Lahpet Thoke

THE LEGEND OF LAPHET THOKE:  A MYANMAR FERMENTED ETHIC FOOD

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          What is this? Lahpet thoke is the name of the famous fermented tea leaf salad from Myanmar, a country that is really known for its very unique, healthy and fragrant salads. Lahpet, also spelled laphet, lephet, letpet, or leppet is fermented or pickled tea leaf, and it has a very long history in Myanmar.What is this? Lahpet thoke is the name of the famous fermented tea leaf salad from Myanmar, a country that is really known for its very unique, healthy and fragrant salads. Lahpet, also spelled laphet, lephet, letpet, or leppet is fermented or pickled tea leaf, and it has a very long history in Myanmar.

Background. Laphet, a Myanmar traditional fermented tea leaf, has been developed as an ethnic food. It has a very long history in Myanmar. In ancient times fermented tea leaves were used as a peace symbol or peace offering between warring kingdoms.

How is Laphet made?

          Laphet is made from fresh tea leaves which are steamed and then packed into bamboo, buried in the ground and left to ferment for up to a year. Dug up, the leaves are a moist, dark brown sludge. Nice. But on the street, they're transformed into a delicious snack before your eyes.

Myanmar fermented tea leaf is a common signature and national ancient food that is eaten by all people in the country, regardless of race or religion, at get-togethers in family homes, in monasteries, and in the traditional celebrations. The consumption of tea leaves around the world is in three forms: green tea, black tea, oolong tea. Five cups of green tea will provide 5–10% of the daily requirements of riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, and pantothenic acid, and will provide approximately 5% of the daily requirement of magnesium, 25% of potassium, and 45% of the daily requirement for manganese [1]. The world's consumption of Camellia sinensis in the form of green tea is approximately 20% and the remaining 80% is consumed as black and oolong tea [2]. Apart from the drinking form of tea, fermented pickled tea, the so-called laphet, is another form of tea leaf that is habitually eaten in Myanmar. The tea leaf plants are cultivated in the mountain regions of Myanmar, which have the proper climate, sufficient humidity, adequate sunshine, and fertile soil (Fig. 1). The best time for tea leaf harvesting is April–May. The generic name of laphet is probably derived from the name used by each region such as moe-goke laphet, pa-laung laphet (in which moe-goke and pa-laung are the names of provinces in Myanmar).

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