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The unique ingredients and consumption of ASEAN tea
People in the ASEAN region enjoy tea in many areas of their daily lives.
The ingredients of the teas, as well as how they are consumed, vary widely by climate and soil composition.By Lee Ju-hyeon YouTube creator; head of external relations, Tea Association of Korea

People in Myanmar use fermented tea for various purposes: lahpet, which simply means pickled tea, is consumed either as a beverage or, as in western Myanmar, as a salad known as lahpet thoke. Cambodians love jasmine tea, and the variety served in Cambodia has a subtle yet lingering scent that is considered to last much longer than that in any other country. Another popular kind is blended tea, which is usually made by adding coriander leaves, lime, and lemongrass to black tea packaged into tea bags. Due to Cambodia’s hot climate, tea tastes best here when served cold. In Thailand, tea made with the same base ingredient? usually, strong black tea? varies significantly in terms of temperature, sweetness, and the type of milk it is served with. Popular cold versions include cha dam yen and cha manau; while the first is served with sugar but without milk, the flavor of the second is complemented by herbs such as lime or mint. There are two hot versions: cha rorn and cha dam rorn. While the former is served with sugar and milk, only sugar is added to the latter. In Lao PDR, saa hawn is popular, a milk tea with a black tea base that is consumed hot with plenty of sugar and condensed milk. Vietnamese people enjoy flavored teas such as lotus tea, or green tea infused with a lotus blossom fragrance, in addition to jasmine tea and grapefruit tea.

In the island nation of Indonesia, breadfruit leaf tea and rose tea are the teas of choice. As its name suggests, the former is made with the processed leaves of the breadfruit tree, which grows in the wild in tropical regions. The latter is made with water in which rose petals are boiled for several hours. In Malaysia, Borneo, and Singapore, people enjoy teh tarik, a form of milk tea that is consumed hot or cold and blends strong black tea with condensed milk and various spices.