Thailand Doi Pangkhon

Beanspire has overcome significant challenges to produce outstanding coffee. Much like Cedro Alto in Colombia, Beanspire is a Thai-only collective dedicated to working closely with farmers to access international specialty markets.

From the exporter:
We’ve been working in Doi Pangkhon, Chiang Rai, for eight years. This region has 300 households, each producing about 1-2 tons of parchment coffee. Initially, we collaborated with individual households, buying parchment before processing it at our mill. In the 2017-2018 season, we invested in a wet mill operated by our partner producers, the Merlaeku brothers of the Akha Hilltribe. This allowed us greater control over the process, including sourcing cherries from outside the family. Over the following seasons, we continued to improve the mill, added new equipment, expanded drying space, and even built a cupping lab for the farmers.

This natural-processed micro lot was carefully crafted. The cherries were floated and dried on bamboo beds, with continuous sorting to remove under-ripe and fermented cherries. After drying, they were cured for two months before being milled.

Doi Pangkhon’s elevation of 1250-1450 meters above sea level, at 19 degrees north of the equator, provides an ideal environment for coffee cultivation. The varieties grown here include Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai, and SJ133, a hybrid similar to Costa Rica 95. The green coffee was meticulously prepared, going through destoning, hulling, size grading, and multiple density table passes, followed by hand sorting to ensure quality.