History of the Raming Tea House Siam Celadon
The Raming Tea House Siam Celadon is a large, two story teak building which was constructed on the banks of the Mae Kha Stream in 1915. Originally, it belonged to Anukonburi, a Thai of Chinese ancestry and the founder of the Nimakon clan. The Thai King conferred on him the noble rank of Khun (which in Thai is spelled and pronounced differently from the ubiquitous, but non-noble “khun”) during the reign of King Rama VI. During that time, this house had served as a retail store selling construction material. The name of the store was “Nim Cheo Chuad”. Following Khun Anukon’s death in 1916, the house was given to his son, Banyong Nimakon. His son, Dr. Somphot Nimakon, used the house as his clinic, naming it “The Dr. Somphot Clinic”.

The house was finally sold to Mr. Nit Wangwiwat, the owner of the Raming Tea Company, on 6 August 1986. He rented the building to others who operated it as an Italian restaurant. Prior to the next major renovation carried out during 2002-2003, the edifice was showing its age and was in very poor condition. Deciding that this old house should be preserved, Mr.Nit and Mrs. Penpan Wangwiwat began a major restoration effort. Carpenters were enlisted to repair old, deteriorated or broken wooden sections, returning the house to its original condition. The repairs were designed to blend in with the remaining original portions of the house as much as possible and the original structure of the building was maintained in its entirety. It was, however, necessary to construct additional bathroom facilities as originally there had been only one toilet. The renovation was under designed and controlled by Ms. Siriporn Kankulsulthorn, the lecturer of Rajamangala University of technology Lanna.

A focal point of this antique building, now renovated as a tea house, is the airy and spacious central atrium, with the rear portion of the structure now a garden restaurant. To accentuate the antiquity of the house, no air conditioning has been installed. In the past, houses were not constructed with low ceilings as is common now, but rather were made with high, vaulted roofs which allow breezes to flow through, keeping the rooms cool and comfortable. As the renovation process progressed, the owners became increasingly attached to the house, as if the structure had taken on a life of its own. From that inspiration was born the idea to open the building as the Raming Tea house, incorporating the celadon business. The result was the grand opening of the “Raming Tea House Siam Celadon” on 1 August 2003.

The Raming Tea House Siam Celadon received an award for excellence in artistic conservation from Her Royal Highness, Princess Sirinthorn, in 2004 and an award for excellence in the conservation of old buildings from the Siam Architect’s Association and the City of Chiang Mai on 4 March 2004.