Thailand Yellow Bourbon

From the outset, it’s clear that Beanspire faced an uphill battle—something they themselves acknowledge. Despite the challenges, they continue to produce exceptional coffee. Beanspire is a Thai-focused collective that works closely with farmers to develop their craft and facilitate access to international specialty markets.

Doi Saket, located in Chiang Mai province, is Thailand’s oldest coffee-growing region. In the late 1970s, Arabica trees were first introduced here as part of the Thai King’s opium replacement program. Unlike many other regions that have shifted to higher-yield cultivars, Doi Saket retains its heirloom varieties, particularly Typica. Some of these Typica trees, along with a small number of rare Yellow Bourbon trees, are over 30 years old. These Yellow Bourbon trees produce a distinctive yellow cherry during harvest. By showcasing this lot, Beanspire aims to demonstrate to farmers that heirloom cultivars, despite their lower yield, are highly valued and can command premium prices.

This experimental lot from Doi Saket was made possible through a collaboration with Nui Intakad and Aoy Jaisooksern, a young couple who returned to their family’s coffee farm eight years ago after leaving their city careers—Nui as an engineer and Aoy as an accountant. Together with Beanspire, they sought to create a coffee that is both playful and complex.

Thai anaerobic naturals are among the rarest coffees from Thailand. The process behind this lot was especially meticulous. To ensure quality, the lot was produced late in the harvest season when weather conditions were more stable. Ripe cherries were carefully picked in the morning and processed immediately to avoid unintended fermentation. Only fully ripe cherries were hand-sorted, and defective ones were floated out. The cherries were then placed in sealed tanks under anaerobic conditions before being dried on raised beds. To maintain consistency, the cherries were spread in a single layer to minimize contact and ensure even drying. The process took place in a controlled greenhouse environment over three weeks, during which defective cherries were continually removed until the moisture content reached 10%.

The conversion rate from cherry to green bean was notably low for this lot—just 5% (1:0.05), compared to the typical 15% (1:0.15). This was due to the rigorous selection process that eliminated a significant amount of less-than-perfect cherries.

For green bean preparation, the coffee underwent multiple steps: destoning, hulling, size grading, density sorting (repeated several times), and hand-sorting. The beans were shipped in triple-layered packaging to ensure quality: an outer cotton bag, a middle layer of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and an innermost GrainPro layer.