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

[ljerams]

My preference these days is for Doi Saket coffee beans and the hill tribe beans bought near to Union Mall,same Soi, at Ladprao. Please look at my Thread a couple of years ago for more sources. Don't buy at JJ Market because you may get stung like I was!

[Paangjang]

"Good" and "Cheap" rarely go together.

Thai girls...

[circusman]

Each to his own taste. So recommending a coffee for someone else is kind of pointless. The best coffee is the one you like. Period.

[ChrisB87]

"Good" and "Cheap" rarely go together.

Thai girls...

Hmmm..that should be for another thread, but i highly doubt that Thai girls are ever good or cheap, except for my better half who is both those things, although i don't brag about it

[ChrisB87]

Anyone found Vietnamese coffee beans for sale here?

[Gregory Morozov]

Ordered 5 kg per TicketMaster advice. Unfortunately, I am disappointed. The coffee doesn't even smell right when you open it. The beans are very oily. And the taste is not very good either. (And I know how good Arabica should taste like). I've tried quite a few of Thai coffee brands and blends lately and this one will not even make it into the top 5. It is also possible that I am unlucky and got a bad batch. There is no date stamped on the mylar bags.

[eyecatcher]

Ha! Don't blame ticketmaster.

5kg is rather a lot to buy untested is it not.

And as others have said coffee is a very personal preference .

In future DYOR Mr Bean

But if you can grind it for me on the finest setting I will take it off you

[beau thai]

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!

You are right about fresh is best.

2-3 years back on a trip to Doi Inthanon and a short trek through the hills on the way down, I stopped at a hill village and watched them picking coffee beans, drying them in the sun, roasting them, grinding them and brewing them. (Not all the same batch obviously!) The coffee was the best I had enjoyed anywhere in the world-rich, smooth and no hint of bitterness. Wonderful stuff.

[Frank James]

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.

Yes, TM, I'll second that emotion! Well done.

I buy coffee from the Hillkoff shop off Chang Phuak Road, and am very pleased with the quality of their coffee and the shop itself. They sell hand crank grinders there that look interesting. Do you think one of those might produce a good grind?

[wolf5370]

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.

An excellent article and all very, very true, although I haven't tried the hill beans (yet!). I had the same problem as the OP - only drink 1 good cup of coffee in the morning so wanted the best. I bought a burr grinder from Paragon in BKK (a great Severin at 3,500 I think - works fine). Then I bought a French Press (I already had a Krups Expresso machine but found it too fiddly and I'm not a fan of robusta-type expresso). It's a metal double-walled insulated one from Paragon and is just great - a bit pricy at about 2,200 baht for a 2 cup (I use as 1 cup) or 200 baht more for 4 cup and it keeps the coffee hot whilst brewing). I must say it's so easy and consistent - way better than any of the other coffee makers I've ever had (I use a 4-5 min brew time and double the amount of the coursest grind for a single cup, as Arabica doesn't go bitter with strength or brew time up to 5 mins).

Then I experimented with different coffees (I was an experimental bench biologist when alive). Tried quite a few but the best by far was the Aroma Arabica Special (100% Arabica) (their Executive Blend is number 2). It's not expensive at about 159 baht per 250 g and they sell it now in Makro (there was a shortage recently and had to make do with other types, which allowed for some more experiments, until they restocked in several shops, like Villa). It's true that 100% Arabica is by far the best coffee - smooth, deep, without the bitterness of Robusta, and will allow for variations in brewing a bit better. I was in central Europe until last week and noticed that the German coffee was better than the Italian coffee. I asked a salesman in a Tchibo store what is the difference and he told me that German coffee is 80% Arabica and Italian coffee is 70%. But I knew how good 100% Arabica is anyway. I am so happy that I don't want to change the combination I have set up. However, as an experimentalist, I am always open to new suggestions and opportunities.

If I was the OP, I would go for a combination like mine - French press, Burr grinder, 100% Arabica and the best coffee available - but try different ones to suit your taste - you should go for good coffee irrespective of price if you only drink 1 cup per day.

I've also tried to make the foamed milk but have failed every time, so I microwave full cream milk in a cup before pouring in the coffee. Hey, it works.

Had to look up French Press - ah, it's a cafetière (According to Wiki: A French press, also known as a press pot, coffee press, coffee plunger, cafetière (UK) or сafetière à piston, is a simple coffee brewing device patented by Italian designer Attilio Calimani in 1929).

I also like using a percolator cheap ones available from Yok too, but check the sieve (at the top of the chimney - where the coffee is placed) as they do rust if left wet (found that out the hard way) which makes for sludge! Also remember "Coffee boiled is coffee spoiled" - once it has started percolating (noisy bit) listen carefully - as soon as it stops turn off the heat!

You can buy milk frothers /foamers at Yok on the Super Highway - also seen them at the 65 baht store in Airport Plaza mall, but doubt the quality - might be worth a punt for the 65 baht anyway - I have a frother on my espresso machine, so I use that.

[ericpasansai]

The coffee connection. Freshly roasted daily. 14 choices of beans and multiple grinds done with a mill not a grinder

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[DaamNaam]

Lovely coffee here http://www.alti-coffee.com/coffee/roasted-coffee-beans/

And Akha Ama in town.

[beau thai]

The coffee connection. Freshly roasted daily. 14 choices of beans and multiple grinds done with a mill not a grinder Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

where is the Coffee Connection please- google doesnt reveal...

[BawBae]

Kasem Warorot. Ask Mr. X for the 500gr/150 baht 'glow in the dark' coffee. Can't remember the actual brand, just this label subtitle. Grind it there or grind at home.

[daoyai]

I like the dark roast Chiang Dao coffee from Kasem near wararot mkt. 400 a kilo.

[Future3000]

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...

Couldn't agree more, Duang Dee is decent coffee. I used to live in Sydney where my local coffee house would freshly roast beans everyday, so no coffee has ever tasted the same since. Obviously Duang Dee is never going to be that fresh, but I always manage to pick it up relativity fresh( within a month from when it was roasted). Also the price is half most of the other stuff that comes from the North.

[haybilly]

Sorry for being lazy--and not bothering to go back over the last 4 pages--but where do you find Duang Dee Coffee, and is it beans or ground?

[quidnunc]

Sorry for being lazy--and not bothering to go back over the last 4 pages--but where do you find Duang Dee Coffee, and is it beans or ground?

It's sold in Rim Ping supermarkets both whole and ground.

[DaamNaam]

Ahka Ahma best coffee in town if not all of Thailand.

[roberkla]

Hi,

Check out the coffeeshop named "Coffee Time" at the corner of Rat Chiang Saen (moat) and Nantaram Rd. They sell their own grown/roasted brands.

Edited May 19, 2014 by roberkla