What Coffee Do You Buy?

[TheGameJustIs]

the stuff i bought in europe is about done so i will need to select a local brand. what do you suggest? i dont mind spending money for quality but i know thais dont drink much coffee so hopefully quality is not limited.

[nidge]

I buy my coffee in Tesco Lotus. It's made by Boncafe. I think it's about 110 baht for 250g. There are a few different packs but i stick to the expresso as i need the kick to wake me up in the morning. I'm surprised to see it always in stock as i have never seen a Thai where i live drink any coffee unless it's iced.

Nidge.

[jaideeguy]

I get my coffee thru a friend that has a hill tribe connection for 250baht/k and is fresh roasted and delicious....but i have to buy 10k minimum. Beats starbucks where they charge the same for a cup of coffee.

If you're up north, you will find it in a few outlets for 300baht/k.

[lazeeboy]

boncafe royal coffee are both readily available all over thailand

[mauiguy90]

the stuff i bought in europe is about done so i will need to select a local brand. what do you suggest? i dont mind spending money for quality but i know thais dont drink much coffee so hopefully quality is not limited.

I buy Suzuki coffee when I run out of coffee from Hawaii. Its available at most Top's branches. I first tried it when I went to Home Pro at Ploenchit, where Suzuki has an outlet downstairs. Its quite good.

[ignis]

I like Dutch Coffee, so buy 'Douwe Egberts' I buy the 'Special' because that is what I like best + I drink at least 10 mugs per day...... 124 baht per 500gr pack..

The coffee, ham [200 baht kg off the bone] Salami [250 baht kg] Cheddar Cheese [620 baht per 2kg block] bought by a friend that visits 'Friendship' in Pattaya

I have tried every Brand in Thailand, even some from the hill tribes, I still like Douwe Egberts the best, but then I have mostly always drunk this brand for the past 35 years

[alaina]

Tops sells whole bean coffee which is pretty good if you avoid the blends, I buy Brazil Santos. But, my favorites are Tanzanian peaberry and Sumatra which I've never seen here outside of Starbucks who burn coffee beans beyond recognition. I now ebay to get the coffee that I like and add some of the stuff from Tops to make it last longer.

Some Villa Market locations also sell reasonably priced coffee presses that make a nice cup of coffee, but finding a coffee grinder was a bit tough, finally found one at Index Living Mall.

[lomatopo]

Whole bean? Ground? Style preferred?

There is a lot of Arabica coffee grown here, in the north, and roasted here in a variety recognized of styles. Generally available for 400 - 800 THB/kilogram. Tung Who's Medium blend whole bean is 400 THB/kg. Most supermarkets have a decent selection and can grind to your requirements.

[Uros]

If you think Starbucks burn their coffee, most Thai roasts like Tung Who "Medium" are even darker, and their "Espresso" is straight off the campfire. It is funny because real italian espresso roast is actually quite light. The Thai burnt roasts only work with the amount of condensed milk and sugar the Thais like to put in.

Most Thai brands are hit and miss, but for brewed coffee usually Boncafe's "All Day" is pretty good or for an even more of a budget option VP brand have a decent dark Espresso if you like that style or a bit lighter 100% Arabica "Executive".

[simcity]

1- find a friend or traveller who are going to Vietnam …

2- Go to Vietnam yourself

I did order from boncafe, link with few friends and order 10 kilo.

friend was in chiangmai last few day, I ask him to contact this company

http://www.lannacafe.org/about.html he got 2 kilos for me, not try yet.

I telephone to them, and they told me can send to Bangkok when paiement receive.

[Chang_paarp]

I like BonnCafe espresso. I buy beans and put them into my automatic machine, it took a little messing around to get the grind right. My European customers seem to like the coffee.

From BonnCafe it is 98B for a single bag or if you buy a box (20 bags) it drops to 72B.

[Plus]

VP "Executive" is the one I settled on. Boncafe is pretty good, too, but that VP is milder on the tongue.

There are lots of imported brands including Illy and Lavazza but they are not worth the hype, imo, as well as overfried Starbucks, though their Kenyan coffee really bites

Suzuki is crap, probably the cheapest brand around, but some Aroma blends are nice (they should be, as "Blue Mountain" cost over 2,000 per kilo).

[Jamie]

Can you get Civet coffee there? I know you can in Vietnam

[simcity]

Can you get Civet coffee there? I know you can in Vietnam

i do not think so.

i once ask a friend who went to hanoi, to get me best bean he can find !

he come back with a very nice bland and in it was some reject of civet coffee.

the price was raisonable.

indonesia have some, post if you have more info

thk

[sugarhead]

Can you get Civet coffee there? I know you can in Vietnam

i do not think so.

i once ask a friend who went to hanoi, to get me best bean he can find !

he come back with a very nice bland and in it was some reject of civet coffee.

the price was raisonable.

indonesia have some, post if you have more info

thk

In Indonesia it's called kopi luak. But even there it has become hard to find. Many companies won't purchase or distribute it because of lack of food hygiene standards.

[Wombat6]

J can recommend Ranong Coffee....locally grown, freshly ground ,in vacuum pack, 120 Baht.

[bendejo]

Great, I was planning to start a thread on this!

Where do you find Tung Who coffee? It's my favorite in SE Asia.

I know Foodland (Suk Soi 5) used to have it in bulk, now they pre-bag the bulk at 500g and grind to order.

Friendship Market in Pattaya had bulk last I checked.

Foodland in Patpong has it in factory packages.

And that's it! As I travel around Thailand I always check the markets, and have never seen Tung Who elsewhere. If they are packaging it, it must be sold somewhere!

Most Thai markets only sell instant coffee, if any at all. My second choice is Macconna (sp?).

Once I was staying in Argentina and the only coffee I could find was Boncafe, and it was lousy, haven't touched the stuff since.

BTW, just returned from Laos, and the coffee there has other crap in it. Someone told me it was Viet coffee. Laos exports most of the coffee grown there, and the populace drinks the imported Viet swill. I've heard that VN exports its coffee pre-ground, with twigs, soil etc thrown in. Now I believe it. I did bring back a kg of Laos export quality, it's ok.

Where do you find Douwe Egberts? I'll give it a try if can't find Tung Who.

[HDRIDER]

the stuff i bought in europe is about done so i will need to select a local brand. what do you suggest? i dont mind spending money for quality but i know thais dont drink much coffee so hopefully quality is not limited.

I buy Suzuki coffee when I run out of coffee from Hawaii. Its available at most Top's branches. I first tried it when I went to Home Pro at Ploenchit, where Suzuki has an outlet downstairs. Its quite good.

Same here, very good coffe, the gold packet, its just the name,,, dont like suzuki

[swain]

Anyone know where to find a cheap coffee grinder? I bought the unit I had, up until today,from the USA and it was only 350 baht... small one button half a cup of beans ....but my daughter got a hold of it and its beyond repair now. I have found some units at Robinsons and star bucks.. but they want 2000 baht... a bit steep for what you are getting. I am thinking I will wait and pick one up in Myanmar as I have seen one down there for about the same price as in the USA. We are so close to China .. how come we have to go across the boarder to get this stuff at a reasonable price.

Example: a French press coffee maker here in Thailand the cheapest I have found is 500 baht.. and in Myanmar a unit that is better quality is 250 baht and after you bargain its close to 200 baht. Myanmar also had the 500 baht model I found in thailand (made in china) but starting price was only 235.

[khunopie]

VP "Executive" is the one I settled on. Boncafe is pretty good, too, but that VP is milder on the tongue.

There are lots of imported brands including Illy and Lavazza but they are not worth the hype, imo, as well as overfried Starbucks, though their Kenyan coffee really bites

Suzuki is crap, probably the cheapest brand around, but some Aroma blends are nice (they should be, as "Blue Mountain" cost over 2,000 per kilo).

I second VP coffee. I like the arabica. Tried Suzuki once but that was enough.

[ignis]

Great, I was planning to start a thread on this!

Where do you find Tung Who coffee? It's my favorite in SE Asia.

I know Foodland (Suk Soi 5) used to have it in bulk, now they pre-bag the bulk at 500g and grind to order.

Friendship Market in Pattaya had bulk last I checked.

Foodland in Patpong has it in factory packages.

And that's it! As I travel around Thailand I always check the markets, and have never seen Tung Who elsewhere. If they are packaging it, it must be sold somewhere!

Most Thai markets only sell instant coffee, if any at all. My second choice is Macconna (sp?).

Once I was staying in Argentina and the only coffee I could find was Boncafe, and it was lousy, haven't touched the stuff since.

BTW, just returned from Laos, and the coffee there has other crap in it. Someone told me it was Viet coffee. Laos exports most of the coffee grown there, and the populace drinks the imported Viet swill. I've heard that VN exports its coffee pre-ground, with twigs, soil etc thrown in. Now I believe it. I did bring back a kg of Laos export quality, it's ok.

Where do you find Douwe Egberts? I'll give it a try if can't find Tung Who.

If you read a post near the start I only drink Douwe Egberts, they have it in Friendship, I like the 'Special Blend' 500g vac pk. Friend going to Pattaya last Friday bought me 5 pks

Edited March 5, 2008 by ignis

[Gary A]

It's all what you get used to. I have been drinking instant Nescafe Red Cup for so long that anything else tastes strange. A Thai friend of mine has a little coffee shop. He sells Boncafe and when he gives me a cup of it, it tastes strange.

[Austhaied]

Dtoong Dtee Hilltribe Coffee, from Chiang Mai.. Arabica style.. Lovely drop..

[thaiandi]

Great, I was planning to start a thread on this!

Where do you find Tung Who coffee? It's my favorite in SE Asia.

I know Foodland (Suk Soi 5) used to have it in bulk, now they pre-bag the bulk at 500g and grind to order.

Friendship Market in Pattaya had bulk last I checked.

Foodland in Patpong has it in factory packages.

And that's it! As I travel around Thailand I always check the markets, and have never seen Tung Who elsewhere. If they are packaging it, it must be sold somewhere!

Most Thai markets only sell instant coffee, if any at all. My second choice is Macconna (sp?).

Once I was staying in Argentina and the only coffee I could find was Boncafe, and it was lousy, haven't touched the stuff since.

BTW, just returned from Laos, and the coffee there has other crap in it. Someone told me it was Viet coffee. Laos exports most of the coffee grown there, and the populace drinks the imported Viet swill. I've heard that VN exports its coffee pre-ground, with twigs, soil etc thrown in. Now I believe it. I did bring back a kg of Laos export quality, it's ok.

Where do you find Douwe Egberts? I'll give it a try if can't find Tung Who.

You can buy it at Foodland Srinakarin in the 500gr bags. I used to live out in Cholburi and I would call them up and ask them to stick some in the mail to send to me. I would direct transfer funds at an ATM machine.

I am trying to find their phone number to try to do that again, but am not having much luck yet.

[swain]

Dtoong Dtee Hilltribe Coffee, from Chiang Mai Arabica style 85 baht ... good price and good taste

[dclaryjr]

Does anyone know if you can get coffee from Germany such as Tchibo or Jacobs? My wife and I have used one of the two since we left Berlin in '91. I would think that with the size of the Deutsch expat community that it would be.

[thaigene2]

BonCafe (I like the Morning blend) - I buy in either Villa or Tesco, though the latter sells it for around 20% less in price.

I don't understand why some of the other imported brands are so expensive..They don't taste any better (to me)

[kokesaat]

After tasting most of the previously mentioned brands, I've settled on Dao Coffee beans......from the Bolaven Plateau in Laos.

http://www.daoheuangcoffee.com/

500 gram bag of beans costs just under 200 baht. Makes a perfect cup of coffee in a Bialetti coffee maker.

[thaigerd]

"Jakobs Kroenung" for me!

Gerd

[Datsun240Z]

Douwe Egberts our Dutch brand, but i like better Kanis & Gunnink Yammie