Thai Specialty Winners Top $400 Pound

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Results of this year’s Thai Specialty Coffee Awards, a countrywide coffee competition, rivaled well known and marketed global coffee competitions and auctions with a winning bid of $418.48 per pound (THB26,500).

The March 16 auction winner is from Khun Chang Kien, the first area where coffee was grown in Thailand. According to the farmer, his trees are not mixed with other varietals which is why it is thought to have such unique flavors.

Unlike other coffee producing countries, who first focused on exporting their quality green coffee, Thailand’s internal consumption of specialty coffee is growing. Top end Thai cafes and roasters are changing the face of specialty coffee. The buyers of these award-winning coffees were all Thai. The quality of Thai specialty coffee is not well known outside of Thailand due to limited quantities.

Ethiopia, Panama, and Brazilian coffees can all be found in cafes, but Thailand’s 90% import duty on imported coffee favors the local landscape. Lots were priced between the Best of Panama’s record-setting $803 per pound Gesha and a Cup of Excellence lot from Costa Rica purchased for $300.

Entries from Chang Mai are very small lots. One hundred and thirty-eight samples received and coded by the Specialty Coffee Association of Thailand (SCATH) and screened for defects and moisture. Ninety were accepted. Each sample was roasted to the protocol of SCA for cupping and competition transparency. A national jury of certified cuppers were selected and after calibration, cupped each sample. Qualifying samples went to semifinals as the top 20 and the best 10 were recorded and cupped at the annual Thailand Coffee Festival in a public setting.

In 2013, Thai coffee players at the time gathered together and formed Good Quality Coffee and in 2014, coffee farmers, roasters, specialty coffee shops, baristas, and coffee professionals joined in. The name was changed to Thailand Quality Coffee aka TQC. In 2015, TQC decided officially to aim for specialty coffee enhancement in Thailand. SCATH was established and registered with the Thai government.

SCATH has played a major role in educating the consumer on the attributes of specialty, not only in flavor profiles, but also sustainability.

Learn more: scath.org