Best Coffee in Thailand?

[Logosone]

9 minutes ago, GalaxyMan said:

You almost had my vote until you left Kona off of this list, consistently, year after year, voted the best coffee, though Jamaican Blue Mountain sneaks in there as world's best coffee every so often.  ????

I didn't, I specifically wrote:

 

"However, at its best Mandailing Estate Coffee is a measure of coffee excellence that only very few select coffees can compete with, like Yauco Selecto, Kona, Kopi Luwak, certain Ethiopian, Nicaraguan, Kenyan, Guatemalan and Tanzanian coffees."

 

The quote you refer to was just about the specific Indonesian coffees that year on year are considered the best in the world. However, all the above can be excellent as well.

 

There is some bad Kona sold as well, though, there's big quality differences. Same with Mandailing.

 

Jamaican Blue Mountain is very smooth, with low acidity, however, it is too tame, not powerful and bold enough for my taste. Good coffee though, still, not as good as Mandailing Estate Coffee.

[George Aylesham]

6 hours ago, stereolab said:

A good bean to cup type machine is a must, if money is not the problem. You then have the option to use beans or pre-ground coffee. Beans is a matter of taste, experiment as others have already said. Minimex have a couple of good machines available in Robinsons with their brand of coffee available via mail order. 

We've got a Minimiex and it works a treat. We are spoiled for good local coffee in Chiang Mai but if you're in a hurry we found the Vietnamese Ca Phe Thu Thiet 3-in-one coffee to be excellent and is available in Big-C. Its not too sweet and has just the right amount of bitterness

[AsterixThai]

Nespresso coffee capsules are the best. To order on the net or buy in their shop in Bangkok.

[bkk6060]

Ingredients in Nescafe 3 in 1 Instant Coffee

Sugar, glucose syrup, Hardened Palm Oil, Instant Coffee 7.9%, Caramelized Sugar, stabilizers, milk proteins, salt, maltodextrin, emulsifier, and natural and artificial flavoring. Sugar content: Unknown.

 

 

Anyone who likes these 3 in 1 coffees or condensed milk and sugar added drinks, are drinking garbage that has very little coffee at all.

Not even worth a discussion if one is asking  "The Best Coffee". 

[WineOh]

2 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Ingredients in Nescafe 3 in 1 Instant Coffee

Sugar, glucose syrup, Hardened Palm Oil, Instant Coffee 7.9%, Caramelized Sugar, stabilizers, milk proteins, salt, maltodextrin, emulsifier, and natural and artificial flavoring. Sugar content: Unknown.

 

 

Anyone who likes these 3 in 1 coffees or condensed milk and sugar added drinks, are drinking garbage that has very little coffee at all.

Not even worth a discussion if one is asking  "The Best Coffee". 

Agreed.

Been drinking it the last few months as thats all was available down the 7/11.

Today I was swigging the dregs and I though to myself 'there must be better coffee in Thailand than this.

 

Lo and behold, I was right :) 

[ravip]

My favourite place in Cha-am is that little Coffee shop right opposite the Naresuan Camp. Right next to it there is a good restaurant too, if one feels hungry!

[fruitman]

51 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Most of the time I have 4 shots espresso in the morning. And sometime 6 shots.

The 6 shots is probably less than 100ml. So your "half a liter" is similar to 30 shots espresso.

Two options:

- your "half a liter" was slightly incorrect

- you don't drink "good coffee" but water with coffee taste

Hahaha, you think i don't know what i drink? I drink 500 ml (have a special jug for it 500ml) and in Europe i drink 1-1.5 liter a day...

 

And i bet you can't make better coffee than me in my bialetti for 10 cups...it's even better than what they serve in Italy. No it's not espresso cause i like milk coffee with sugar.

[Jackcwba]

Currently drinking the blue nestle instant powder stuff

 

id say red is the best if I remember correctly red = expresso effect blue = more creamy and green is less sugar.

 

i usually get a pack of 27 for 79 baht from my local Tesco as they appear to be on sale a lot instead of 120 baht ish.

 

on an evening I have a cup of matcha tea if you haven’t tried it I would recommend it.

full of Vitamin C and antioxidants... which if they even exist.. are good for you 

 

 

[toofarnorth]

2 hours ago, Hotrats said:

I used to drink Doi Tung ground coffee, very good local coffee, but a little expensive. But not any more since I have discovered the "Tesco Finest" range of coffees available in the Tesco Lotus supermarkets. They have an excellent range of pre-ground coffees, Colombian, Guatemalan, etc. etc. All imported from UK, and not expensive.

I hope my Tesco Lotus across the way do one or two of those you mention.  Going tomorrow for just coffee ,  sometimes a good brew is needed .

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

Coffee?????????????????????

Yeah red cup or similar is fine for instant and ground coffee at home is over rated and can be a PITA, for decent ground coffee people can go out. 

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

Quite simply at the Indochinese market of Nong Khai and surely those of Mukdahan and Nakon Phanom ;

and now in the Tesco Lotus, at least in that of Sawang daen Din.

I lived long months in Vietnam between 1991 and 1996 and since then I only drink Vietnamese coffee.
In old Hanoi, there is a street where there are only coffee sellers.
Some are excellent but very expensive, no brand, the grains are sold by weight.
Do not forget either that Vietnam is the second world producer of coffee.

 

3 in 1 is a bit of a crime though? full of sugar and dodgy milk substitute. I tried to find G7 not 3 in 1 and couldn't find it

[WineOh]

4 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

3 in 1 is a bit of a crime though? full of sugar and dodgy milk substitute. I tried to find G7 not 3 in 1 and couldn't find it

I used to have G7 when I worked in Hanoi for a Vietnamese company.

It's what they used to give out to guests and potential clients.

Sales and marketing fodder.

They saved the 3 in 1's for their low paid staff at break times..

 

You can fined amazing espresso in Hanoi, though.

Serious stuff! 

[Mick501]

Nespresso or Dolce Gusto machines with a milk frother are easy and little effort or mess.   Imported coffee tends to be in the 25-35b per capsule, whereas local is 15-20b.  

 

I use a Nespresso.  Tried every local coffee and the best for my tastes is Cafe R'onn.  100% arabica.  Not a fan of the rubusta, but they are out there if that's your thing.

[Bredbury Blue]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

This is the Vietnamese coffee which I drink in the moment. Very delicious.

And this is the list of the available coffees from the shop which I mentioned above. This is where I bought my coffee. I think it's all the same brand.

The 4 and the 5 I like, plus the ones with the schooner on the coffee bag

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

3 in 1 is a bit of a crime though? full of sugar and dodgy milk substitute. I tried to find G7 not 3 in 1 and couldn't find it

I'm not a fan of 3 in 1 coffee;

but in the G7 we hardly feel the sugar incorporated; I think there is few.

[Fairynuff]

20 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yeah red cup or similar is fine for instant and ground coffee at home is over rated and can be a PITA, for decent ground coffee people can go out. 

There’s nothing fine (IMO) about that instant coffee flavoured drink. Ground coffee at home overrated?? May I suggest you keep trying.... it’s really not that difficult. And I really don’t want to have to go our 3 or 4 times a day to get good coffee. I actually manage to make decent coffee every time

[mrfill]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

This is why I drink Vietnamese coffee.

It does not require an expensive coffee machine and tastes very good.

 

My lasting impressions of Vietnam is of excellent coffee, tea and bread.

A lot of Viet coffee is from Robusta beans which are quite different to the Arabica stuff. Higher caffeine, bit chocolaty.

Drink together with a fresh croissant...  ahhhhhh...

[Pedrogaz]

I have a Starbucks espresso maker purchased here in 2008 for 18000 baht....there were none for sale in stores at the time. It is still going strong, but prices have come plummeting down, so for 10-15000 you should be able to get a great one.

 

I find Starbucks coffee to be very insipid and hate to drink the stuff unless I am on the road, although I am preferring Amazon coffee at PTT stations as it is stronger.

 

For home I buy Bon Cafe which is available in many supermarkets. They do a blend called 'crema' for about 175 baht for 250 grams.

They do other blends also good down to about 110 baht....and it comes ground or beans. Makro sell it.

 

I like my coffee and like you price is not really the deciding factor. I have tried Illy, which I liked in the States but it is too finely ground to work with the Starbucks machine.

 

My favourite coffee is Segafredo, but I have not seen it for sale here in Thailand.

[moon0205]

7 hours ago, Thailand said:

McCafe hot Cappuccino.

 

Simply a matter of choice.

oh no! and nescafe really kills your stomach over the time. try to google "bluekoff" in Bangkok Ladprao - not expensive and best choice, beans or ground to your needs. with a small PAVONI machine will make you happy

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

Hahaha, you think i don't know what i drink? I drink 500 ml (have a special jug for it 500ml) and in Europe i drink 1-1.5 liter a day...

 

And i bet you can't make better coffee than me in my bialetti for 10 cups...it's even better than what they serve in Italy. No it's not espresso cause i like milk coffee with sugar.

Let me guess, your "coffee" looks like this:

 

[ravip]

3 minutes ago, moon0205 said:

oh no! and nescafe really kills your stomach over the time. try to google "bluekoff" in Bangkok Ladprao - not expensive and best choice, beans or ground to your needs. with a small PAVONI machine will make you happy

What do you mean by Nescafe really kills your stomach over the time? Been drinking that for decades and still living.

[fruitman]

8 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Let me guess, your "coffee" looks like this:

 

Nahh that's tea mate...that's for old grandma's and Brits.

 

We have 25 packs of coffee in stock, always...there's a reason for that! 

[OneMoreFarang]

For whatever reason it seems the maintenance and settings of coffee machines make a HUGE difference.

I go often to one of the best hotels in Bangkok and I drink there espresso all the time.

Often it's good, sometimes it's great, and sometimes pretty bad.

And it's always the same coffee in the same (very expensive) machine.

When it's bad then I tell them and normally they arrange for a technician to check it and often it's better a few days later.

And obviously that technician comes anyhow regularly.

My point is that even with good coffee beans and a good machine coffee might taste bad - because the machine is not maintained or adjusted or cleaned properly.

[moon0205]

9 minutes ago, ravip said:

What do you mean by Nescafe really kills your stomach over the time? Been drinking that for decades and still living.

maybe you never tried real coffee then. 

[OneMoreFarang]

That reminds me of Russian coffee. Here is the how to:

Put a Ruble coin at the bottom of a coffee cup.

Fill with coffee until you can't see the coin anymore.

Then fill up with vodka until you see the coin again.

Nazdrovia

No, I am not Russian and I never tried it. But it sounds interesting. ???? 

[WineOh]

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That reminds me of Russian coffee. Here is the how to:

Put a Ruble coin at the bottom of a coffee cup.

Fill with coffee until you can't see the coin anymore.

Then fill up with vodka until you see the coin again.

Nazdrovia

No, I am not Russian and I never tried it. But it sounds interesting. ???? 

do you swallow the coin as well? ????

[Max69xl]

8 hours ago, Liverpoolfan said:

sorry mate, but to me that sounds horrible.

But if it works for you then great ???? 

 

I used to drink red cup before and it didn't well with my stomach at all ???? 

Lazada sells real coffee. The more you buy the cheaper.

[SW Happy]

Get yourself a small nesspresso machine and separate hot frothy milk machine, both small and portable. buy Nesspresso capsules on line 100s of varieties to cater for everyone. I've found this the best coffee buy far. 

[Logosone]

17 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

For whatever reason it seems the maintenance and settings of coffee machines make a HUGE difference.

I go often to one of the best hotels in Bangkok and I drink there espresso all the time.

Often it's good, sometimes it's great, and sometimes pretty bad.

And it's always the same coffee in the same (very expensive) machine.

When it's bad then I tell them and normally they arrange for a technician to check it and often it's better a few days later.

And obviously that technician comes anyhow regularly.

My point is that even with good coffee beans and a good machine coffee might taste bad - because the machine is not maintained or adjusted or cleaned properly.

The best coffee I had was at Savini's in London. I don't know how they do it, but it was consistently world class.

 

You're absolutely right that coffee making depends on the quality of the operator and the machinery as well as the coffee beans. Maintenance is key.

 

Very often I went to top restaurants in the UK, Germany, and Bangkok and their coffee was sour and disgusting, despite the fact that they had great machines and great coffee. Diligence, cleanliness and attention to detail are key in good coffee. Coffee is made with the soul. If a listless 18 year old female does not clean the machine properly you would taste it right away.

[liddelljohn]

Doi Tung havesoem excellent coffee beans  and grinds ,, If u are in Pattaya  Benjamit  Cafe roast and grind their own excellent beans 

I use a French Press    use wate that is not fully boiling or you will burn the coffee