Identify The Quality of Teak Wood

Identifying the Quality of Teak Wood:
The quality of teak hinges on its iron content, oil content, and the richness of its fragrance. Teak with higher oil content, denser iron particles, tighter fibers, and a stronger natural aroma generally signifies superior quality in teak flooring. These characteristics are influenced by factors such as origin, tree age, timber position within the tree, and manufacturing techniques.

◇ Origin and Quality:
Burmese teak flooring is widely regarded as premium in the market. Thailand has banned logging of natural forest teak, making genuine Thai natural forest teak nearly unavailable; most "Thai teak" imported today comes from plantations. In contrast, "Indonesian teak," "Brazilian teak," and "African teak" often have lower oil content and drier, more brittle textures due to differences in regional climate and soil. Notably, there is a significant quality gap between teak flooring derived from natural forests versus plantations.

Natural forest teak requires at least 50 years to mature from seed to harvest, resulting in higher density and hardness. Plantation teak, however, undergoes human intervention and technical methods to accelerate growth, shortening the cycle to around a decade. Thinning often begins as early as the sixth year of plantation growth.