2.3 chewing tea
Traditional tea-cultivating lands are maintained for the production of chewing tea, Called miang (Figure 8). Miang is a special tea product found only in the northern provinces of Thailand, such as Chiang Rai , Chiang Mai , and Phrae. Fresh leaves used for miang production are Assam type or miang tea. Fresh leaves are steamed and fermented using traditional techniques by local people living in the villages. The fermentation times vary form one week to a few years. The process is similar to that used to make pickled tea leaves (Figure 9). More than 50% OF the Assam tea growing in Thailand is used to produce miang. Chewing tea is consumed mainly within the country. However, some been exported to Laos and Burma