The results of the analysis are shown in Table 1. It was found that the phenolic compound
contents in miang from each area were different according to local people’s preferences or
market trends that relied on miang flavour. In the other words, the market favoured miang with
high phenolic compound content and younger miang which was made from the fully-bloomed
1-2 tip leaves only. This is the most desirable miang for the commercial market because it has
good flavour and appearance, together with the highest content of phenolic compounds. The
lesser favoured ones were the miang from Ban Pa Miang, Ban Pa Pan and Pan Mae Ka,
respectively. However, the miang from Mae Jam contained relatively the same amount of
phenolic compounds as the miang from Pa Pan, but the popularity was different. It was possible
that the popularity depended on marketing trends rather than flavour. Nevertheless, the
phenolic compounds content was easily changed by various factors such as amount of water,
nutrient elements, temperature, light, destruction from insects and other pests including
individual genetic factors. Even a single plant can exhibit a different amount of interesting
substances when harvested during different periods [11]. Thus, it can be said that the
environmental factors have more effect on phenolic compound contents than genetic factors,
resulting in tea leaves from different areas which are varied in terms of genetic and
environmental factors containing different amounts and patterns of phenolic compounds.