Original Thai Coffee

[backtofront]

What is original Thai coffee?  The stuff you get from the street vendors. What goes with it? Condensed milk, Carnation pasteurised  milk? Drunk lorn out of a small shot glass and yen in a plastic bag when poured over ice cubes? I assume the Arabica beans from up north are a fairly recent development so the "ancient" coffee came from the South? And are robusta beans?

 

Local coffee aficionados are a dime a dozen these days and it's all about the hill tribes. But what did everyone do before the advent of the espresso machine and social media? 

[Oxx]

Coffee traditionally came from the South.  Robusta, as you say.

 

Growing Arabica in the north started in the early 70's under the patronage of the King as a scheme to replace opium farming in the area.

 

It's really only since the 90's, though, that there's been any significant appreciation of better quality coffee.

 

 

[Beats56]

Got my son to bring me some coffee fom Vietnam where he was working for awhile. Vietnam coffee is regarded as one of the best coffees you can buy.

I prefer to brew my own than buy it on the street.

[tifino]

regarding the ( But what did everyone do before the advent of the espresso machine and social media? )  

 

probably what I still do to this day:   

a coupla tablespoons, heaped into a saucepan\bring it all to a high simmer (never to a boil)

Keep it at simmer for about 40 minutes, or at least until all the coffee has stopped floating

 

when done, pour the contents through a coffee muslin bag, again and again, until most of the grains have been taken out of the coffee water (method down as 'pulled coffee' )

 

add your bear brand coffee condensed milk to taste

 

instead of stirring the coffee - do the kopi trik method of pour/aerating the hot coffee between two pitchers. This aerates/froths the milk coffee, making it both lighter and frothy, and surprisingly more creamier tasting too

 

I find it better to use javanese or lao coffee. It's very chunky, unrefined, and the muslin bag/KopiT tarik way works best, whereas a filterdrip (chunks too big), or percolator(chunks too small) can never get it done quite right

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2016 by tifino

[little mary sunshine]

8 oz coffee

12 oz sugar

milk from at least 2 cows

glass full of ice

Edited October 21, 2016 by little mary sunshine

[Saladin]

I find coffee from espresso machines too bitter and so I make my own - and very simply. I live in Chiang Mai and get freshly roasted coffee beans Turkish ground (the finest texture), put a heaped teaspoon in a cup together with a spoonful of raw sugar and pour boiling water over it. By the time it is cool enough to drink the grounds have sunk to the bottom so can be easily avoided. It's deliciously smooth and not bitter. I got used to drinking it this way in Indonesia but they couldn't grind it as fine as Turkish so we were always picking bits of coffee out of our mouths.  

[SOTIRIOS]

...historically....???

 

...gotta check where coffee was actually grown in Southeast Asia first.....

[Oxx]

20 minutes ago, SOTIRIOS said:

...historically....???

 

...gotta check where coffee was actually grown in Southeast Asia first.....

 

Not sure what your point is, but coffee was grown in Java in 1699 , and in Thailand from 1824.  Does that count as "historically"?

[Grubster]

Birdy 3 in 1

[louse1953]

3 hours ago, Beats56 said:

Got my son to bring me some coffee fom Vietnam where he was working for awhile. Vietnam coffee is regarded as one of the best coffees you can buy.

I prefer to brew my own than buy it on the street.

The Vietnamese love their coffee day and night and have some good brews.Cafes always have plenty of people in them and they are everywhere.

[The Deerhunter]

2 hours ago, Grubster said:

Birdy 3 in 1

Exactly.  Was going to say it myself, Birdy too!!  Many Thais really think that Birdy or Nescafe 3 in 1 is classier than any other form of real coffee, brewed, expressed or plunged.

Edited October 21, 2016 by The Deerhunter

[Grubster]

2 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Exactly.  Was going to say it myself, Birdy too!!  Many Thais really think that Birdy or Nescafe 3 in 1 is classier than any other form of real coffee, brewed, expressed or plunged.

Its number one up here in the jungle.

[balo]

After the coffee plantation industry exploded up in the north , the coffee quality also increased.

But I still don't understand why some coffee shops buy a very expensive Italian espresso machine when they clearly don't know how to use them . I am talking about a simple cup of hot Americano.  They all know how to make Ice coffee here , but the coffee taste will dissappear in sugar and milk . 

 

Too bitter , too tasteless, too strong , they just don't seem to hit it right when it comes to hot coffee. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2016 by balo

[CLW]

I would like to buy or order whole coffee beans from Thailand, preferably organic.
Any shop/brand/website you guys can recommend?
I tried Royal Project already, but would like to try others as well

[Oxx]

21 minutes ago, CLW said:

I would like to buy or order whole coffee beans from Thailand, preferably organic.
Any shop/brand/website you guys can recommend?
I tried Royal Project already, but would like to try others as well

 

http://www.redcliffcoffee.com/

[little mary sunshine]

I have 100% Kona coffee sent to me by my friends

in Hawaii.  I fine grind the beans, heaping tablespoon 

for eack 9-10 oz, boiling filtered water, I use a French

press, after 5 minutes you have fantastic coffee.

[backtofront]

20 hours ago, CLW said:

I would like to buy or order whole coffee beans from Thailand, preferably organic.
Any shop/brand/website you guys can recommend?
I tried Royal Project already, but would like to try others as well

Green or roasted? Where are you?

[CLW]

Green or roasted? Where are you?

Roasted, located in Bangkok

[balo]

Plenty of shops in Bangkok that sells imported or Thai beans . If you happen to stay near Mega Bangna I can recommend the espresso whole beans from Vista cafe (beans from Chiang Rai ) , 1 kilo is only 690 baht . 

[backtofront]

You can try 

Pacamara, 2/F, Rainhill, Sukhumvit Soi 47, Bangkok, 

Phone: 02-261-7830

Nearest Train:

BTS Phrom Phong

www.facebook.com/pacamaracoffee

If you are not in a hurry and price is an issue you can get from source. But Pacamara seem to know coffee and it might be a good place to start.

[backtofront]

 I would be interested in your feedback. I am trying to unpack the local coffee culture and as with most things, everyone has a different take on what is and what is not. If you are in no hurry, I can make up small packs of the beans which I am ploughing my through and post those onto you. 

 

Edited December 21, 2016 by backtofront

[samsensam]

 

the coffee in vietnam is wonderful, i have never experienced anything close to it in thailand despite asking thai friends to recommend local thai coffee.

 

street vendor coffee? hahaha! no thanks.

[backtofront]

This is where I start getting confused. Is Vietnamese coffee not predominantly Robusta? And if so why does it have such a good reputation? I always thought I liked a strong coffee with a bite to it. But I suspect this has more to do with scooping the last little bits out of the condensed milk tin.

[CLW]

As far as I know most Vietnamese coffee is roasted with butter oil and caramel hence the good taste.
But purists may say it's not original taste of the coffee beans.
I like it though

[Oxx]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

As far as I know most Vietnamese coffee is roasted with butter oil and caramel hence the good taste.

 

That I did not know.  From one source:

 

"beans are generally roasted in what is referred to as "butter oil", which may or may not be actual clarified butter oil. Occasionally vegetable oils are used, and historically, traditional "home-grown" coffee roasting style involves creating almost a caramel-like coating effect with the use of a small amount of sugar, oil, and generally a touch of vanilla or cocoa. This coating blackens in the roast and the beans wind up with almost a thin, hard shell. Why is this done? Robusta beans are uniquely slow to ripen on the bush, and often pickers pick unripe beans along with ripe beans. The traditional coating gives all the beans a similar color. The presence of a few unripe beans does not hurt the overall taste effect of the blend. "

 

http://trung-nguyen-online.com/about-vietnamese-coffee.php

[backtofront]

Isn't that much the same as Kaffee Boran and the excuse for a dollop of condensed milk? Does one drink Vietnamese coffee black and without sugar?

 

[CLW]

Isn't that much the same as Kaffee Boran and the excuse for a dollop of condensed milk? Does one drink Vietnamese coffee black and without sugar?
 

Yes I do. Black or with a bit of real milk.

[backtofront]

No sugar?  Do you use Trung Nguyen? How does it compare to the Arabica? I always thought I preferred the darker roasts but that is changing.

 

[CLW]

No sugar?  Do you use Trung Nguyen? How does it compare to the Arabica? I always thought I preferred the darker roasts but that is changing.

 

I used this brand, Minh Quan.
Though I doubt it's available in Thailand because I bought directly at their factory in VN.
It says 97% Arabica and 3% sugar on the bag.

[backtofront]

Will be interested to hear how you get on with the local stuff.