Ours is a story of passion, dedication and community spirit, first begun by industry pioneer U San Maung. Discover our journey from a small market tea wholesaler in 1984 to owning 80% of the market share in Myanmar.
1984 - Our first tea wholesale & retail shop
In 1984, U San Maung opens his first tea wholesale and retail shop called ‘LaKabar’ at Nyaung Pin Lay Market in Yangon.
1994 - A new location
U San Maung relocates to Mandalay to expand the business. He visits local farmers around Zayan Village, Namsan Township and Northern Shan State to buy and sell raw tea leaves, before selling to tea merchants in the city.
2003 - The next generation
U San Maung’s son Myo Win Aung takes over the running of the business. A new spicy and sour fermented tea is launched and distributed to market. It’s named ‘Shu-Shae’.
2013 - Entering the world of tea
The Myanmar Tea Cluster (MTC) is formed to align with international standards, with 30 executive members representing over 30,000 tea farmers. Myo Win Aung and his wife Khin Ye' Yupar Aye become active members to improve the tea value chain, while attending conferences to learn about agriculture technology and international market economies.
2017 - Going global
The Yathar Wathi company is established to export our organic tea leaf products to domestic and international markets.
2019 - Awards success
At the Top 10 Successful ASEAN Enterprises Entering China awards, Yathar Wathi wins the ‘Outstanding Award’ as the first company to export Myanmar green tea to China.
2020 - A thriving business
We now have 183 organic tea farmers and 292 acres of tea plantations across four villages in the southern Shan State. In collaboration with local farmers, we’ve also established organic tea factories in Myazedi and Allal Chaung villages in the Ywangan Township. To expand our offering, we collaborate with 23 sesame farmers to produce raw organic sesame seeds for our sesame-based wet tea.
What's next?
We continue to drive our dedication to 100% organic products and aim to obtain certifications such as EU, USDA and JAS. Due to rising demand, we are also building a new factory in Ywar Ngan Township, Shan State, Myanmar.