Page 100 - #53 English

Report

than Myanmar’s, but people pay less attention to it because the present espresso because only 200-300 grams of coffee is used in
lack of efficient advertisement.” Nonetheless, the overall picture a cupping session. Sometime a coffee may not have a high cup-
for the region is looking good. Myanmar still has some work to ping score but it makes excellent espresso. How do you make the
do before it can increase its production. Meanwhile, buyers will people look beyond the score?”
pay more attention on Thailand as it has the quantity, quality, For coffee processing, the market loves honey and dry
consistent standard, and good logistic. processes and buyers would pay more for them. It’s great if you
Laos produces a lot of coffee but the focus is on quantity do it well, but if not, you risk wasting the whole lot. Lots of re-
and competitive price. Miguel believes Boloven plateau, which searches and experiments are required in order to do it well, and
has the altitude of 1,200 meters and lower, has less potential it’ll be rewarding as the price would be 10-20% higher.
than other coffee growing areas in the region. Some parts of Laos Branding is another important aspect to develop. Thai-
grow Typica and Bourbon and they are dominated by interna- land now diversifies to Java and Geisha varieties like what Pana-
tional coffee company. If Thailand decided to focus on Typica ma did. Miguel believes Thailand should be like Panama or Costa
or Bourbon, coffees from these areas will be major competitors Rica, but this development is not without risk. Myanmar could
for Thai coffee as they are cheaper. follow the same direction and higher production could result
Although Vietnam is the largest producers of Robusta, in price drop. “When people think of Panama they think about
Arabica has been grown here for over a century. Arabica only Panama Geisha, but most Panama coffee with rating around 80
makes 8-10% of the total production, but as the second largest are actually Caturra. This is the result of good branding and now
coffee producer, that low percentage means 5,000 containers at people think Panama coffees are the best.”
around 18 tons per container. It can be said that Vietnam focuses The last problem for Thai coffee is most of the coffee
more on quantity and competitive price. However, Miguel has produced are consumed domestically. “Most coffee produced
been to Da Lat, a province in Vietnam with the altitude of 1,500 goes to Bangkok and Chiangmai. Only a few percentages are
- 1,600 meters, and tasted their Catimor. Unlike Thai Catimor, exported and only a few of this little percentage go through a
Vietnamese Catimor is different because it has the acidity, but it’s recognized quality assurance organization. This is a different
still uncertain if the quality comes from the variety or the altitude. story in Guatemala and Jamaica as these countries have govern-
“I got a sample Catimor from Vietnam and it was very ment organizations which inspect all coffee export.” Thailand
well-processed. I haven’t seen any quantity-focused producer has the potential to be a great coffee producer, but farmers and
with excellent processing like Vietnam,” Miguel was very im- producers need to work hard to produce great coffee. Thai cof-
pressed. As for specialty coffee sector, the production is still fee may be expensive but the quality is there. This is the job for
quite small because it’s still in the early stage. Most specialty the whole industry to work together and lift Thai coffee into the
coffee farmers are young and enthusiastic coffee farmers, and it bright future.
will grow tremendously if the market is up for it.
Thai coffee isn’t the cheapest in the region. To make it
worse, it is probably the most expensive in the region. However,
Thailand isn’t the only country with this structure as many
Central America countries also have higher coffee price due to
higher standard of living. “Hondurus and Nicaragua produce
excellent coffee at cheaper price, but that does not mean Panama
and Costa Rica won’ be able to sell their coffee at higher price.
For similar coffee quality, Panama and Costa Rica may be 50%
more expensive. Compared to a large number of smallholder
farmers in Guatemala and Honduras, Costa Rica produces a lot
more coffee with excellent quality control, making their coffee
price more stable.” Special Thanks
Mr. R. Miguel Meza set foot in the coffee industry
Turn Disadvantage into Advantage since he was 16. Now at 33, he’s the owner of Paradise
“To stay competitive, we should always be on our toes. Coffee Roasters in Minnesota and Hawaii, and the winner
Thailand has many advantages to exploit such as infrastructure of SCAA Roaster Choice Award 2007. His coffee scored
and logistic which is better than most coffee producing countries 97 from Coffee Review 3 times, making him the most
I have been to.” Miguel believes it is possible to turn our price frequent roaster to score a 97. As an instructor, Miguel
disadvantage into an advantage. The higher price contributes to taught Michael Phillips, 2010 World Barista Champion
better livelihood of the farmers and better logistics than most and the head barista of Blue Bottle, to brew his first cup
coffee producing countries. Consumers love knowing their of espresso, and worked alongside Pete Licata to process
money helps improve the life of coffee famers. Thailand clearly and roast Pete’s competition coffee which made him the
proved that coffee farmers do live better, and it can be used to 1 runner-up of 2011 World Barista Championship, and
st
boost the recognition of Thai coffee. 2013 World Barista champion!
Miguel believes Thai coffee is best for espresso, and The seminar was organized with the cooperation
that poses a problem when it comes to test rating. “How do I tell from Mr. Fuadi Pitsuwan, roaster, Beanspire Coffee, and Mr.
them that it’s an excellent coffee for an espresso when you can’t Suksit Theparee, (Boong), Happy Espresso (Wongwien 22).

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