From Thailand with love! Ban Hua Thai is an ambitious grower that will bring joy to your home! Find out more about Ban Hua Thai’s name, origin, and growth habits in this article.
Picturesque home
The original name of this strain is Ban Hua Thanon, named after the idyllic fishing village in which it was first discovered. The strain was becoming popular in locations such as Koh Samui and Koh Pha-ngan as far back as the 1990s.
Despite the fact these islands are located far from the gorgeous Koh Phi-Phi Island chain where the famous film “The Beach” was controversially filmed, they are often mistaken for one another. Nevertheless, mushroom shakes can still be found on these islands by visiting tourists.
Nowadays, they are more commonly referred to as simply ‘Thai’ Mushrooms. While the reasoning behind renaming this strain is not fully known, the popularity and international recognition of full moon parties hosted in Thailand is a likely culprit.
It was brought to the West in 1991 by famous ethnomycologist John W. Allen, after one of his many trips to the area.
Contemporary business
The global popularity of Thai mushrooms is certainly attributed in part to John Allen, although some have argued the locals were engaged in the cultivation of this magical strain long before Allen’s trips to Thailand.
Interestingly, although the use of hallucinogenic drugs is strictly prohibited there, visitors to Thailand have reported restaurants blatantly offering hallucinogenic Mushrooms on their menus. Over the years, the growing international interest in psilocybin and magic mushrooms has boosted the Thai tourism industry.
Third generation
Ban Hua Thai’s original strain produced unpredictable results and generated rather wild harvests which were far from ideal for anyone looking to achieve similar results time and again. The strain’s current form is therefore the third generation and has much more stable flushes.
Cultivation is easy and quick, and colonization takes less than two weeks. This strain likes it warm, so keep it at around 28 °C – 30 ° C and it will fruit beautifully.