Happy Tuesday. I hope everybody had a nicer weekend than our poor friends in the Midwest who were walloped by snow. Here’s looking to brighter days ahead.

As promised, this week I’ll be talking about the wondrous characteristics of teak. So here we go—the ten things you should know about teak so you can make an educated purchase choice and be the life of any cocktail party:

1. Teak’s genus name is Tectona Grandis. And unlike many other woods (Shorea or Eucalyptus, for example), there is only one teak. If you see companies marketing “teak-like” products or furniture made from “African teak,” you can be sure you are not looking at the real thing.
2. Contrary to popular belief, teak is not a rainforest tree. Teak is a deciduous tree native to Southeast Asia (it spreads naturally from India through Myanmar and Thailand to Laos).
3. To ensure the responsible harvesting of teak, plantations have been established across the world in Asia, Africa, and South & Central America. At Arthur Lauer, we are proud to say that our teak furniture is made from this sustainably harvested teak.
4. Teak has a high natural oil content that enables it to resist cracking, rotting, splitting, termites, and other borer insects.
5. In addition to its natural oils, teak’s dense grain helps it combat harsh elements such as rain, snow, hail, heat, and humidity.
6. Teak has been used in ship building for centuries because of its durability, beauty, and unique ability to prevent rust and corrosion when in contact with metal. In fact, teak is still used today in the manufacture of yachts.
7. Teak originally made its transition into outdoor furniture when old ships were no longer seaworthy. The ships’ decks, which were still in excellent shape, were dismantled and made into teak furniture.
8. There are teak benches in parks across England that are nearly a century old.
9. After several seasons outside teak furniture will develop a graceful silver-gray patina. The patina is actually the teak’s natural oil that has risen to the surface and been oxidized by the sun’s ultra-violet rays.
10. Teak’s durability and elegant appearance, combined with its long history of use in luxury applications, give it an unparalleled prestige factor. (This may not technically be a scientific fact, but it’s true nonetheless!)