Thailand Mae Suai

Beanspire faced an uphill battle from the start, yet they continue to produce exceptional coffee. Like our partners at Cedro Alto, who supply some of our Colombian coffees, Beanspire is a Thailand-based collective that works closely with farmers to help them access international specialty markets. At Mostradarfocus on making the greatest impact by sourcing the highest-quality coffee available.

One of the most innovative farmers in Thailand is Nawin Yaesorkoo, a 34-year-old third-generation coffee farmer. This year marks the fifth year that Beanspire has worked with him. Nawin inherited his coffee plantation from his parents and has built on that legacy. His brother owns one of the largest cafes in Chiang Rai, while Nawin himself owns both a small café in town and one of the largest mills in Mae Suai, a key coffee-growing region in Thailand. Mae Suai is home to around 500 Akha hilltribe households cultivating a mix of varietals including Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai, and SJ133. SJ133 is genetically identical to Costa Rica 95, while Chiang Mai is a local hybrid, a cross between SL28, Caturra, and Hibrido de Timor.

This particular coffee from Mae Suai, processed at Nawin’s mill, uses a natural process, which is challenging due to Thailand’s high humidity during harvest season. After harvesting the ripe cherries, they are floated to remove defects, then spread in thin layers on raised beds for several days, with under-ripe and over-fermented cherries picked out throughout the process. Once the moisture level reaches around 30%, the cherries are moved to patios covered in plastic sheets to accelerate drying and prevent over-fermentation.

For green coffee preparation, the beans go through a series of steps: destoning, hulling, size grading, and density sorting, followed by meticulous hand sorting for the final touch.