This city’s coffee scene is unexpectedly Australian

The scene feels remarkably familiar. A student tapping away on a laptop, a couple of friends catching up over green juices and avocado toast, and a woman staring at her phone as she downs a cup of cold brew. I could be sitting in any cool cafe in Sydney or Melbourne, but the flat white I am sipping today has been brewed up in the heart of Bangkok.

We’re sitting in the Kaizen Coffee outlet in the bustling Ekkamai district, one of Bangkok’s new-wave coffee shops. It’s a stylish spot, the glass facade stretching all the way up to the double-height ceiling, its interiors all oak and dark grey bricks. There are smoothies and iced matchas on the menu alongside single-origin coffees from Ethiopia, Kenya and Indonesia. Clearly, Bangkok is following in the footsteps of cities like New York and Berlin in falling for Aussie coffee culture.

Owner and founder Arnun Wattanaporn behind the counter at Kaizen.

“Yes, I studied in Sydney,” Kaizen’s founder Arnun Wattanaporn confirms with a smile. The hospitality graduate tells me that during his time in Australia he fell in love with the local coffee scene, gaining experience in a number of cafes including The Grounds of Alexandria before returning home and opening Kaizen in 2015.

Business initially built slowly before avocado toast supercharged Kaizen’s success. “Brunch became a thing here,” Wattanaporn says, and customers started pouring in to order dishes like a bacon-and-egg panini and that avocado toast, topped with fresh figs.

That gave Wattanaporn the opportunity to coax his clientele into moving from the sweet drinks beloved by many Thais to embracing a more sophisticated approach to coffee. It took time for palates to adjust but now, he says, “people trust what we do with coffee. We’ve moved them from condensed milk to iced coffee to specialty coffee.”

Avocado toast was the beachhead.

Wattanaporn is not finished. He remains confident that his clients are ready for the next step, and he has something particular in mind. “Italian-influenced, dark ristretto coffee is what I’m really passionate about,” he says, eyes gleaming.

Kaizen is far from the only place in Bangkok offering quality coffee. Caffeine junkies can also head to outlets from international brands such as Copenhagen’s La Cabra and Japan’s %Arabica – which attracts long queues at its futuristic outlet in the new IconSiam mall – as well as local micro-roasters like Rise Coffee (its flagship is in Mahutan Plaza), Chinatown’s Song Wat Coffee Roaster and PAGA Microroastery.

Interest in Thailand’s homegrown coffee crop is also growing. Among the first to promote it was Roots Bangkok, which over the past decade has expanded to a dozen outlets around town.

Built around a “farm to cup” philosophy, Roots’ menu features a range of blends grown in the northern Chiang Rai region. When I visit the Sathon outlet, the day’s cold brew is made with a blend called Sanchai, grown in Pangkhon village. Its sweet notes – “papaya and mangosteen”, the tasting notes suggest helpfully – are balanced with a nice acidity.

I get further insights into Thai coffee during a drip coffee class at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Praya River. My instructor, Raheel Phetpradub, is from Chiang Rai himself and tells me that coffee is grown throughout the region. “Everybody there knows how to plant coffee,” he says.

Coffee class at the Four Seasons.

Being a coffee drinker rather than a coffee maker, I have to start with the basics, learning how to use a hand grinder (not as easy as it looks). From there, we move on to concepts such as brew ratio and extraction time, before practising the technique for a perfect cuppa. My first try is a little bitter, but by the second cup there is definite improvement.

The class also includes the chance to sample a range of different local coffees, with Phetpradub filling me in on the people who produce each one. A rich, fruity brew is produced by a sweet-faced older woman known as P Sri who, Phetpradub tells me, is known for her forest-grown coffee and her championing of maintaining healthy terroir.

Another coffee, grown in nearby Mae Chan Tai by Khun Sinthop, has some unexpected flavours. I pick out the cinnamon and plum notes, but there is one other I can’t quite identify. “Perhaps oolong tea?” Phetpradub prompts gently – and of course he’s right.

I drain that cup and pour myself another. Thailand’s coffee scene may draw inspiration from overseas, but its flavours are all its own.

THE DETAILS

DRINK
Kaizen Coffee has outlets at Ekkamai and Sukhumvit 49. See kaizencoffee.com
Roots Coffee has 12 outlets around Bangkok. See rootsbkk.com

STAY
Four Seasons at Bangkok Chao Praya is a stylish riverside retreat with an impressive collection of restaurants and bars. Rates start at THB15,000 ($650). See fourseasons.com

MORE
tourismthailand.org

The writer was a guest of Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Praya River.