The Driving Force Behind Specialty Coffee in Thailand

When Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej launched the Royal Project in 1969, his main goal was to eradicate opium production by encouraging farmers to grow more legal crops. Among them, coffee had tremendous potential to become a major export cash crop.  However, fast forward to today, and metropolitan cities are bustling with specialty coffee roasteries and cafés. Only 5-7% of Thai coffee is exported annually because the rest is consumed in-country. In only a few short decades, Thailand has cultivated a thriving, self-sufficient coffee culture that champions specialty coffee.

In part, the success of Thai coffee is tied to Thailand’s economic growth. Increased tourism and a growing upper-middle class with higher disposable income supported a coffee scene beyond the strong, sweet, and ice-cold coffee beverages served streetside.

 Coffee farming was also accessible and profitable, making the coffee business attractive to young entrepreneurs. Unlike in other coffee-producing countries, where younger generations struggle to remain engaged in coffee farming, young coffee entrepreneurs are the driving force behind Thailand’s specialty scene.

Jane Jittratanapoiboon & Fuadi Pitsuan of Beanspire Coffee.

This young generation of Thai coffee professionals includes Fuadi Pitsuan and Jane Jittratanapoiboon of Beanspire Coffee. Fuadi and Jane met while studying in the US and shared a passion for coffee.  They often visited specialty cafés but couldn’t find Thai coffee anywhere on the shelves. Determined to bring Thai coffee to the global market, they founded Beanspire in 2014 in Jane’s hometown of Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand.

While Beanspire works with smallholder farmers around Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai to produce both microlots and community lots, they also collaborate with other coffee producers to help bring their coffee to market. This year, we are featuring coffee processed by Noi Duoungee. 

He began his coffee career over a decade ago while working with one of the pioneering mills in Thailand's specialty coffee industry, before establishing his own coffee processing plant in Chaiprakarn, Chiang Mai (southwest of Chiang Rai).

Noi Duoungee at the drying patio in the Chaiprakarn processing station

To produce this coffee, ripe cherries are harvested throughout the day and rested overnight at cool temperatures before being pulped the next morning. This extra step of delaying the pulping stage allows the coffee to develop more complex flavors. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight, then washed and laid out on a drying patio for up to three weeks. It is then stored and rested in hermetic bags for two months before milling.

The resulting coffee is sweet, nuanced, and very easy to drink. It has a gentle acidity and flavor reminiscent of Asian pear and longgan, and a clean, refreshing body and aftertaste that reminds us of coconut water and fresh sugarcane. It’s a versatile coffee that is delicious both hot and iced!