Exactly ten years after Ekameth Wipvasutti, aka Tay, opened Brave Coffee Roasters in Bangkok, he was crowned World Aeropress Champion. Not a bad way to mark his first decade in the world of specialty coffee and yet, for Tay, this was only confirmation of his commitment to pushing the boundaries of Thai specialty coffee and his passion for promoting his country’s story on the world stage.

Thailand has been a relative underdog when it comes to specialty coffee, at least from a European perspective. I still recall how my friend Lennart Clerkx first spoke about the wonders of Thai specialty coffee many years ago, way before many people even knew that Thailand produced coffee in the first place. However, if you have backpacked around Thailand’s far north, then you will most likely already had many cups of delicious Thai coffee.

I don’t actually remember if I ever had any Thai coffee when I was in Chiang Rai back in 2007 but as I made my way through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, I had my fair share of Vietnamese coffee. More on this in my next blog post about 96B.

Like many of its peers in other coffee producing countries, Brave has been at the forefront of championing locally grown coffee and it maintains very close relationships with a plethora of Thai farmers who its team members visit on a regular basis. This has allowed Brave to not just promote the finished product but to be part of the entire chain from seed to cup.

As I’ve previously said many times about Mexican roasters, for example, having such initimate access to coffee farmers who are often just a few hours away, allows coffee roasters like Brave to share knowledge and feedback from the end of the supply chain all the way back to the start, which in turn also offers unique opportunities to collaborate on experimental lots. It’s a pity that this practice in not the norm across the coffee producing world, especially in places like Ethiopia where export controls almost prohibit the finest lots from remaining in the country, thereby depriving the local population from ever savouring their the best coffees.

In a region of unequal development with highly impoverished Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia on its periphery, Thailand always stood out as a forward-looking nation, albeit with questionable governments and outdated policies. Yet, its entrepreneurs are some of the best and smartest in the world and it is home to a vibrant specialty coffee scene that is the envy of the region.

For Tay, it’s important that Thailand gets its place in the sun and he is constantly working towards raising Thailand’s profile through competitions or through new partnerships like the one with us. I selected Brave for the November 2024 Coffeevine editon because I want to give our subscribers more access to rare origins and help them get an understanding of what producers like Supon “Goh” Chaosuwanwilai are doing.

His farm is in the far north of Thailand and he’s been working closely with Tay for four years. All of the coffees on the Sirinya farm are planted and nourished with the greatest care and once they’re ready for harvest, Goh’s pickers chose only the ripest cherries for processing. This lot was processed with an experimental F3 natural process, which represents a three day open-air fermentation until the cherries have reached a certain temperature before they are laid out to dry in the cool mountain breeze for around three weeks. This process lends the coffee a vibrant and juicy cup profile.

Want to explore the world of exceptional coffees? Then be sure to order yours.

To receive this excellent coffee or to order any of our other offerings, just visit our shop now.

Pre-orders close on 15.11.2024 / Ships globally on 20.11.2024