Thailand Mae Suai White Honey -ESPRESSO

Coffee Profile

Continent: Asia

Country: Thailand

Farm: Nawin Yaesorkoo mill/ Mae Suai smallholders

Process: White Honey

Region: Mae Suai, Chiang Rai Province

Variety: Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai, and SJ133

Roast Scale

Light Medium Dark

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Tasting notes: 

Caramel, Cashew, and Red Apple. Mild acidity and medium bodied. 

We roasted this coffee with espresso in mind. Mae Suai is currently one of the components of our Espresso Classico blend. If well balanced, Medium Roast blends are your preference, we highly recommend this one. This Coffee also makes a pleasant cup of coffee if you prefer lower acidity cups and simple, classic flavors of nuts and caramel. 

Brewing recommendations

Water Temp: 94C/201F

Dose: 20g

Yield: 45mL

Extraction time: 26-28 seconds

Background

Nawin Yaesorkoo is one of the most innovative farmers and coffee processors in Thailand, producing coffee at his family farm in Hua Chang and carrying out post-harvest processing at his mill in Mae Suai. Mae Suai is one of the largest coffee growing areas in Thailand, with 500 households of the Akha hill tribe growing several varieties including Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai, and SJ133. This coffee was grown by the smallholder producers of the Mae Suai area, and processed using a White Honey post-harvest processing method at Nawin’s mill.

Coffee farming is a relatively new industry in Thailand, and one that is proving to be attractive to young entrepreneurs like Nawin. 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 areas like Doi Saket. 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.

Mae Suai White Honey was sourced from our exporting partners in Thailand, Beanspire Coffee. 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 consumed in country. 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. We’re proud to partner with Beanspire Coffee to share this unique lot of coffee with you.

This coffee underwent White Honey processing. Freshly harvested ripe coffee cherries are first floated to remove any potential defects before being pulped. The coffee is briefly fermented, Still retaining some mucilage during drying. A process this producer calls White Honey, similar to what some may also call 'Semi-washed'

The pulped coffee is then laid out in a thin layer on raised beds where it is dried for several days until it reaches 11% humidity. The dried coffee is then milled, sorted, and packed for shipment at Beanspire Coffee’s dry mill.