Description

DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea

DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea is a Northern Thai green tea speciality made from the leaves of native large-leaf Assam varieties. Unlike many teas produced in Doi Mae Salong today, it is not based on a cultivar introduced from Taiwan. Instead, it comes from a type of tea plant that has long been native to Northern Thailand. Our local producer partner, the Banphotsikorn family, cultivates the Assamica plants used for this tea in their own tea gardens.

The tea owes its name to two characteristic features. “Bai Yai” means “large leaf” in Thai, referring to the characteristically large leaves of the Assam-type tea plants used to make this tea. “Sen”, on the other hand, refers to the elongated, strand-like shape into which the leaves are rolled during processing.

In taste, the tea displays the typical characteristics of green teas made from large-leaf Assamica-type tea plants, yet stands out within this spectrum for its comparatively soft and mild character. The clear, pale yellow-green liquor combines the distinctive character of the Assamica leaf with a pleasant natural sweetness. Even when brewed at 90°C, the tea remains smooth and free from unpleasant bitterness when steeped for an appropriate length of time.

The Tea Plant – Northern Thailand’s native („Assam“) Varieties

The large-leaf tea plants used to produce DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea belong to the group commonly known as the Assam varieties of Camellia sinensis. Their name, however, owes less to an origin confined to Assam than to a historical coincidence. In the early 19th century, Western botanists and colonial officials first became aware of this large-leaf type of tea plant in Assam.

Its natural range actually extends far beyond the region in northeastern India from which it takes its name. It stretches from the eastern Himalayas through Myanmar and Northern Thailand to Laos, Vietnam and Southwest China. Northern Thailand is therefore itself part of the natural range of these large-leaf forms of the tea plant.

In evolutionary terms, these native Northern Thai tea plants are closely related to the large-leaf tea forms of neighbouring Yunnan, familiar to many tea drinkers primarily as the raw material used for traditional Pu-erh and Dian Hong teas. Yunnan, however, should not be regarded as an isolated point of origin. Rather, the province forms part of a larger region encompassing Southwest China and mainland Southeast Asia that has played an important role in the evolutionary and domestication history of the large-leaf forms of Camellia sinensis

Origin and Terroir – Doi Mae Salong, Northern Thailand

The tea gardens producing the leaves for DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea lie in the mountains of Doi Mae Salong in Thailand’s far north, not far from the border with Myanmar. At elevations of around 1,200 metres, comparatively cool nights combine with high humidity, regular rainfall and lush subtropical vegetation. These conditions encourage slower growth. They also create an environment in which tea has long ranked among the region’s characteristic cultivated plants.

For the native large-leaf tea plants in particular, Doi Mae Salong is more than simply a suitable place for cultivation. As described above, Northern Thailand lies within their natural range. Bai Yai Sen thus combines the distinctive conditions of the Northern Thai highlands with a type of tea plant that is itself part of the indigenous flora of this wider region.

A Brief Look at the History of Doe Mae Salong

The tea culture of present-day Doi Mae Salong is closely linked to the history of the region. In the 1940s, parts of the Chinese Kuomintang army settled here after fleeing China in the wake of the Chinese Civil War. They were accompanied by their families, as well as agricultural knowledge and cultural influences from southern China and Taiwan.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the region gained unfortunate notoriety as part of the so-called “Golden Triangle”, one of Southeast Asia’s most important opium-growing areas. Social and economic conditions were correspondingly unstable.

EA fundamental transformation began in the 1980s, when initiatives supported by the Thai Royal Family promoted legal highland agriculture. Tea became one of the central pillars of this transformation.

For more information about the history of Doi Mae Salong and tea cultivation in the region, please follow the link below:

Doi Mae Salong – Center of Tea Cultivation in Northern Thailand

Tea Plants & ´Cultivars in Doi Mae Salong

Alongside the Taiwanese cultivars for which Doi Mae Salong is known today, native large-leaf Assamica-type tea plants continue to play an important role. These tea forms have long been native to Northern Thailand and provide the botanical basis for Bai Yai teas.

Taiwanese tea cultivars arrived in Northern Thailand only later, as part of the Royal Thai Development Project. Tea experts from Taiwan selected several cultivars particularly well suited to the regional terroir. Local growers subsequently established these cultivars through asexual propagation from cuttings.

The Taiwanese cultivars grown in Doi Mae Salong today include, in particular, Ruan Zhi (TRES #17), Jin Xuan (TRES #12), Chin-Shin / Qingxin and Si Ji Chun (Four Seasons). Together with the native large-leaf tea plants, they form the botanical basis for the diversity of tea production found in Doi Mae Salong today.

Our Local Producer Partner

The teas from this origin come from the gardens of the Chinese-descended Banphotsikorn family, who have been cultivating tea in Doi Mae Salong since the mid-1980s. The tea gardens and production are overseen by Mrs Sumalee Banphotsikorn.

Tea Production in Doi Mae Salong

Tea production in Doi Mae Salong today brings together two distinct botanical foundations and processing traditions. Producers work both with native large-leaf Assamica-type tea plants and with cultivars introduced from Taiwan several decades ago.

The resulting spectrum of teas is correspondingly diverse. Producers use both groups of tea plants to make Oolong, green and black teas. They adapt picking and processing to the particular leaf material and intended style. Production remains predominantly small-scale and combines the distinctive conditions of the Northern Thai highlands with a variety of tea-making methods.

Natural Cultivation & Biodiversity

The tea gardens are cultivated naturally and without the use of pesticides. To promote a stable ecological balance, the small individual garden plots are separated by areas of biodiverse vegetation.

Picking and Processing

For DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea, the producers pick only the youngest and most tender buds and leaves.

After picking, the fresh leaves first undergo a comparatively extended withering phase. During this stage, they lose some of their moisture and become pliable enough for further processing. Rolling then gives the leaves the elongated, strand-like Sen shape characteristic of this tea.

Heat subsequently halts enzymatic oxidation and preserves the tea’s green character. Final drying removes the remaining moisture and makes the tea suitable for storage. The finished leaves retain an open, elongated appearance that still clearly reveals the natural shape and size of the Bai Yai leaves.

Taste, Aroma and Visual Appearance

DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea combines the distinctive character of large-leaf Assam-type tea plants with a liquor that is remarkably soft and mild for teas of this kind. Even in the aroma, the tea presents itself as pleasantly rounded and approachable, while the infusion develops a pronounced natural sweetness that harmoniously complements its robust underlying character.

The characteristic elongated Sen shape of the dry tea leaves unfolds during infusion, allowing the leaves to return largely to their original form. At the same time, their initially rather dark green colour changes to a considerably lighter shade, closely resembling that of the freshly picked tea leaf.

The clear, pale yellow-green liquor offers full-bodied substance and depth without becoming heavy or astringent. Instead, the overall flavour remains balanced and smooth, developing very little bitterness even when brewed somewhat more strongly. It is precisely this interplay of distinctive Assamica character, mildness and natural sweetness that defines the individual character of DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea.

Preparation

For DMS Bai Yai Sen Green Tea, we recommend using approximately 3–4 grams of tea leaves per 200 ml of water at a brewing temperature of 90°C. A steeping time of around 2 minutes brings out the tea’s natural sweetness, full-bodied substance and characteristic Assamica profile in a well-balanced manner. 2–3 infusions are possible by gradually increasing the steeping time.

Bai Yai Sen handles a brewing temperature of 90°C remarkably well and develops very little unpleasant bitterness when steeped for an appropriate length of time. At the same time, the higher temperature promotes the extraction of the tea leaf’s water-soluble compounds. Alongside the substances responsible for flavour and aroma, these include polyphenols such as catechins, caffeine and amino acids such as L-theanine.

For more information about this tea, please also see the following blog article:

Bai Yai – Northern Thailand’s Ancient Tea Trees

Zu unserem Sortiment von Tees aus Nordthailand geht es unter dem folgenden Link:

Tea from Northern Thailand @ Siam Tea Shop