Thailand: Doi Pangkhon, Kenya-style Washed

Doi Pangkhon is a remote village in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, home to around 300 coffee-producing households. At elevations between 1,250 and 1,450 meters above sea level, the region’s cool climate and rich biodiversity create ideal conditions for growing high-quality coffee. The producers we work with are part of the Merlaeku family—five brothers from the Akha Hilltribe minority—who have been instrumental in developing specialty coffee in the area.

We’ve been working with our sourcing partners, Beanspire Coffee, since 2017. Over the years, they’ve made significant investments in infrastructure, including a wet mill, cupping lab, and improved drying facilities. Their hands-on approach and commitment to quality have helped elevate Thai coffee to new heights. The varieties grown here include Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai (a hybrid of SL28 × Caturra × Híbrido de Timor), and SJ133 (genetically identical to Costa Rica 95).

This coffee is processed using a Kenya-style washed method, a technique widely used in Kenya and renowned for producing clean, crisp, and consistent cup profiles. In previous years, this involved a double-stage fermentation: beginning with dry fermentation, followed by wet fermentation, and finishing with a soaking stage.

For this harvest, the producers experimented by extending the dry fermentation stage while significantly reducing the wet fermentation and soaking phases. After fermentation, the coffee was dried on bamboo raised beds for a minimum of 14 days, then transferred to a lowland facility to complete drying more efficiently—especially important during periods of high humidity.

This adjustment has resulted in a more complex and expressive coffee, and based on Beanspire’s experience, it marks the best harvest season in their nine years of processing coffee in Doi Pangkhon. It may well set the standard for future harvests.

Full bodied and full of dark chocolate, this is a refined version of a classic flavour profile. There's a delicate red apple note and sultanas on the finish of this clean and well balanced cup.

• Country: Thailand
• Region: Doi Pangkhon, Chiang Rai
• Producers: Merlaeku Family x Beanspire
• Altitude: 1,250–1,450 m.a.s.l.
• Processing method: Kenya-style Washed
• Varietals: Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai & SJ133

Tasting notes: Dark chocolate, sultana, red apple.

• Clean cup (1–8): 6
• Sweetness (1–8): 6
• Acidity (1–8): 6
• Mouthfeel (1–8): 6.5
• Flavour (1–8): 6.5
• Aftertaste (1–8): 6
• Balance (1–8): 6.5
• Overall (1–8): 6.5
• Correction (+36): +36
• Total: (max. 100): 86

Roasting Information
Medium-dark: this may take a fraction more heat than you expect, but need to be pushed to the end of the gap so that the full, dark chocolate notes come through.