Thailand - Doi Pangkhon
This coffee comes from second generation coffee producer Afae Lercheku and his farm on the Doi Pangkhon mountain in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Afae has been studious in learning to develop his post-harvest processing, resulting in some of the best coffee that our partners at Beanspire Coffee have cupped from Doi Pangkhon, and area they have worked in since 2015. He is also committed to pursuing sustainable agriculture, growing multiple crops alongside his coffee like cucumbers, tomatoes, and other vegetables, which help him diversify his income along with aiding sustainability. This is the first year that Afae’s coffee has been exported from Thailand, and we’re proud to showcase his work to an international audience.
| Weight | 12OZ / 340G Whole Bean Coffee |
| Roast | Medium |
| Type | Arabica Variety: Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai, SJ133 |
| Processed | "Kenya-Style" Washed |
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Flavor Notes |
Fudge, Caramel, Molasses, Lemon |
| Region & Altitude | Chiang Rai / 1250 masl |
Coffee farming is a relatively new industry in Thailand, and one that is proving to be attractive to young entrepreneurs. Thailand’s current coffee history dates back to the 1970s, when an opium eradication project started by the King of Thailand introduced the first coffee trees to the area. Efforts to reforest degraded land and introduce coffee and other crops to replace illicit cultivations proved extremely successful. Farmers’ mountain properties today are flourishing, with many of the original planted varieties—like Catuai, Typica, and local Chiang Mai which is a cross between SL-28, Caturra, and Timor hybrid—thriving in healthy production.
Beanspire’s co-founders, Fuadi Pitsuwan and Jane Kittiratanapaiboon, are part of the young generation moving the Thai coffee industry forward. Thailand is unique as a coffee producing country; the country’s specialty cafe and roaster scene is thriving, and domestic consumption demands regularly outpace the country’s production volume. Only around 5% of Thailand’s specialty coffee is exported each year, while the rest is enjoyed by Thai coffee drinkers. This means that the coffees selected for export by the team at Beanspire are each chosen to share the work of Thai coffee producers with a global audience, providing a glimpse into the growing specialty coffee revolution happening in the country.
Beanspire mill is one of the most advanced in Thailand, with a destoner, huller, and a gravity table for density sorting. Jane and Fuadi have built Beanspire to produce quality from the outset, passing all coffee through density and hand sorting multiple times to ensure quality and uniformity. Coffee is packed in triple layer bags for shipment: cotton bag as outer layer, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as middle layer, and GrainPro as inner layer. The HDPE bags help maintain moisture content, thus preserving quality for longer. Our partnership with Beanspire Coffee began in 2019, and we’re proud to continue that partnership in order to share this unique lot of coffee with you.
This coffee underwent a “Kenya-style” Washed process, building on the double fermentation Washed process common throughout Kenya. Cherries were first pulped before being fermented with no water. The pulped coffee was then wet fermented, before being soaked and fully washed to remove any remaining mucilage. The Washed parchment coffee was then dried on raised bamboo beds for at least 14 days before being moved to a lowland area to finish being dried to the optimal humidity.
Chiang Rai is Thailand’s northernmost province in what is known as the Golden Triangle, the intersection of the borders with neighboring Myanmar and Laos. The region’s high mountains were once the epicenter of the country’s opium cultivation and smuggling routes, but coffee, banana, coconut, and pineapple crops have replaced illicit farming with environmentally and socially sustainable alternatives.
The city of Chiang Rai is the largest in northern Thailand, and both the city and the province have a long history of influence from the various dynasties who have ruled Southeast Asia from ancient to modern times. Recent reforestation efforts have restored Chiang Rai’s mountains, and Thailand’s young generation sees the potential of farming quality coffee as a path to success for landholders. Farms are located close to cities and are very accessible; this proximity expedites the transitions between processing stages and provides quality assurance. The country has built a strong reputation for tourism along its coastal beaches and towns, and Thailand’s coffee farmers hope to build Thailand’s next reputation as a savvy producer of fine specialty coffees.