--- title: "Matum Tea from Thailand: What It Is, the Taste, and How to Brew It" description: "Matum tea is dried, roasted slices of bael fruit: an amber caffeine-free cup tasting of dried apricot and baked apple. How to brew it, what the health talk is worth, how to pack it." canonical_url: https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/matum image: https://leafspirit.store/images/0/5/c/c/c/05ccc53cd32e31badc32d6d445e1c8fc8e6e331d-matum-bael-fruit-tea.webp lang: en last_updated: 2026-08-11 site: Leaf & Spirit - Chinese tea house in Phuket, Thailand --- # Matum Tea from Thailand: What It Is, the Taste, and How to Brew It Matum is bael fruit, sliced, dried and roasted, brewed all over Thailand as a tea. The cup is amber and gently sweet with no caffeine: dried apricot, baked apple, a touch of smoke. Markets in every town sell it. Here is what the fruit is, how to brew it, and where the stories about it outrun the facts. ## What kind of fruit is bael? Bael (Aegle marmelos) is a tree in the citrus family, ma-tum in Thai. The fruit, the size of a large orange, hides under a hard woody shell that earned it the name stone apple. In India the tree is sacred: bael leaves are carried to Shiva's temples. In Thailand the fruit is cut crosswise (the slice opens into a star-shaped core), dried and roasted, which is where the smoky note comes from. There is no caffeine in matum: like [anchan](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/anchan.md), it has nothing to do with the tea bush. It is a fruit infusion, one of the many drinks hiding behind the words [Thai tea](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/thai-tea.md), next to orange [cha yen](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/cha-yen.md). ## What does it taste like and how do you brew it? One or two dried slices per large mug, boiling water, five to ten minutes: matum needs time. The cup comes out warm amber, sweet without sugar: dried apricot, baked apple, a little caramel from the roasting. Simmer the slices a couple of minutes on the stove and the cup turns noticeably fuller. Cold matum with honey and lime is everyday Thai drinking in the heat. One slice carries two brews without complaint. ## Matum benefits: facts or marketing? Thai folk tradition brews matum for coughs and digestion, and market stalls will recite a long list of virtues. Rigorous clinical research on matum is scarce. What can be said with confidence: it is a caffeine-free fruit infusion that drinks well in the evening and wins children over with its natural sweetness. To us matum is simply a good cup, not medicine. ## How do you choose it and bring it home? Look at the slice: even, whole rounds of amber-brown, no mould, no musty smell. Packaging decides everything: southern Thailand stays humid all year, so buy a sealed bag or reseal the slices yourself. Kept that way, matum lasts about a year. What else to pack is covered in the [guide to tea souvenirs from Thailand](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/tea-souvenirs-from-thailand.md). For zero caffeine we offer the [floral fruit blend](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/caffeine-free-floral-fruit-blend.md) and [custom blends](https://leafspirit.store/blend.md) with rose, chrysanthemum and berries. ## FAQ ### Is matum a tea? No, it is the dried fruit of bael (Aegle marmelos), a tree in the citrus family. There is no tea leaf and no caffeine in it; as a drink it is a fruit infusion, like rosehip or hibiscus. ### Does matum contain caffeine? No. Matum suits evenings and children: the cup is sweet on its own, without sugar. Don't expect a lift from it; for that, look to actual tea leaf. ### How long does dried matum keep? About a year in sealed, opaque packaging away from sun and kitchen smells. Slices with mould or a musty smell cannot be brewed: throw them out whole, no trimming. ## Found in these teas - [Peach Oolong](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/peach-oolong.md) - from 280 THB - [Caffeine-Free Floral & Fruit Blend](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/caffeine-free-floral-fruit-blend.md) - from 450 THB - [GABA Oolong Amber Smoke](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/gaba-oolong-amber-smoke.md) - from 650 THB - [Lychee Black Tea](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/lychee-black-tea.md) - from 280 THB *Updated 2026-08-11 · Reviewed by tea master Ms. Judy (Wang Mengyu)* Notes on traditional properties are part of Chinese tea culture and are not medical advice. --- Contact: WhatsApp https://wa.me/66829896048 · LINE https://lin.ee/NAgjG2p · info@leafspirit.store · 101 Cherng Talay Road, Choeng Thale, Thalang, Phuket, Thailand · Open daily 10:00-18:30 (Phuket time). AI agent site guide: https://leafspirit.store/llms.txt · Machine-readable price list: https://leafspirit.store/prices.md