Thailand
Compared with other parts of the continent, coffee has been grown commercially in Thailand for a relatively short period of time. It mainly took off in the late ‘70s when the late King Rama IX championed the growing of coffee as a potential alternative crop to opium. This policy of ‘alternative development’ (the current UN term) can be seen to be the key driver behind Thailand becoming an exceptional Arabica coffee growing country.
Sirinya Coffee
Sirinya Coffee is a family-run specialty coffee farm, roastery, and coffee shop based in the mountains of Chiang Rai province, led by Oil and Goh Chaosuwanwilai. Sirinya is born out of a commitment to the communities of Doi Chang, as well as stewardship of the land and constantly striving for excellence in all aspects of coffee. Opium was grown here for over 100 years, before government / NGO initiatives encouraged them to grow coffee instead. Poppy cultivation here dropped so significantly from the mid 1980s to the extent that Thailand is seen as a successful model for alternative development.
Goh and Oil have exceptional knowledge and expertise in all aspects of specialty coffee production, starting right from the beginning with the quality of the soil and organic farming methods through to the final processing.
