It is perhaps a hallmark of a truly evolved society when the lust for immediate caffeine hits and double espressos finally gives way to the aroma, health, elegance and subtlety of tea culture.
In 2002 when I first came to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, there WAS no coffee culture. None. Zip. Nada. You asked for a coffee in a decent restaurant and you got 3-in-1 instant. In 2005, our little juice bar, Vitality Zone just near Wat Phra Singh was one of the very first to offer fresh french-press coffee from organic, hand-roasted beans. FFWD to 2020, where EVERYone sells boutique coffee.
It still pains me that sooooo often I ask for tea, and all they have is Lipton. Urgh. I am delighted that is changing. Kenneth Rimdahl pioneered flavoured and forest-grown teas the last 5 years with Chiang Mai's Monsoon Tea and we have gorgeous local people running boutique businesses like the Araksa Tea Garden in Mae Taeng. Raming Tea House was the first to offer traditional English style teas and has always been a cool stylish cafe on Tapae Road - make sure you head out to their lovely garden out back after an afternoon's shopping.
So imagine my surprise to discover Chaseki - a newish, proper Japanese style tea shop in Chiang Mai's Old City - a delightful little haven offering SUPERB imported Japanese matcha teas and selling the delights and trimmings of Japanese tea culture. Well, that happy feeling suddenly exploded this last week. Their city tea shop has been doing so well (Covid19 notwithstanding) that Chaseki have opening their second large, luscious and gorgeously green location in Hang Dong, not far from the Grand Canyon Water Park and overlooking the beautiful foothills of Doi Kham. The idea of getting out of the house for some green space and green matcha on a hot Saturday afternoon was too appealing to resist, and so Miss 15 and I headed over to take a look.
First impressions? It's HUGE and airy and open-space and with LOTS of nooks and corners so that even when it's busy, you can feel relaxed and relatively private. And it was busy! They have 2 indoor air-conditioned seating areas overlooking the gardens.
And a really nice COOL shaded outdoor seating area overlooking the koi pond. The sound of the waterfall is really relaxing on what was a hot afternoon.
I found some LOVELY old Thai daybeds in the garden and think this may well be my new hide-with-a-book-or-my-laptop place when the entrepreneurial 'thing' overwhelms. Felt like a princess.
As a mom no longer having to worry about keeping Miss 15 safe and out of the carpark, I nevertheless really appreciated the huge, enclosed, safe garden for children - with play equipment.
But back to the tea. The proprietors, JJ and her German husband, Tom, are very well educated about superb tea. Tom has lived in Japan for many years and studied tea, so this business is a labour of love, and it shows.
Being a health-conscious person, I chose what is probably my new signature health drink: fresh young green coconut water with one of their imported Japanese matchas - no sugar, no nothing else. SUPERB!! My little cells sang happily to me the rest of the afternoon.
Miss 15 chose the dark chocolate matcha frappe. And wow - it was really good too.
Home made dark chocolate and matcha cake? I'm not a big cake lover or eater but this was GOOD. Really good. Not particularly sweet, beautifully moist and the flavours were awesome.
Next time we go we're going to try their matcha gelato!
A word about the chocolate they use. Like us, they are partnered with local chocolate entrepreneurs, Siamaya Chocolate. So you can be confident their chocolate-matcha offerings are fair trade and organic. Yes, they have Siamaya Chocolate to take home too.
Chaseki's city store (just a few doors down from the North Gate Jazz Co-op at Chang Phuak Gate) has gorgeous Japanese tea accessories and take home products - this being their first weekend, they're literally still setting up shop but I'm SURE that in the coming weeks the tea culture lovelies will be on sale here too. How busy was it? In the hour we lingered, we counted 67 other customers, which is WONDERFUL and such a good omen for things to come.
Tom advises in the coming weeks they will have BREAKFAST OPTIONS and they also have plans for a Japanese restaurant on site. Their opening hours, at present, are 10am to 7pm, daily.
In this post-Covid-19-over-regulated world, I loved that we could sit quietly, outside, with lots of space and clean air. They DO have the mandatory sign in process, as required by Thai law, but it was simple and low tech.
Loads of onsite parking too.
The politics of Covid-19 have penalised so many small businesses. What we know, being a small business ourselves, is that behind every small business is a family. We loved knowing that we were able to support Tom and JJ with our afternoon out - they are newly pregnant with their first child and were simply rushed off their feet.
So if you're in Chiang Mai, or planning to be when flights resume, we'd commend Chaski to you. A chill place in a beautiful natural environment.
You can find them via googlemaps or their facebook page: Chaseki Tea HQ . I've also pinned them on the blockchain's own 
Feeling happy to enjoy the success of others - ready to offer support and hope to see you there for a coconut-matcha soon!
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