by P. Rieutord, owner and manager Before acquiring a piece of furniture or any fitting made of solid Teak, be it from my workshop or not, I strongly advise you to know more about Teak and read the below information. Under the same specie and scientific name - Tectona grandis - one can find a huge diversity in quality. Every Teak is not suitable for a humid usage - indoor, outdoor or marine. From their growing region and management method, they do not have at all the same properties in them. Three elements are very important to us in this specie: oleoresin, silica, and density. These elements can vary a lot from a tree to another. From its historic region (Indies and Siam mainly), and given the great usages the specie could offer, trees were planted in many countries and regions over the two last centuries. To name some of them, we can now find some in Asia - India, Myanmar, Thaïland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Vietnam - but also in Africa - Congo, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe - and over South America - Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Trinidad, Solomon islands... The number of plantations met an exponential trend over the last decades, as an answer to the fast growing demand which dramatically turned from a boating and craft demand to an industry demand (outdoor furniture, flooring, huge yachts, cruising vessels...). But all these countries, and at a smaller scale every region and even piece of land are not the same at all. As a cabernet grape, the Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa will not offer the same wine as a California one, an Australian one or a French one. And at the French scale, the one from Bordeaux region will be different from the Languedoc-Roussillon one. The soil is different, the plants growing around also, and the local climate of course plays a role. Last, every parcel of land is differently managed, mainly depending on its owner. Teak Cairns botanic garden All of this contributes to make trees that are very different one from another. Even if they come from the same seed and have the same scientific name, they unfortunately do not offer the same oil and silica rate, as well as density. And cannot therefore be used for same purposes. That is the reason why one should be very careful with the exact origin of a Teak piece of furniture, as all these Teaks are not alike, by far. Teak name, as unique information on the wood specie, is not anymore sufficient by itself.