Hope the more informed can explain if the very common Thai coffee blend sold on street carts throughout Thailand is actually derived from coffee beans ?

It looks nasty and would hope it was once a nice Doi Sutep grown coffee bean , anyone have a clue ?

Thailand grows coffee beans.

Stalls usually use Nescafe 3 in 1 or something equally nasty.

But

even Nescafe must have been originally derived from coffee beans.

Edited August 7, 201213 yr by TommoPhysicist

Not the powdered Nescafe , the brew found on the street carts , you see them with cha yen / cafe yen brewing up in small stainless pots.

What is the Thai coffee blend made from ?

lonely planet, 13th (latest) edition, page 88:

"Thais are big coffee drinkers , and good-quality arabica and robusta are cultivated in the hilly areas of northern and southern thailand."

No, even if street carts sell it from stainless steel pots, it's still likely instant coffee. Go to a cash and carry like Makro and you'll learn all the tricks of the trade, huge bulk-buy bags of instant coffee and Thai-tea powder - also 3KG bags of MSG for food stalls, but that's besides the point.

If you go to a small coffee shop near a food court though then they do use Thai-grown coffee beans and freshly gind them, which is remarkable for 30+baht really.

lonely planet, 13th (latest) edition, page 88:

"Thais are big coffee drinkers , and good-quality arabica and robusta are cultivated in the hilly areas of northern and southern thailand."

in the south you sometimes see them: they put them on the main street or close to it to dry.... you also get the dust from the cars.

My wife bought them once and they all had some fungus.

good quality?

It is not instant being brewed in the pots .

Most I see use Nescafe.

Most I see use Nescafe.

Guess you never looked at what was being strained through the cloth sacks used , it is a very coarse grind of something = not instant coffee at all.

Ooliang!

It's instant coffee powder they use in most of the stalls, and most probably the cheapest one they can buy.

But if you pay 30-50 baht in a smaller coffe place they will use beans and the quality is not bad at all, maybe even better than Starbucks...

lonely planet, 13th (latest) edition, page 88:

"Thais are big coffee drinkers , and good-quality arabica and robusta are cultivated in the hilly areas of northern and southern thailand."

Yeah, exactly. Lonely Planet contributors should be sent to Pluto. Thai-grown coffee tastes like freshly mowed grass.

Not sure, but I am addicted to ice coffee.

If I dont have one in the morning, I start shaking and sweating.

Since moving to Thailand I've really grown to like ice coffee. Good stuff

if you order thai coffee at them carts you don't get instant ! it's arabica style ground coffee.

Since moving to Thailand I've really grown to like ice coffee. Good stuff

Me too, I love the iced coffee here. Not too sweet, just perfect, the condensed milk works well. They dont use it in Oz

lonely planet, 13th (latest) edition, page 88:

"Thais are big coffee drinkers , and good-quality arabica and robusta are cultivated in the hilly areas of northern and southern thailand."

Yeah, exactly. Lonely Planet contributors should be sent to Pluto. Thai-grown coffee tastes like freshly mowed grass.

It's instant coffee powder they use in most of the stalls, and most probably the cheapest one they can buy.

But if you pay 30-50 baht in a smaller coffe place they will use beans and the quality is not bad at all, maybe even better than Starbucks...

Mostly Boncafe - coffee beans grown in Thailand.

Even the Nescafe instant is fake in thailand :

http://bangkokpost.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

thread /

why are the cheapest beans you can get here $6 a lb?

It is not instant being brewed in the pots .

Thai iced coffee (Kafae Boran) is made from roasted coffee bean with sugar coated and mixed with sesame.

It is not instant being brewed in the pots .

Thai iced coffee (Kafae Boran) is made from roasted coffee bean with sugar coated and mixed with sesame.

Best answer yet , thank you

Ooliang!

Right, or my favorite; gafee lao; in Thai; ooliang sai nom wan

The real Thai coffee is "gafe bolan" or ancient coffee; definitely made from real beans

It is not instant being brewed in the pots .

A little off topic, but that red cordial type drink at the front.

That is SOOOOOOOO good for hang overs.

I don't think it's made from coffee at all,

I bought pack like that in local store cost 25 bat,

I made couple cups at home, it does not tast like coffee at all

Regardless of whether or not it's real coffee to begin with, the result is 99% sugar most of time, with god knows what else that gives it that orange look. Not easy to find a street vendor who can make a decent tea/coffee that doesn't look like nuclear waste - anyone who calls that coffee doesn't know what they're talking about.

I even prefer to buy the Nescafe latte cans from 7/11 if that's the only other option.