Like so many people, I love my coffee. I could say I'm addicted to coffee 😉. I grind the beans fresh to make coffee with a Minimex espresso machine at least twice a day, first thing when I wake up, and second when I emerge from my midday nap.

 

My issue here is that I notice quite a difference when I use beans bought in Thailand or beans bought in Europe. I do not buy the most commercial beans (e.g. what can be found in Big C), I rather go for what I would call "specialty" beans from northern Thailand origin (I go to Makro for that purpose). The Thai beans are always very dark and shiny, which obviously indicates they are "high roast", and I find the result rather "earthy" and not very aromatic. That's why I bring coffee from Europe - obviously not "coffee grown in Europe" but coffee imported from the Americas or Africa etc - and I buy from coffee shops. A full kg bag would cost around 35-50 EUR. Those beans are always light brown and not shiny, so very different from the Thailand beans. The result is far better : less acidity, "sweeter", aromatic etc. That's the type of coffee I like and I don't mind paying extra for it!

 

But I cannot bring several kgs of coffee in my luggage when I come to Thailand. So, sooner or later, I have to fall back on those dark and shiny thai beans. Help!

 

 

There are enough specialty coffee beans available in Thailand. 

Just look around, test, and choose what you like.

I downloaded the Iherb app and order all my coffee from them (I believe they are U.S.). When you order a certain amount it’s free shipping but it takes 10 to 14 days. I had no problem so far!

Maybe order from the Hillkoff website.....  

 

This store is located in Chiang Mai and while they do provide copious amounts of Thai coffee, they also have international speciality coffee that you can order, e.g., coffee from Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Kenya, etc.

 

https://www.hillkoff.shop/interspecialtycoffee

I have been ordering my espresso beans from Simple Coffee for three years.

So far, the best I have found here in Thailand.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

There are enough specialty coffee beans available in Thailand. 

Just look around, test, and choose what you like.

True and Mako does have quite some variety of good hill tribe area / royal project coffee beans and already ground and at very reasonable prices. 

Edited October 30, 20232 yr by scorecard

Available on Lazada/Shopee Laos Bolaven Plateau and Chiang Mai HillKoff are excellent.

Try some Vietnamese coffee, you won't be disappointed! Beans or ground! 

Add some crushed eggshells to pre-brewed coffee to mellow it. Also get a shot of calcium. 👍

39 minutes ago, scorecard said:

True and Mako does have quite some variety of good hill tribe area / royal project coffee beans and already ground and at very reasonable prices. 

Not a single hill tribe area coffee I have tried suited me, that's why I posted here. I found all that "black and shiny" dark roast type that I don't like very much.

As a poster above noted, buy on Lazada. You are choosing the wrong roasts. Anything from Full City to Full City+ and onto Dark are going to be dark and shiny with oil.

 

There are plenty of Northern Thailand roasters selling Medium roast which are lighter brown (First Crack).

 

The selection at Makro is too limited for me. I often order and receive beans that were roasted just a day or two before I ordered them..

3 hours ago, gejohesch said:

Those beans are always light brown and not shiny, so very different from the Thailand beans. The result is far better : less acidity, "sweeter", aromatic etc. That's the type of coffee I like and I don't mind paying extra for it!

 

Give coffee culture a try..

 

Plenty of choice, price is not crazy, you order the 'degree of roast'...   based on the Op - it lools like he wants to be ordering medium roast.

 

https://coffeeculture.asia/product/khun-chang-khian-coffee/

 

As an example.. 

 

24 minutes ago, gejohesch said:

Not a single hill tribe area coffee I have tried suited me, that's why I posted here. I found all that "black and shiny" dark roast type that I don't like very much.

 

The 'shiny and dark' stuff is just the 'Dark Roast' coffee... all the oils have been drawn out...

 

You'll be looking for medium roast... 

Edited October 30, 20232 yr by richard_smith237

Lot's on Lazada to choose from, I blend a Vietnamese one and 100% arabica, works for me. Not expensive either, trial and error, although I keep re-ordering the same ones

33 minutes ago, bobbin said:

As a poster above noted, buy on Lazada. You are choosing the wrong roasts. Anything from Full City to Full City+ and onto Dark are going to be dark and shiny with oil.

 

There are plenty of Northern Thailand roasters selling Medium roast which are lighter brown (First Crack).

 

The selection at Makro is too limited for me. I often order and receive beans that were roasted just a day or two before I ordered them..

Thanks, I will try via Lazada then (although I don't like their site much, too "busy" and confusing)

1 hour ago, gejohesch said:

Not a single hill tribe area coffee I have tried suited me, that's why I posted here. I found all that "black and shiny" dark roast type that I don't like very much.

 

Well horses for courses, I really like and enjoy these beans / roasts.

I've tried a number of Northern roasters that advertise promotions on Facebook.  I will usually try a single 250g bag and see how I like it, usually paying no more than B300.  I especially enjoy the medium roast beans I've gotten from "RODS" however I do not claim to have a particularly discerning palate.  

2 hours ago, gejohesch said:

Thanks, I will try via Lazada then (although I don't like their site much, too "busy" and confusing)

Use the search function..  easy peasy

 

search medium roast full bean

Edited October 30, 20232 yr by bobbin
more info

Has anyone tried those beans predigested and extracted from elephant poop?

I have travelled extensively through Arabica country in the North and find there are many roasters who offer a milder lighter roast. I prefer the stronger roasts yet try as many as possible. A fraction make it to the big retail sales channels yet will promptly and reliably ship to you. One that is milder is Pala Coffee which is roasted by hand by Uncle Pala.

https://www.palacoffeehouse.com/

Another which I order from monthly roasts beans from Brazil (Brazil Santos, Columbia, Kenya, Myanmar, Thailand, Africa) is Magic Roaster is located in Pranburi, Prachuap. I order through their Line official account. Here is their Facebook link

https://m.facebook.com/magicroaster

 

On the move expensive end, if you are in Bangkok, is Artis roasters. They will ship via Lineman. The beans are from Thailand, the roasting follows the process of their main shop in Berkeley, California. Be sure to request a light roast. 

 

There are so many options in Thailand that some exploration and research will surely yield a bean and roast that you will enjoy. I have  yet to find the need to bring coffee to Thailand.

I even find expert roasts in Surin at "Coffee at Home" and Craft, who offer Brazilian beans as well. I don't always finds what I like but more often I find very good roasts. The exploration is fun. 

 

Best of luck

 

17 hours ago, gejohesch said:

But I cannot bring several kgs of coffee in my luggage when I come to Thailand. So, sooner or later, I have to fall back on those dark and shiny thai beans. Help!

I buy my coffee beans direct fro this company in the north of Thailand...

you can contact directly or buy through Lazada and delivered to your door.

They grow, harvest, process and roast all on site, so you buy fresh [unlike from supermarkets]

Start with this link. https://doichaangcoffee.co.th/

Edited October 30, 20232 yr by hotchilli

16 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

There are enough specialty coffee beans available in Thailand. 

Just look around, test, and choose what you like.

look where 🤣

1 hour ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Has anyone tried those beans predigested and extracted from elephant poop?

At those ridiculous prices..... never 

15 hours ago, Thailand J said:

Available on Lazada/Shopee Laos Bolaven Plateau and Chiang Mai HillKoff are excellent.

I agree about the Laos Bolaven Plateau coffee.  I have been ordering coffee from that region for a number of years.  I order 4 kg's at a time and the cost comes to 2K baht.  Freshly roasted, so sometimes I have to wait a week or two before the order gets sent.  I switched to these guys about a year ago.   https://shopee.co.th/ryncoffee?entryPoint=OrderDetail

2 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

look where 🤣

https://doichaangcoffee.co.th/

3 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

look where 🤣

I go all the time to a great little coffee shop in Sukhumvit and I drink my espresso there. They also sell the beans which they use.

A friend buys from Starbucks.

Pick what you like.

On 10/30/2023 at 4:09 AM, gejohesch said:

Not a single hill tribe area coffee I have tried suited me, that's why I posted here. I found all that "black and shiny" dark roast type that I don't like very much.

 

  You've created a very typical AseanNow thread - you state in the OP that you don't like Thai coffee.

 

  AN members respond by recommending you try Thai coffee.  

16 hours ago, TheAppletons said:

Maybe order from the Hillkoff website.....  

 

This store is located in Chiang Mai and while they do provide copious amounts of Thai coffee, they also have international speciality coffee that you can order, e.g., coffee from Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Kenya, etc.

 

https://www.hillkoff.shop/interspecialtycoffee

I second the suggestion for Hillkoff. Their Thai Arabica, French or Italian Roast is really a very acceptable, good price coffee. Try to be convinced.

Birdy 3 in 1.

2 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Has anyone tried those beans predigested and extracted from elephant poop?

I did once. It's an experience I'll "never forget ”....