Coffee

[daviddabit]

Personally I prefer the local coffee Bo Lan ... But not easy to find a good Bo Lan coffee...

I also find Chao Doi is quite good...

[SooKee]

I guess the other AA roasts might be ok. The more heavily roasted Hillkoff French and Italian are OK whereas even their City Roast was blaaaaaady awful.

Their price ranges for coffee aren't too bad I think at 115 per 250g. Esp if you just drink a cup a day. It'd mount up if you were and addict though for sure.

[CMKiwi]

Am a big fan of Aka Ama but its a tad expensive so I have worked my way tasting lots of cheaper brands from Rimping, Yok primarily over the last few years. Quite a few good ones for the price but recently blown away by the coffee at a new coffee shop on the 2nd ring road next to the balloon park. Per chance asked the owner and its their own blend from 2 estates in Chiang Rai, 100% organic Arabica. I think Hill tribe grown. They only sell to independents but kindly let me purchase 1kg for 500bt. Very reasonable for such quality. Its called Hom Doi. Now everytime I pop in to reorder, they tell me how fresh it is..todays purchase is 4 days old.

Thats a very good price for 1 kilo. I shall try and find some.

[mascarabertha]

Yah. My problem with the supermarket coffee is you have to be careful it's not from a supplier where the beans have been roasted weeks or even months before they even get to the outlet. Let alone before you buy them. Not really interested in the Bon Cafe and such like

these are coffee beans are loose not packaged in large bins which you scoop out weight and grind

[mania]

There are way more roasters around now & single origin is available at quite a few places.

Brought in as green beans & roasted here

You need to read up if you want it within the 1st week of roasting

Best way is join some Thai groups on FB

I have had ...in no particular order

Columbian Narino Supremo

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe washed & natural

Guatemalan Huehuetenango

These are not cheap but not bad either & start at around 350baht for 250grams but well worth it for me

when considering import taxes for coffee is quite high here

On the Thai blends with single origin some very nice Thai/Ethiopian/Brazil mix 350baht for 250gr

On the strictly Thai Blends this mix was good too @ roughly 295baht for 250gr

Phahi-Chiang Rai – 40%

Papae – Mae Tang –40%

Khun Chang Kian – Chiang Mai – 20 %

On The Ahka Ama brand...The one I like & works well for me in Aeropress too is their "Cafe Blend"

their other stuff was ok but I would not buy them twice. Only because of many other choices

But they were not bad per se'

The cafe blend is ok though...also good if you want to make an espresso or espresso like drink via aeropress etc.

All of the above I buy when usually 2-3 days since roasted & I let it rest till 6-8 days before using

Also agree with what some others say there are some cheap burnt blends out there You only need buy those once

Edited March 4, 2016 by mania

[INDI12]

Had a friend return from Vietnam. Brought some coffee back

Sang Tao 4 340 go 250 baht. IMHO better than the few I've bought here.

Chocolate tones to it smooth,dark, low acidic

[SooKee]

Recently tried the Akha Ama Strong Roast. OK, best of the AA coffees for me, but Hillkoff Italian Espresso still has the top slot at the moment. Also just tried the Hillkoff Ratika Blaze (mixed with about 30% Robusta). Not bad, not sure I'd buy it again over their Italian though.

I also went to Toong, an independent roaster in Nongkwaai at the Malada bunch of shop lots. Tried a coffee there. Not too impressed. Only have one style of roast and it's mixed with Robusta. At 250 baht for 250g I passed, in case like so many others it ended up in the bin.

Will try Alti next. I also have some samples of order from Red Cliff. Will see how they all turn out then likely call it a day and stick with Hillkoff Italian or whatever betters it. Getting a bit burned out on the hunt for coffee, bit bored of binning so much of it too. Either it's crap or my coffee tastebuds are. Either way, I'm binning way more than I'm liking. I would try the Starbucks stuff, just as a comparison, but at 500 baht for 250g, no way, especially not if their shop coffee is anything to go by.

In a moment of madness I nearly even splashed on a Gaggia Classic and Madcap M2 grinder at a combined cost of 35K. On hold at the moment though as I really don't drink espresso tbh and more often than not go for a drink resembling a Nescafe but just want it tasting better. The Aeropress with the right coffee I think is more than capable of providing that.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I have tried all Hillkoff variations like blaze but prefer the Italian Espresso. I just buy that now and have stopped trying other types. Hand grinder and and aerobie.

[SooKee]

Yah. Blaze is OK but still missing something. Same as you, the Italian wins, for now. Like I say, I'll try Alti, likely Doi Chang and this Red Cliff when it comes but in no rush to do it. Need a break TBH. There's the Royal Project factory near me too, might even try that - some day.

Then of course comes all the options with the Aeropress. 17g of coffee or 15g. No infusion (e.g. pour and press) 30 secs or 1 minute. 200g of water or 150. LOL. Getting there slowly but it's been a bit of a mission

[backtofront]

Most of the brands mentioned in the threads I have found come from Chiang Mai. I am looking for contact details for Sri Sawat  coffee. Are there any other brands using beans grown in the Kanchanburi area?