ROADS LESS TRAVELLED SERIES

THAILAND - MAE CHEDI

Filter Roast

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A BIT ABOUT THIS COFFEE

This small lot of Red Honey is the result of a successful collaborative effort between the farmers of the Mae Chedi cooperative and our partners, Beanspire.

Mae Chedi, a region with a long history of tea production, has seen a shift in recent decades, with the younger generation of farmers turning to specialty coffee production. Co-op members have been growing arabica in an organic style under the canopy of natural forest and creatively applying their knowledge of tea fermentation practices to enhance their specialty coffee production. 

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WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

With a delicious syrupy sweetness, this coffee offers a delightful array of fruit notes reminiscent of blood orange, red grapes and apple—balanced by a rich nougat-like base. Its depth and complexity provide a beautifully textured sweetness. We’re thrilled to share this Mae Chedi gem.

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HOW TO BREW

V60

20g Dose

300g Yield 

2.45 Brew time 

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THE STORY

Mae Chedi is a forested, mountainous region on the western side of Chiang Rai province, with a long history of tea cultivation, earning a reputation for producing some of Thailand’s best. The area is also ideal for Arabica coffee production, with most coffee grown under the shade of natural forests and regenerated areas. 

Coffee production in Northern Thailand was expanded in the 1970s as part of the late king’s "Royal Project," aimed at providing local minority farmers with an alternative cash crop to opium while promoting environmental regeneration. Here they grow the Chiang Mai 80 varietal. It’s a hybrid created in Thailand that crosses SL-28 with Catimor, so farmers have a variety with both a good yield and a high-quality flavour profile.

This delicious coffee from Mae Chedi showcases the skill and precision of careful processing happening in Northern Thailand. For this lot, whole red cherries were floated and washed before being fermented in airtight HDPE bags in a temperature-controlled environment. The cherries were then pulped, leaving a layer of fruit mucilage on the parchment. The parchment was dried with the sticky mucilage intact, giving the coffee a red honey-like color. In the cup, honey-processed coffees typically offer an added layer of complexity and texture, often accompanied by some nice fruity notes.

Thailand is home to one of the most advanced and rapidly growing specialty coffee scenes in the world. It’s one of the few countries where a strong consumer market for specialty coffee exists just hours away from coffee-growing regions. This proximity creates a unique opportunity for roasters, industry professionals, and growers to collaborate closely on processing and continuous improvement. Thai coffee is also incredibly rare, with less than 5% of their annual crop being exported. Since 2020, we’ve been proud to showcase Thai microlots in Australia, providing an opportunity to experience these exceptional and rare coffees.