Story 1: Who Was Grandpa Muen?

The Leader Behind the Mountain

More than a century ago, a Lahu community settled among the forested mountains of what is now Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand.

The community was led by Grandpa Muen, also remembered as Tang Tao, a respected Lahu community leader. He played an important role in guiding the community toward a way of life that valued the forest and its natural resources. He also encouraged villagers to move away from opium cultivation, helping to protect the surrounding forests and support a more sustainable future for the community.

Over the generations, tea cultivation became an important part of life on the mountain, building on the community's close relationship with the forest and its natural environment.

Over time, the mountain became known as Doi Pu Muen. In Thai, “Doi” means mountain, while “Pu” is a respectful term for grandfather.

The name can therefore be understood as “Grandpa Muen’s Mountain,” connecting his memory to the landscape itself.

Grandpa Muen’s importance cannot be understood through a formal title alone. His legacy lives in the community that continued to grow on the mountain, in cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, and in the enduring relationship between the people and the surrounding forests.

Today, Doi Pu Muen is one of Thailand’s foremost tea-producing communities and remains home to Lahu cultural knowledge, agricultural traditions, music, dance, food, and tea. Community activities include tea cultivation and processing, homestays, forest experiences, and traditional performances.

These living practices allow visitors to experience culture not as something preserved behind glass, but as part of everyday community life.

The story of tea on Doi Pu Muen is also a story of transformation. Tea cultivation helped provide an alternative livelihood and supported a more sustainable relationship with the mountain landscape. Over time, tea became an important part of the community’s identity and way of life.

Grandpa Muen’s Tea carries his name as a tribute to his leadership, vision, and the lasting change he helped create for his community.

His legacy reminds us that places are not shaped by geography alone. They are also shaped by people, memory, courage, and the values that communities choose to carry forward.

One leader. One mountain. One enduring legacy.