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in the world gets the score of 89 to 90. Most coffee export from
Guatemala and Colombia are rated on the same range as us, but
Thai coffees are more expensive because the livelihood of coffee
farmers is better.”
Miguel exports his coffee to Japan and USA at around
US $50 per kg. At this price, how much does his coffee rate?
“Most coffee that is sold at this price usually rate only at 81 – 82.
My coffee rates around 84 - 85 which is similar to Thai coffee
rating,” Miguel revealed.
The market price is not just about quality as brand and
coffee origin also contribute to the higher price. From Miguel’s
perspective, Thai coffee has the quality to compete in the inter-
national market, but the country needs to work on branding.
Thai coffee is more expensive and buyers could get a coffee with
the rating of 86 from other market at the same price as Thai
coffee. However, Thai coffee has the potential to develop to the
rating of 84 – 85 within the next few years.
From the feedbacks of coffee professionals who bought variety, and soon Java became very popular. This might be the
and worked with Thai coffee, Thai coffee has a lot of spice reason why people goes to Ethiopia to find rust-resistant coffee
flavour with hints of brown sugar, peach, chocolate, plum, and variety, and from this search, Geisha was discovered in 1932.
flowers. “Throughout our 3 years, Allegro, a subsidiary of a US Java is also grown widely in Cameroon due to its dis-
supermarket chain Whole Foods Market, is our only corporate ease-resistant quality. Compared to Geisha and Typica, Java has
client,” Miguel said, and “Allegro offers varieties of blended, higher yield and it taste similar to Geisha, sometimes even bet-
single origin, and super premium coffees. The super-premium ter! When Miguel traveled to SCAA to host a Thai coffee cupping
coffees are rare and hard to find coffee beans, and the put Thai session, many cuppers preferred Java over Geisha. However, the
coffee in that category because it’s a good coffee but not widely industry still prefers disease-resistant variety like Catimor, so
recognized. Thai coffee is available at Allegro since November Thailand should focus on developing better Catimor.
last year and it’s already in the best seller. It is even shelved next Most Catimor in Thailand are developed by domestic
to Esmeralda Gesha! As for the price, it’s in the same range as institutes, and sometimes they might not be as good as the ones
micro-lot coffees from Ethiopia and Kenya, but still cheaper than developed overseas. Colombian Castillo is a good example of
Brazillian and Guatemalan super-premium coffees.” better, more acidic disease-resistant variety. Others include
There is still a missing link between buyers, roasters, and Parainema (derived from Sarchimor) and S795. S795 was one
consumers. Many specialty coffee professionals prefer acidic cof- of the first rust-resistant varieties developed in India and be-
fee with floral character, but consumers still prefer some bitter- came Linie S when it was further developed in Indonesia. If you
ness that makes coffee “coffee” in their perspective. The upside have tried coffees from Sulawesi or Sumatra, chances are you’ve
of Thai coffee is it still has a lot of room to develop. The farmers tasted S795 since half of the production there are S795 because
are already taken the first step and other coffee varieties like it is rust-resistant and has good cup quality.
Bourbon, Java, and Geisha are being tested for future cultivation. “Sending a sample to be cupped required you to do it
right the first time because there is no second chance. Some
Coffee Variety people send in bad sample of Catimor and that’s the end of them.
Last year Miguel set out on an exploration to find dif- Catimor often has low acidity and taste flat. The development
ferent coffee variety in Thailand. He was able to obtain 10 - 20 over 30-40 years may have improved Catimor but the perspec-
kg of different coffee variety to send to buyers and roasters for tive of the people is the hardest thing to change. That’s why
evaluation. His mixed lot usually scores around 83 - 85, but the Colombia calls their Catimor “Castillo””
score has recently raised to around 86 - 90. “It’s great that we
can show the world the quality of Thai coffee. However, does Future Competition for Coffee Farmers
growing Typica or Bourbon variety worth the greater risk of leaf “If we want a future, we need to grow more and improve
rust? If you really want to grow Bourbon, Typica, Java, or Geisha, the way we do it,” Miguel emphasized on the development and
you’ll need at least the altitude of 1200 - 1500 meters. Another improvement. Yunnan, China, is currently producing quite low
consideration is price. If I am to grow Bourbon or Typica, the quality coffee, but they are improving in term of both quantity
price I should get is double, if not, then it does not worth the and quality. Myanmar is interesting in a sense that CQI pays spe-
risk.” As for Geisha, the market price reflects the risk of produc- cial attention the country even though Myanmar produces less
tion because half of your production might be damaged, but the coffee than Thailand. Myanmar has a clear plan of development
100-200% price jump can make up for the lost. and the potential is high, and CQI is helping the country to build
If Miguel has to choose a rust-resistant variety in Thai- up its brand. “I hosted a small cupping session at a SCAA event
land, he would choose Java. This variety is actually originated in in Atlanta and it attracted around 20 people, while in the next
Ethiopia and was introduced in Indonesia in 1920. During that room, the CQI hosted their cupping session and there were over
period, all coffee producers were looking for a rust-resistant 200 people there. Although Thai coffee is as good as, or better

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