Where to buy good ground/whole coffee on the cheap?

[NCC1701A]

"Coffee Bar" on Soi Ratvithi 2. Organic coffee. Nice garden patio to sit in. Quite. You can watch them roast the coffee. Next to "Your House Guest House".

[CIHUAHUA]

I go to Central in Chiang Mai where they sell coffee machines. I go there once a week or so and ask for a free demonstration (3 oz paper cup) Can not get any cheaper than that.

When I buy coffee I shop at:

Kasem store at 19 Ratchawong Rd.

T. Changmoi, A. Maung Chiang Mai, Thailand , 50000

053 234 986

Many people buy coffee there so the turn over is good which means "fresh beans". They will grind it for you. Not really cheap but you get what you pay for, if you are lucky.

[Straight8]

I vote for Akha Ama coffee. It's wet process and very good tasting.

About 320 baht for half kilo

http://www.akhaama.com/

Where do you buy it from Cobra, seems not directly from that link.

Cheers

http://www.akhaama.com/about-cafe/directions/

They also have new location at the east end of Sunday walking street by Wat Prah Singh. Sign says 'La Fattoria'

Here is their facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/akhaama

Once in a while I see signs of smaller shops or resellers offering it also

A bit out of my way, I'm in BKK.

Was just curious as I heard good things about them.

[Straight8]

By the sound of it, most of these establishments are around the Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai regions??

[maximillian]

I buy whole beans through the mail. Excellent quality and super fresh as it is roasted at time of order. See attachment for details.

Just remember, though, no matter how great the coffee beans, if you grind them with a blade grinder instead of a burr grinder, it will taste like shit. So if you do not have a burr grinder, don't blame the coffee.

Thanks a lot for this grart and useful advice, Ticketmaster.

[umbanda]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

Right! That coffee is very good for the price. Also in Makro look for Cafe Bom...The best Brazilian you can get in Thailand. It is the same price but for 250 gr.......Correction...I am the best Brazilian in Thailand...priceless....

[F4UCorsair]

'Cheap' and 'good' don't fit together when talking coffee. I love coffee, have done for 40 years, and that's my experience.

[F4UCorsair]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

Right! That coffee is very good for the price. Also in Makro look for Cafe Bom...The best Brazilian you can get in Thailand. It is the same price but for 250 gr.......Correction...I am the best Brazilian in Thailand...priceless....

Or you have the best Brazilian in Thailand?? Please post pics if so.

[Card]

Coffee.jpgI am very happy with the quality of Moccona Ground Coffee. It's available at Foodland, Tops Market, and BigC.

Years ago I used to use the expresso blend of Moccona too, but compared to what I drink now, it's horrible. It also seems to be ground too fine even for my expresso machine.

[GuyL]

A good friend of mine is a French artisan coffee roaster. He is located in Udon Thani, but you may certainly order his delicious coffee (I don't know how much you will be charged for the delivery, but it should not be very expensive).

He proposes four different tastes from the strongest to the most fragrant coffee beans or ground:

- "Classic Premium" [40% Arabica, 60% Robusta] at 190 baht / 500 gr.

- "Opera Italian Taste" [70% Arabica, 30% Robusta] at 290 baht / 500 gr.

- "Moccha Taste" [100% Arabica] at 390 baht / 500 gr.

- "Golden Beans" [100% Arabica] at 490 baht / 500 gr.

The "Classic Premium" flavor is probably the best suited for a morning coffee, but my personal preference comes to the "Opera Italian Taste" which is perfect if you like espressos.

The other two flavors are really delicious too, but as they are more expensive, you probably won't drink them as often as the other ones.

There is a brochure available here: http://symphoniescoffe.com/doc/enthpro1.pdf

For some reasons, the name of his company is: "Symphonies Coffe" (not "Coffee") and here is its contact information:

Symphonies Coffe Co., Ltd
288/7-8 Moo 6 T. Nong Bua A. Muang J. Udon Thani 41000 Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 42 321 181
Fax: +66 (0) 42 266 740
Mobile: +66 (0) 873 733 516

Edited August 7, 2013 by onthedarkside
email removed as per forum rules

[Kiniyeow]

I go to Hillkoff and get 1/2 Kilo bags for 180Baht. These are coffee beans grown here in Thailand and they will grind them (for free) right in the store. They have several types to chose from depending on your taste. There might be other places that are just as good, but so far, I've never had an issue with this place.

[Tazwa]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

Right! That coffee is very good for the price. Also in Makro look for Cafe Bom...The best Brazilian you can get in Thailand. It is the same price but for 250 gr.......Correction...I am the best Brazilian in Thailand...priceless....

Or you have the best Brazilian in Thailand?? Please post pics if so.

Or please don't!

[Sparkles]

Yes, Mako has some pretty good product in a Black Foil Bag. I know it when I see it but I don't have a bag at the moment as all the beans are in the grinder. (Note to self: GET MORE COFFEE BEANS) Someone mentioned a product from Rimping and yes, this is also very good but expensive, however it is worth the extra, afterall, how many dozen cups do you drink each day?

Having mentioned Makro, have others noticed how RUDE the "Final Check" people are? you know, after you go through the "check-out" and pay your money, you then get bailed-up by some snotty little person just before you go out the door. Most of them are non-smiling, and treat customers as though the customer is an Arch Criminal trying to steal the store blind. The old Makro store was pretty good a few years ago but the one on Hangdong Road is a real pain, which lets down the whole image of Makro where most of the staff are excellent.

The "final check" people are not rude at Makro,Hang Dong just doing their job, ie making sure goods taken = goods paid for.Do you want them singing and dancing? If the store is a "real pain" as you describe go somewhere else,life must be very difficult for you....maybe you are in the wrong country !

[Ulic]

I buy whole beans through the mail. Excellent quality and super fresh as it is roasted at time of order. See attachment for details.

Just remember, though, no matter how great the coffee beans, if you grind them with a blade grinder instead of a burr grinder, it will taste like shit. So if you do not have a burr grinder, don't blame the coffee.

Thanks for the incite. I never realized the grinder was important and had never heard of a burr grinder.

As they say learn something new everyday. For me often a few things,LOL.

[bigbamboo]

"Good" and "Cheap" rarely go together.

Just to let you know you really pissed off my budgie when he read that comment.

Re the coffee..... ditto Douwe Egberts 500g for 150 baht at Makro, CM. Good stuff too.

[MESmith]

"Good" and "Cheap" rarely go together.

Just to let you know you really pissed off my budgie when he read that comment.

Bigbamboo, please leave your "budgie" out of this......

[dontejo]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

The green Package (expresso) for me very OK.

[Photomike]

Coming from San Francisco - coffee - good coffee - was important. For five years I tried my own search but came up empty. Signed up for Google + earlier this year and joined the coffee group with the same question. The best response was a website that lists good coffee shops and bean shops. The rest is up to you. So far I've only found oily beans stored in clear glass containers. But some of the flavors still come through.

http://www.beanhunter.com/thailand/bangkok/Bangkok

This will get you to a place where you can call up a list by Thai city (or other countries) for shops and beans. Some even roast in house. It's great to find out when they roast and have a cup as they pull the beans out of the roaster.

For me there is no better coffee to drink that a choice selection, ground to perfection, extracted with care, and relaxed during the "cool" dawns.

[topshot]

Thanks guys, I'll check out Akha Ama and Hillkoff this weekend.

Seems like I definitely overpaid for store coffee. I paid 155 baht for 250g when everyone else was paying 200 baht for 500 g.

[kiniyow]

Cambodia where any type of coffee is half the price of Thailand...

[F4UCorsair]

Cambodian coffee is good, but Lao coffee is heaven!! I have yet to find coffee to equal the taste (for me) of Lao coffee. I fell for it when I was thee some years ago, and brought kilos of it home. I can't buy it here, and with no plans to return soon, I have an occasional cup so it will last, forever hopefully.

bigbamboo, is 'your budgie' the one in budgie smugglers??

[BB1955]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

I bought some of this the other day at Macro was affraid it was going to be trash based on the price . But its pretty good coffee for the price .....

[elektrified]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

I bought some of this the other day at Macro was affraid it was going to be trash based on the price . But its pretty good coffee for the price .....

Spend another 40 THB per kg and you can get Duang Dee grown right here in the North of Thailand, freshly roasted. Very nice tasting coffee and I am a 'coffee snob'. They have 3 roasts, medium, dark, and one other. I always buy the original which is the medium roast. Highly recommended. Drinking a cup right now...

[richard10365]

You can buy green beans from Hillkoff in Chiang Mai. 1kg for about 240 baht. If you buy from the farmer it's about 120baht/kg.

Put about 200 grams of green beans in a wok and roast them until they are the color you like.Put the beans in a container similar to something you wash vegetables in and sift out (by shaking) the skin that comes off the bean during the roasting process. The sifting container has to have porous enough to allow the skin to fall out but not the bean. Then wait 4 hours and roast your coffee. Fresh is best!

[pizzachang]

I only like the "French Roast" roast and buy Aroma Brand at Rimping. 190b for a bag. I did try a shop outside Chiang Rai that sold bulk - not bad but still not dark enough for my taste. Have you noticed that it is harder to find very dark roasts and impossible to see through opaque sealed bags - to actually find what "strong roast" means? The Aroma is not bad but there is probably better that I haven't located here in CM.

[Ticketmaster]

I buy whole beans through the mail. Excellent quality and super fresh as it is roasted at time of order. See attachment for details.

Just remember, though, no matter how great the coffee beans, if you grind them with a blade grinder instead of a burr grinder, it will taste like shit. So if you do not have a burr grinder, don't blame the coffee.

Hi Ticketmaster,

Just read your post on coffee an wanted to thank you for taking the time to write that up. Excellent advise that I intend to follow.

Thank you.

You won't be sorry. byt the way, somebody said something about shipping EMS. She used to ship to me by EMS, but since I pay the postage, I asked her to stop. I have never had any trouble with the Thai Post, and think EMS a waste of money in most cases. Since she is sending it post collect (you pay at the post office) they are NOT going to lose it!

[Ticketmaster]

I buy whole beans through the mail. Excellent quality and super fresh as it is roasted at time of order. See attachment for details.

Just remember, though, no matter how great the coffee beans, if you grind them with a blade grinder instead of a burr grinder, it will taste like shit. So if you do not have a burr grinder, don't blame the coffee.

How do they accept payment?

She sends it post collect. No screwing around with banks, no trust issues. You pay at post when it arrives. There is a small post fee for the collect service, but no big deal (better than dealing with bank transfers).

A word of warning though. Be careful about opening the box at the post office. Even though the beans are packed in Mylar sacks, when you open the box, a think, rich aroma comes pouring out and everybody will trample you trying to get a sniff.

Her coffee is 100% arabica.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Ticketmaster

[LadPhrao1]

Well, no better time or place for this one then...

I love coffee, I love tea
I love the Java Jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the java and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup (Boy!)

I love java, sweet and hot
Whoops Mr. Moto, I'm a coffee pot
Shoot the pot and I'll pour me a shot
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup

Oh slip me a slug from the wonderful mug
And I'll cut a rug just snug in a jug
A sliced up onion and a raw one
Draw one -
Waiter, waiter, percolator

I love coffee, I love tea
I love the Java Jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the java and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup

Boston bean (soy beans)
Green bean (cabbage and greens)
I'm not keen about a bean
Unless it is a chili chili bean (boy!)

I love java sweet and hot
Whoops Mr. Moto I'm a coffee pot (yeah)
Shoot me the pot and I'll pour me a shot
A cup, a cup, a cup (yeah)

Slip me a slug of the wonderful mug
'An I'll cut a rug just as snug in a jug
Drop a nickel in the pot Joe
Takin' it slow
Waiter, waiter, percolator

I love coffee, I love tea
I love the Java Jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the java and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, boy!

[Sudgirl]

When buying your coffee beans or ready ground,store in the freezer and the flavour will always be good.

[taotoo]

Douwe Egberts at makro , 500 gr for under 150,- THB if i remember correctly.

Can also get this at Rimping. Personally opt for the 'standard' option rather than the 'special'.