute to a food bank that feeds local villages and provides them with some income. Rattan is also grown here for furniture sold in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Tea is the main attraction in Mae Aw and the reason for which many people make their way over the hills. The city is primarily populated by immigrants from China’s Yunnan province. Many of them speak Thai, and a few even speak English. Regardless, tea tasting requires little communication and provides a healthy amount of silent satisfaction. Mae Aw’s small city square is surrounded by adobe huts that contain restaurants and tea shacks where one can buy various types of ginseng, jasmine, oolong and green teas, as well as a number of colorful Chinese style teapots and cups.

The small pamphlets villagers are proud to distribute will tell you that drinking tea is therapeutic for a number of reasons, the first being the medicinal contents of the tea leaves themselves. For example, green tea provides an antioxidant and is also good for the kidneys, while jasmine tea is believed to lower cholesterol and is effective in the prevention of heart disease. The second reason is the mental break making tea provides. Sometimes the very act of stopping your work and concentrating on something as simple as tea preparation is all you need during the day to retain mental freshness and sanity.

Another village not far from Mae Aw has also gained popularity for its production of a hot, caffeine-rich libation. Pang Ung may not be the largest producer of coffee beans in Thailand, but it could be the most pleasant to visit. Coming from Mae Aw, one is faced with another set of windy hills and teetering curves before sailing into Pang Ung’s small, country-town atmosphere. On the way, Pha Sua Waterfalls provide a refreshing break and make a scenic visit.

Much like in Mae Aw, visitors to Pang Ung are encouraged to take a seat and taste the local brew. Here, the beans are harvested while soft and green, then dried and roasted in a large pan, where they acquire their recognizable brown shade. With not a Krups in sight, the beans are crushed by hand with mortar and pestle, then thrown into an old-school, campfire coffee brewer. The muddy concoction produced is strong and fragrant. Though the seemingly insatiable expansion of coffee conglomerate Starbucks may seem frightening to some local communities, it’s encouraging to note that they at least purchase some beans locally—including those from Pang Ung.