About this Coffee
The Wiang Pa Pao Fully Washed project is an initiative led by Jane Kittiratanapaiboon, co-founder of Beanspire, in the Wiang Pa Pao district of Chiang Rai, Thailand. Jane oversaw the entire journey and quality control of this lot, collecting the parchment from a wet mill in the district nearby Beanspire’s dry mill. While we’ve witnessed incredible coffees originating from Thailand, it remains an emerging origin that continually demonstrates its potential.
This coffee underwent a wet fermentation, between 12-24 hours depending on the weather. After the coffee is pulped, it’s soaked in fresh water for an additional 12 hours and cleaned thoroughly to completely remove the mucilage. Following that, the coffee was dried on bamboo raised beds and in greenhouses for 15-20 days. In terms of green bean preparation, the coffee underwent a series of processes, including destoning, hulling, size grading, and density table sorting, culminating in meticulous manual hand-sorting. To take it the extra mile, this sorted coffee goes through the density table again to ensure no stray, unwanted beans made it into the desired lot.
Coffee in Thailand initially began as a reformation plan initiated by the former King of Thailand to eliminate opium production and promote coffee as a lucrative crop within their agricultural sector. The majority of farmers involved are young, with an average age ranging from 25 to 35 years old. Much like the food and beverage industry, this youthful movement has evolved at an impressive rate compared to older coffee-growing regions. One of the greatest advantages is the accessibility and support provided to both buyers and producers. It only takes 45 minutes from the airport to visit the farms in Chiang Rai, and the local coffee scene is highly supportive of collaborative growth with their producers, fostering a sustainable coffee culture.
This is not the first, nor the last, coffee we’ve showcased from our partners at Beanspire. In the few years during which we’ve sourced Thai coffee with them, they have been involved in historic events such as the Best of Thailand and Thailand Cup of Excellence auctions. These events not only highlight innovation and novelty within the Thai specialty coffee sector but also establish Thailand as a progressive, quality-oriented producing country on the global coffee map. Today, it’s not uncommon to encounter Beanspire’s coffees being roasted and served at some of the most esteemed cafes and roasteries worldwide.