Dilmah

B167 for 25 bags (50g)
Dilmah is not an easy cup of tea. The first sip is bitter, and there’s a smell not unlike yeast. But while the strong flavor was not to everyone’s taste, it had a full, lasting quality despite its lighter, copper color.
Verdict: Full of personality and part of the proceeds go to Dilmah’s conservation and charity activities. 

Heladiv

B98 for 25 bags (50g)
Heladiv has a captivating, fresh aroma and a balanced flavor. Just the opposite of Dilmah, its color is dark while the flavor is light. We’d recommend having it neat, as it might be a bit too wimpy for those who like to add milk.
Verdict: Light, fresh and aromatic.   

Tea Trends

B44.75 for 25 bags (37g)
Ugh. Tea Trends tastes just as weird as it sounds. More than half of our panel declared it had the aroma and taste of seaweed.
Verdict: Avoid.  

Twinings

B150 for 25 bags (50g) 
This is not a single origin tea, but just a good ol’ British-style blend. Even in the blind test, Twinings seems to be a kind of standard. “Yep, that’s a cup of tea,” was a common remark. A bit bitter and dark, Twinings just seems to beg for a pairing, either a cloud of milk or even a scone with clotted cream.
Verdict: Your classic English cup of tea.

Whittard

B475 for 50 bags (125g)
Another British blend, Whittard isn’t quite as aromatic as Twinings. But if you want some more oomph and a slightly lemony flavor, it’s worth a try. It’s has the prettiest color of the roundup but it is also the most expensive.
Verdict: Strong but a bit dull.

TEA 101: Ceylon Black Tea

Ceylon is simply the old colonial name for Sri Lanka, which produces green, white (a very expensive, high-end variety) and black teas. Black tea keeps the best, thanks to the oxidization process that sets it apart from green, white and oolong (Chinese) varieties, and it is what you get in most tea bags. Usually, it’s also the one with the strongest flavor.

What have you been doing since your fourth album IV in 2008?
We never stopped playing music, we just didn’t play together or in public much. I started my own music school, where I’m a guitar teacher, and as a Christian I’m now a pastor of a church. Bass player Na works for a beverage company and drummer Kei is also a music teacher and plays with a few bands around town.

How did the band’s reformation come about? We hear you are going to team up with Love Is Records.
A few months ago we played a little pub gig with all the original members, which really caught the attention of our fans. Then Cosmic Café asked if we wanted to perform a proper live concert for the first time in four years. We haven’t had serious talks with Kun Boy [the owner of Love Is Records] but we have plans to join forces for an album.

Has the band’s style changed at all?
Well, I’d say nothing major. But we’re all grown up now and have been through a lot of stuff, which is reflected in the way we now play our songs with a little more maturity. It’s always been our intention to write songs that would never go out of style anyway. We don’t want to be seen as a flash in the pan.

What do you think of today’s indie music scene?
Today everybody is indie, even bands on big labels, which never would have happened before. I think nowadays this term is used only to refer to bands who write their own songs. The catch is that indie has lost some of its identity and is more just a mainstream trend now. On the plus side, thanks to online social networking, musicians have more ways to share their ideas, so aren’t as reliant on record companies as they once were.

How do you define indie music?
It must come from inside you and it must be real. I think of music like any other form of art: to inspire people it must come from real-life experiences and really address your audience front on.

What has been your best moment as an artist?
When we just started the band, we did a lot of great shows at various universities and colleges. It was the age of innocence and I really miss feeling that way.

What’s next?
Earlier this month we released our new single “Tor hai krai mai rak,” and our fans love it. We’ll probably continue down this track: launch a couple more new songs and play some concerts, then see what happens. You’ll just have to stay tuned. Proudpisut Sang-ou-thai

Do you guys have day jobs?
Hao: We get together to practice at least once a week, usually on Thursdays but I also teach at a music academy.
Noom: I used to be a tour guide in Koh Samui but now I’m a tattooist.
Tong: I play as a backing musician for other artists, such as Palmy.
Ake: I’m an interior designer.

Tell us about your music making process.
Hao: Except for the sound engineering, we do the whole thing ourselves—writing the lyrics, producing the music, making and selling the CDs. The budget is our own money and we even play gigs for free. We take part in underground music festivals such as Kodindy where we sell our albums.

Why are your songs more concerned with social matters than personal feelings?
Noom: It’s normal for foreign bands to write songs about social matters, but it’s very rare in Thailand. We think there are already so many Thai songs covering relationships, romance and love—there are many more things worth thinking about. We’ve all lived through political crises and the Red-Yellow dispute of the past few years, so what better way to express how we feel about those social issues than through music? As a group, we first discuss what we want to say then I write the lyrics.

How has the Season Awards success affected the band?
Hao: We get to play more gigs, there are more people on our Facebook fan page, our songs on YouTube are getting more views, and we’re doing more media interviews than ever before! But none of this will ever change our attitude, or the message we want to get across.

Do you ever think about taking a more mainstream approach?
Hao: We know full well that our songs won’t be hits. That’s why we’ve never sent our demos to the major music companies. We’ve submitted our songs to radio stations with little success.
Noom: Although we’re happy with the underground following we have, we do want our songs to be heard by a wider audience. Joining a major music company could be good if they let us continue making music our own way. But if the company wanted to compromise our identity, we’d rather stay independent.

What do you think of the alternative music scene here?
Hao: It’s getting worse. The copyright issue doesn’t only bother the mainstream music industry, but also underground bands. The underground scene nowadays is different from before, too. Previously, everyone really supported one another. But these days, with the whole social media thing, the audience divides into cliques and supports only particular bands. Benjamaporn Meekaeo

Authors’ Lounge

The teas are from the famed Mariage Freres of the Marais district in Paris. Their high tea set (B1,200) comes with your choice of tea (or coffee), scones, cakes and sandwiches. But most people just come for the beautiful architecture.
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, 48 Oriental Avenue, Charoenkrung 
Soi 40, 02-659-9000

Agalico

Yearning for a spot of British style? With their all-white tearoom, leafy garden, graceful glass gazebo and a selection of teas (B120-140), Agalico has long been a high tea favorite. It also acts as a showroom for furniture and decorative items, so your cup of tea could end up costing you a whole lot more. 
20 Sukhumvit Soi 51, 02-662-5857 ext. 111. Open Fri-Sat, 10am-6pm. 
www.agalico.co.th

Vieng Joom On

This famous café from Chiang Mai recently opened a branch in Bangkok, featuring the same Moroccan style as its northern sister. They serves up different mixes of teas from around the world. Try the signature, Vieng Joom On Tea, a wonderfully fragrant mix of black tea, rose petals, white tea, clover, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper and plum (B150/pot; B390 with scones, B650 as a high tea set).
93/332, The Emporio Place, Sukhumvit Soi 24, 02-160-4342. www.vjoteahouse.com

Let Them Eat Cake

Run by the same people as W by Wanlamun, another Chiang Mai dessert eatery, Let Them Eat Cake serves up homemade pastries and sweets that wouldn’t be too out of place in a French patisserie. Their top of the line treats include the St. Honore Rose-Framboise (B175), dôme au chocolat (B130) and éclair à la vanille (B160). And the stylish new bistro has outdoor seating so you can enjoy your bakery selection with a cup of Fauchon tea, a 125-year-old brand that now makes funky flavors like wild strawberry and chocolate. Or just opt for the rich and flavorful chocolat chaud made with dark Valrhona chocolate from France (B180).
G/F, Mille-Malle, Sukhumvit Soi 20, Bangkok, 02-663-4667. Open daily 10am-midnight

Double Dogs

Situated in a shophouse in Yaowarat, this family business has been renovated into a small minimal café by its young owners. Teas here are from many different countries like Japan, Sri Lanka and China. They recommend their Chinese teas (B80-B240/pot) or matcha powder tea (B130)—the owners claim it takes an hour to grind five grams of this very special green tea! They also make their own blends, like apple and bergamot (from B45) or natural milk tea with no artificial colors added (so don’t expect the usual orangey cha nom).
406 Yaowarat Rd., Bangkok, 086-329-3075. Open Tue-Sun 11am-10pm

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique

Finally, luxurious Singaporean tea purveyors TWG have landed at Emporium. The tea menu is categorized into different regions with more than 450 varieties to choose from. Otherwise start your tea lesson with their signature Silvermoon (green tea, mixed berries and vanilla, B250) before graduating to iced South African red tea (B250). The afternoon tea set starts from B370: sit near the bar, where you can ogle the bartenders sipping from every pot before they’re rolled out.
G/F, The Emporium Shopping Complex, 622 Sukhumvit Rd., Bangkok, 02-259-9510

Salon du Thé

Located in a hundred-year-old house, this newly opened museum also contains a little tea house on the terrace, surrounded by an impeccably-landscaped Thai-meets-Zen-style garden. The teas here are from the renowned florist Sakul Intakul’s own collection, and hail from many countries around the world. Try some of his personal recipes, like the Kashmiri Spiced Milk Tea (vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, B120) and Love Pekoe Rose Tea (Assam black tea, Indian ‘hundred leaf’ pink rose petals, B120). Afternoon tea sets are B240 and come with six Asian snacks like tua pap (rice crepe stuffed with mung bean), green tea daifuku and kanom tom (glutinous rice stuffed with coconut).
The Museum of Floral Culture, 315 Soi Ongkarak 13, Samsen Soi 28, Bangkok, 02-669-3633. Open Tue-Sun 11am-6pm