Coffee Shops Chiang Mai 2015 ?

[flare]

Best coffee in Chiang Mai if not all of Thailand.

http://www.akhaama.com

I tried it today and wasn't wowed- it wasn't bad, but it didn't come close to Ristr8to, imho. Maybe it was better a couple of years ago as other posters mentioned.

Everybody has different tastes, of course.

[stament]

how much are these coffees being quoted? can we have some prices added please to give us a sense of cost.

thanks

Cheap Charlie

[freedomnow]

what are piccolo lattes when they're at home pls?

It is a small (piccolo) latte with less milk than a latte, so the coffee taste dominates over the other ingredients.

Pacamara (single 55 Baht/double65 Baht) and Fabulous Roasters (double shot 35 Baht) do fantastic perfected ones.

Will be served in a shot glass vs a ceramic cup.

Edited October 24, 2015 by freedomnow

[freedomnow]

The intensified competition within a saturated market tends to open up new and inventive ways of selling or marketing the same old product...

check out this coffee shop that opened last Dec. on Canal Road(121) - Mao Coffee - After a slight south bound curve (easy to blow by) about 1km before the Mae Hia intersection.

Looks like hipster crap, the second wave after Starbucks strapafrappacreamcaramelcanyoutastethecoffeechinos

[stament]

Sounds good I like lattes but not good for the waistline so they sound perfect.

I will be sure to check out some of the recommendations on here. I don't know of any good coffee places myself, only cha yen.

[LarryBird]

IM Cafe on the Night Safari Road in between Canal road and Hang Dong road on the left side heading towards night safari/Royal Flora. It's a cool atmosphere and I like the coffee. Decent prices, pleasant service..

[SoiBiker]

I liked the places you like until you discovered them. Now I prefer somewhere more obscure.

One-upmanship. The essential ingredient of a good coffee.

[freedomnow]

Still on the lookout for some excellent early morning coffee (7-9am) inside moat old city (not Pacamara though...somewhere else...I like friendly staff)

[stament]

any independent operators in the Nong Hoi area?

[richard10365]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

[stament]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

More interested in the coffee and price than the atmosphere. Too lazy to make my own though!

[richard10365]

I do understand what you mean. The first couple of roasts might take time to learn to do right but after you get the hang of it you will find it takes about 20 minutes to roast about 250g of coffee. Its about as difficult as making rice. I wonder if I could make money giving coffee roasting classes?

[freedomnow]

Also on the look-out for excellent brewed coffee inside the moat..... ?

[anon467848]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

When was the last time you had a coffee at Starbucks? You certainly won't find a coffee for under a 100 baht.

[villagefarang]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

When was the last time you had a coffee at Starbucks? You certainly won't find a coffee for under a 100 baht.

A short cappuccino at Starbucks is 90 baht but if you make it a double, like I do, it will cost 105 baht.

[Kathiejs]

Any good places near the river, south of the night market?

[anon467848]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

When was the last time you had a coffee at Starbucks? You certainly won't find a coffee for under a 100 baht.

A short cappuccino at Starbucks is 90 baht but if you make it a double, like I do, it will cost 105 baht.

My bad...everything I order is always 100+ baht, not that I go there often. Why pay tourist prices, when there are lots of reasonably priced Thai coffee shops.

[villagefarang]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

When was the last time you had a coffee at Starbucks? You certainly won't find a coffee for under a 100 baht.

A short cappuccino at Starbucks is 90 baht but if you make it a double, like I do, it will cost 105 baht.

My bad...everything I order is always 100+ baht, not that I go there often. Why pay tourist prices, when there are lots of reasonably priced Thai coffee shops.

Maybe because price is not my main concern.

[stament]

Blue Cafe behind Big C Extra is one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, delicious coffee, and tasty treats. Its a bit pricy but more premium features also comes with a higher price.

However, if you're only after coffee and not the associated experience, then learn to roast your own coffee. Its very easy to do in a wok and a fraction of the cost of store bought coffee. Best of all, it taste great! The average cost of home roasted coffee is 5 baht compared to 60 to 70 baht in places like Starbucks.

When was the last time you had a coffee at Starbucks? You certainly won't find a coffee for under a 100 baht.

A short cappuccino at Starbucks is 90 baht but if you make it a double, like I do, it will cost 105 baht.

My bad...everything I order is always 100+ baht, not that I go there often. Why pay tourist prices, when there are lots of reasonably priced Thai coffee shops.

Maybe because price is not my main concern.

Nor is the coffee quality if you are going to Starbucks lol

[freedomnow]

Also on the look-out for excellent brewed coffee inside the moat that opens early..... ?

[stament]

Also on the look-out for excellent brewed coffee inside the moat that opens early..... ?

not found anything since post 43? ;-)

[freedomnow]

Obviously not. Wow, a smug poster on TV...surprise,surprise. It's amazing how big balls get behind screen handles on this site.

I prefer leads from members since on average 8/10 new places tend to range from bland to down-right awful......like the coffee I had outside Tesco the other day. Could use it as a torture device to make people talk....."one more sip....talk or you'll get one more sip !"

Listen, some people taking this thread Off topic with their "my home brew is better at 5 baht"....

Great! But utterly useless, as this is related to great hidden away coffee shops in Chiang Mai.

Edited December 10, 2015 by freedomnow

[totally thaied up]

Also on the look-out for excellent brewed coffee inside the moat that opens early..... ?

I do not say where I go now. Most of my good places over the last 10 years have been over run with Digital Nomads and lost the Thai feel to them. Once a Nomad finds somewhere to set shop up in, the rest slowly follow and just ruin the ambiance. I want to go have coffee, not watch some farang with a beats headset on video calling into his work or some girl programming her blog. Like most, you go for the ambiance of the place and for a break away from the world.

So if I find somewhere special now, I keep my mouth shut. I roast my own beans, have my own grinder and have a very good machine installed at my house from Hilkroft, so I take my coffee seriously. Very few places here make great coffee. Still, I see so many Thais now setting up coffee shops after seeing them getting supplies from places like Hilkroft, maybe over time, the coffee here will get better. Some of the shops I visit have the best of machines in them and should make great coffee but the beans are not freshly roasted and left out in the air and are stale and such, the coffee is not good. It should not be like that; coffee beans here from Chiang Rai are quite good and we do have a very large selection to choose from and there are plenty of places here that roast daily. Having fresh coffee and knowing how to look after it should be the first priority of any good shop and I only know of a handful outside the old city that do this. As for the rest, they are better off serving Nescafe as that fancy 120,000 baht machine they use won't make old coffee taste good.

[stament]

Obviously not. Wow, a smug poster on TV...surprise,surprise. It's amazing how big balls get behind screen handles on this site.

I prefer leads from members since on average 8/10 new places tend to range from bland to down-right awful......like the coffee I had outside Tesco the other day. Could use it as a torture device to make people talk....."one more sip....talk or you'll get one more sip !"

Listen, some people taking this thread Off topic with their "my home brew is better at 5 baht"....

Great! But utterly useless, as this is related to great hidden away coffee shops in Chiang Mai.

Apologies it was tongue in cheek and not meant to offend.

[junglechef]

Also on the look-out for excellent brewed coffee inside the moat that opens early..... ?

I do not say where I go now. Most of my good places over the last 10 years have been over run with Digital Nomads and lost the Thai feel to them. Once a Nomad finds somewhere to set shop up in, the rest slowly follow and just ruin the ambiance. I want to go have coffee, not watch some farang with a beats headset on video calling into his work or some girl programming her blog. Like most, you go for the ambiance of the place and for a break away from the world.

So if I find somewhere special now, I keep my mouth shut. I roast my own beans, have my own grinder and have a very good machine installed at my house from Hilkroft, so I take my coffee seriously. Very few places here make great coffee. Still, I see so many Thais now setting up coffee shops after seeing them getting supplies from places like Hilkroft, maybe over time, the coffee here will get better. Some of the shops I visit have the best of machines in them and should make great coffee but the beans are not freshly roasted and left out in the air and are stale and such, the coffee is not good. It should not be like that; coffee beans here from Chiang Rai are quite good and we do have a very large selection to choose from and there are plenty of places here that roast daily. Having fresh coffee and knowing how to look after it should be the first priority of any good shop and I only know of a handful outside the old city that do this. As for the rest, they are better off serving Nescafe as that fancy 120,000 baht machine they use won't make old coffee taste good.

You answer someone's request for suggestings by saying you know but your not going to say.

Nah nah nah nah nah nah, as we said in elementary school

The Thais "getting supplies at Hillkroft" but "very few places make great coffee" but YOU do the same "so I take my coffee very seriously".

Sounds a bit Totally Screwed Up to me

[totally thaied up]

Also on the look-out for excellent brewed coffee inside the moat that opens early..... ?

I do not say where I go now. Most of my good places over the last 10 years have been over run with Digital Nomads and lost the Thai feel to them. Once a Nomad finds somewhere to set shop up in, the rest slowly follow and just ruin the ambiance. I want to go have coffee, not watch some farang with a beats headset on video calling into his work or some girl programming her blog. Like most, you go for the ambiance of the place and for a break away from the world.

So if I find somewhere special now, I keep my mouth shut. I roast my own beans, have my own grinder and have a very good machine installed at my house from Hilkroft, so I take my coffee seriously. Very few places here make great coffee. Still, I see so many Thais now setting up coffee shops after seeing them getting supplies from places like Hilkroft, maybe over time, the coffee here will get better. Some of the shops I visit have the best of machines in them and should make great coffee but the beans are not freshly roasted and left out in the air and are stale and such, the coffee is not good. It should not be like that; coffee beans here from Chiang Rai are quite good and we do have a very large selection to choose from and there are plenty of places here that roast daily. Having fresh coffee and knowing how to look after it should be the first priority of any good shop and I only know of a handful outside the old city that do this. As for the rest, they are better off serving Nescafe as that fancy 120,000 baht machine they use won't make old coffee taste good.

You answer someone's request for suggestings by saying you know but your not going to say.

Nah nah nah nah nah nah, as we said in elementary school

The Thais "getting supplies at Hillkroft" but "very few places make great coffee" but YOU do the same "so I take my coffee very seriously".

Sounds a bit Totally Screwed Up to me

Yep, not going to ruin my places by having Nomads around. One of the better coffees in Santitham where I live was Akha Ama as the bean is good but the ambiance of the place is now shot compare to how it use to be. Just too many Nomads now plugged in to there Beats Headsets. I might only go out for coffee once a week these days and mostly head out of the city. Some pretty nice shops in the Mountains.

Anyway, I prefer my own brew. I don't buy from Hillkroft my beans. I buy stuff like chocolates and syrups from there. Best place to go for that stuff. Bought my machine from them as well. Great service.

I get my beans bought down from Chiang Rai and roast myself.

Yep, I am totally screwed up and do love my coffee...

[MaeJoMTB]

I get my beans bought down from Chiang Rai and roast myself.

What's wrong with the beans grown at Doi Pui and Doi Saket?

(100bht/Kg unshelled, 120bht/Kg shelled)

Edited December 14, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[freedomnow]

Yep, not going to ruin my places by having Nomads around. One of the better coffees in Santitham where I live was Akha Ama as the bean is good but the ambiance of the place is now shot compare to how it use to be. Just too many Nomads now plugged in to there Beats Headsets. I might only go out for coffee once a week these days and mostly head out of the city. Some pretty nice shops in the Mountains.

Anyway, I prefer my own brew. I don't buy from Hillkroft my beans. I buy stuff like chocolates and syrups from there. Best place to go for that stuff. Bought my machine from them as well. Great service.

I get my beans bought down from Chiang Rai and roast myself.

Yep, I am totally screwed up and do love my coffee...

What's wrong with the beans grown at Doi Pui and Doi Saket?

(100bht/Kg unshelled, 120bht/Kg shelled)

So ANYWAY, back to the topic at COFFEE SHOPS THAT PEOPLE CAN GO TO THAT ARE EXCELLENT. Not beans or why I'm not sharing but COFFEE SHOPS that are great. Repeat it twice for the hard of thinking....

'Totally Thaid Up' thanks for going out of your way to be such a smug bastard.

Edited December 15, 2015 by freedomnow

[LannaGuy]

what about 'our coffee house' in San Sai?

[totally thaied up]

Yep, not going to ruin my places by having Nomads around. One of the better coffees in Santitham where I live was Akha Ama as the bean is good but the ambiance of the place is now shot compare to how it use to be. Just too many Nomads now plugged in to there Beats Headsets. I might only go out for coffee once a week these days and mostly head out of the city. Some pretty nice shops in the Mountains.

Anyway, I prefer my own brew. I don't buy from Hillkroft my beans. I buy stuff like chocolates and syrups from there. Best place to go for that stuff. Bought my machine from them as well. Great service.

I get my beans bought down from Chiang Rai and roast myself.

Yep, I am totally screwed up and do love my coffee...

What's wrong with the beans grown at Doi Pui and Doi Saket?

(100bht/Kg unshelled, 120bht/Kg shelled)

So ANYWAY, back to the topic at COFFEE SHOPS THAT PEOPLE CAN GO TO THAT ARE EXCELLENT. Not beans or why I'm not sharing but COFFEE SHOPS that are great. Repeat it twice for the hard of thinking....

'Totally Thaid Up' thanks for going out of your way to be such a smug bastard.

Not a problem being a 'smug bastard'. Found a 'jem' of a place today, not a nomad in sight. Paradise....Piccolo Lattee was amazingly good

Okay, to keep it on topic, you can also try Ponganes Espresso Ratchapakhinai Road Chiang Mai (next to Archers near Zoes) if you are in the old city. Various beans but nowhere to sit very comfortably and that is a shame. The coffee is above average but not that cheap. I prefer coffee from a Piston Lever group head machine and if the barista knows his/her art, you will get a controlled 'sweet' shot with the old school experience of a Italian coffee shop.

Photo of a group lever enclosed...

So far, I have only seen three of these machines in Chiang Mai and only one shop knows how to use it properly and that is a shame. The Hilkroft cafe' has got one that they use but the coffee they produce from it is just average. See also that Bear(ista) has opened a satellite shop near Icon Plaza in the Night Markets there for late night coffee.