Tea Diaries: Summer in Southeast Asia

This month, Lani and I had the opportunity to travel to Thailand and Vietnam. We’ve known our tea producers for years, and each year there’s a moment where I message them I’m hoping to visit. I’ll ask when the best time would be. The answer is always the same: “Anytime, Amy.”

Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport

Do you believe in timing? Funny enough, many of our producers officially started their businesses around the same time we did. Also, around the same age. World events like COVID and personal ones like getting married, moving, managing our teams, or opening a store have kept us all busy. Still, we never missed a holiday to exchange greetings. We found ways to keep orders moving, even through the hardest moments. That reminder, that steady thread of tea connecting us through challenge and celebration, stayed with me on this trip.

Lani with our tea producer, Ammy in Wawee, Chiang Rai

I’ll be writing about our trip in different parts. I learned a lot about myself and one of the life things I learned was allowing yourself to take your time and having rest in between. Even just closing your eyes for 10 minutes. I’ve been looking through the photos I took and reflecting over tea with friends, customers, and our team. And as I do, I can feel that same sense again of being out of my element, but also right at home.

Oolong tasting in Mae Salong

So where did we exactly go?

We spent about a week in two villages called Mae Salong and Wawee, located in Northern Thailand. We also spent about a week and a half in Hanoi, Mộc Châu and Thái Nguyên in Northern Vietnam. Both trips felt long and short at the same time. My trip ended with a 10-hour layover in Tokyo, which gave me a quiet moment to reflect on how far I’ve come navigating Japan. Even after 15 years of visiting back and forth, I still feel like a stranger there. But over time, I’ve learned to move through its rhythms and customs. Tea helped me scratch a little more beneath the surface.

Windy Coffee in Mộc Châu

We braved the heat in the dead of summer, and it was as intense as expected. Just a day after, strong storms came in. Southeast Asia’s humidity is no joke, and it felt like an essential part of the experience. No wonder they serve iced teas and herbal infusions teas across the region. Many aren’t tea in the traditional sense—they’re made from fruits and herbs instead of actual tea. I thought I knew what made a good iced tea, but these shifted my perspective a bit. Each one was wildly creative and expressive and colorful. Often times, it was so hot that the ice melted within a few minutes while sipping on the iced tea, but that was part of the charm.

Visiting a tea garden in Thái Nguyên

To be honest, I’m taking my time and delighting in the memories made on the trip and think I will be for some time. For now, I just wanted to share a few photos and say “Hello “ while I work on putting together more stories and reflections from the journey. Some moments I’d want to share in writing, photos, or over tea. Whatever form it is, I’m glad tea helps preserve precious moments, like the ones we created on this trip, and allows us to savor those thoughts in tiny little sips over and over again.

Thanks for following along. Can’t wait to share more.

Cheers,

Amy