Description
Thai Coffee?!?!? A rare origin in the U.S. for stand up beans, turns out they grow a lot of coffee in Thailand. The specialty market has been up and coming and the beans getting better and better. Similar to origins like India but with more hybrid processing methods. These beans have a unique story and taste.
We have been looking for tasty Thai coffee for quite some time, had some friends on the ground over there for a bit but every time we got samples, tasted more like robusta with some overly earthy tones, reminded me of more European style espresso beans. We hooked up with Lanna coffee recently (awesome folks) to source some higher end and in our opinion tastier Arabica lots. Doesn’t hurt that it is also a very feel good project run by awesome folks as well.
This is a Natural Processed lot. That means it was dried in the coffee fruit itself and this specific example was on the slower dry side, which lets a little fermentation happen, bringing much sweeter and slightly fruity tones to the cup. Generally to see fruity naturals shine, keep them in the light-medium roast ballpark. Higher chaff and a bit more uneven roasting than washed processed.
Tasting Notes: A wonderful very clean example of natural processing, best served in the light to medium roast levels. Medium acidity levels, comes off a bit on the lemon side, medium bodied with a pretty strong red fruit tone upfront, definitely on the sweeter side. Super light, cup picks up a bit of nutty and herbal contrast but this will develop into more spice and chocolate tones just a little after first crack. Thicker and stronger than an Ethiopian Natural, with more of an emphasis on the fruitiness and spice notes. Darker roasts accentuate the spice, pretty similar to the other Asain coffees, would put in on the rustic chocolate side with sweet and fruity overlays and a full body.
Roasting Notes: An easy coffee to roast, we recommend avoiding super light, or super dark roast points, generally erroring lighter than darker. Roasts pretty even for a natural, a bit higher chaff. Slight development past first crack is good. A longer setup time really smoothed out the cup but also muted a little bit of the fruitiness, we liked it after 24 hours, but folks who want to minimize citric like tones may want to wait a couple days before drinking it.
Law Wu:
The villagers of Law Wu belong to the Lahu tribe, an indigenous group originally hailing from China and mainland Southeast Asia. The village’s location at 1,700 meters above sea level offers an ideal environment for coffee cultivation. The cool climate, consistent shade, and unique terrain of the region create the perfect conditions for growing exceptional coffee. Although coffee has only been grown in this area for about 15 years, the quality and flavor of the beans have steadily improved, attracting the attention of those looking for standout microlots.
Partnership with Law Wu began in 2017, and in that time they have shown tremendous growth. In the first season it was just four dedicated farmers. After seeing the consistency and quality of the work, the village expanded to include five more members. Today, the village’s nine coffee farmers represent a growing community of people committed to cultivating top-quality coffee beans.
Much of the coffee from Law Wu is shade-grown, allowing the cherries to mature more slowly and develop a fuller, more complex flavor. Given the higher elevation and cooler climate, this unique geography enables the beans to retain their distinct characteristics, leading to a richer, more layered profile.
Lanna Coffee:
“Coffee from Thailand?” you might be wondering. After all, Thailand is far from a traditional growing region for coffee. Most of us are used to seeing coffees from places like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Colombia. But Thailand isn’t exactly where people think of when they think of where their coffee came from. So, what is it about Thai coffee that makes it special? Why is it a mainstay of the Lanna Coffee lineup?
For over a century, refugees fleeing political and social upheaval in China and Southeast Asia have migrated to Northern Thailand. Stateless, these refugees live in poverty without many chances for a better life. It isn’t in any one person’s power to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across the world, but, when we work together, we can do great things.
When Lanna was founded, we had one thing in mind: service. How could we serve our coffee farmers as well as our customers? We wanted to roast premium coffee from a nontraditional region, but we also wanted to ensure that our business could improve lives in the communities we sourced from. To achieve this, we partnered with an NGO with a similar goal: the Integrated Tribal Development Foundation.
The ITDF is an organization committed to improving the lives of poor hill tribe communities “in many aspects of life, including clean water, sanitation, agriculture, education, health, and cash crops.” For the past thirty years, the ITDF has been partnering with these communities to equip them with the training and equipment to produce stellar coffee. Today, over 40 villages are a part of Thailand’s first certified fair trade coffee co-op, immeasurably improving the lives of the people living there.
We are proud to say that Lanna Coffee is the largest buyer of Thai coffee in the U.S. Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to demonstrate our commitment to Thai coffee and encourage other farmers to convert their crops to one that provides a more stable revenue source for themselves and their communities. Every time you purchase from Lanna, you directly contribute to this goodwill that has allowed coffee production in Northern Thailand to flourish.
Today, over 400 coffee farms in Northern Thailand are 100% farmer owned. We purchase single-source, pesticide-free coffee beans directly from these farmers and are constantly grateful for the literal fruits of their labor. Whether this is your first or your hundredth bag of Lanna, know that it’s thanks to your purchase that we are able to continue serving the hill tribes of Northern Thailand. You can make a difference, even if it’s through something as simple as a cup of coffee.
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