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the atmosphere to be more important than the coffee itself. I Thailand Coffee Industry
decided to go there because I wanted to know what drip cof- Khem believes coffee roasting is developing well and
fee is like. My first thought was ‘why is it so acidic and bitter?’ continuously, and we would see something new and exciting
I had to add syrup and that was how I drink it for half a year in the near future. “Young people are getting more and more
until Piyachart Trithaworn (Phi) and Nuttithi Aumpaiwan (A), interested in coffee and coffee roasting. Quality improves as
the owners, gave me an advice. Following their advice, I began more people join the industry, and the same goes for knowl-
to taste different flavours like dried banana, raisin, kaffir lime, edge because more experience are exchanged.” Further, Khem
berries, etc. It was very surprising.” Since Khem visit the café wishes there are more Thai edition of coffee roasting books, as
so often, he has become the regular at Gallery Drip Coffee. well as roasting and cupping courses, for the people to get an
experience on coffee.
A New World of Coffee Khem believes coffee roasting is not difficult, but it
The new found flavours of coffee sparked his pasiion needs knowledge and understanding. “It’s similar to other arts.
and Khem began his search for coffee knowledge. “I hopped The hard part is to keep the quality and taste consistent. Practice
between cafés with single origin coffee from different origins. will give you valuable experience, but you will need to perfect
It gave me ideas about different coffee. My coffee world gets it with knowledge. If you are thinking about being a roaster, ask
broader and broader as I get to know more people and try all yourself ‘are you passionate enough, are you determine enough,
kind of coffee in different roast profiles, from dark, medium, and are you ready to learn?’” Many gave up when they ran into
and light roast.” During his exploration of coffee, he created an obstacles, but if you are passionate and determined, you will
instagram account called “siam coffee map” where he collect get to it eventually. Khem emphasized on being an empty glass
information and photos of cafés for coffee lovers to follow. “I and learn as much as you can, because if you think you know
have opportunities to work in other provinces, meaning I have everything, you will learn nothing. Lastly, be humble and you
more opportunities to find new cafés and coffees. I wanted to will receive the generosity from others.
use the opportunity to collect useful information and create a
map for coffee lovers searching for their next great cup.” Every-
thing about coffee flooded through once the door to the coffee
world is opened. With this information overload, Khem looked
for someone who could guide him, and that’s when he found
Warong Chalanupawong (Goong), the owner of Nana coffee. “I
visited Nana coffee for a cup of coffee and a peek at how Goong
roast his coffee. I didn’t know why I should roast codffee, but
my curiosity and passion drove me to enroll in a roasting course
with Goong.” For Khem, roasting is very charming and very
scientific. It took him back to his university years when he had
to record, observe, analysis, and conclude a lab experiment.
Khem did not sell his early coffee batches. Instead, they
were given to his friends and coffee professionals for advices.
Khem began selling his coffee only after he was confident that
his single origin coffee has the character of its origin.
Begin with Happiness
Instead of doing it for the profit, the ultimate goal for
Khem is to create quality coffee that brings happiness at an af-
fordable price. “I enjoy doing it. For me, if you are in the coffee
industry for the money, you need to be in the mass market and
it will require intensive strategies, planning, investment, and
marketing. That is not what I want to do and I won’t be enjoying
it because I’ll be in the red ocean. I enjoy doing specialty coffee,
serving quality coffee, and getting a little extra cash on the side
without having to be fiercely competitive. I don’t see others
as competitors. In this industry, we are friends, brothers, and
sisters.” Khem uses coffee roasting as his relaxation time from
his high-stress, high-pressure full-time job.
In the future, Khem wants to build his own coffee lab
and a small roaster where he can run and learn, and continue
doing his full-time job at the same time. “The coffee world is so
big that I still feel uneducated. I want to be able to have more
control over roasting, and I love to look into coffee growing, Special Thanks
variety, process, and cupping.” Khemtana Sangudkij: Tanakhem Coffee Roaster
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