Chiang Rai—both a city and a province in Northern Thailand—has long served as a sort of a gateway. It sits between the larger, better known destination of Chiang Mai and the Laotian capital of Luang Prabang, with the famed Mekong river acting as a border along the way. But Chiang Rai is increasingly becoming a destination city in its own right, home to internationally famous temples, distinct cuisine, and a proudly homegrown coffee culture.
The true meaning of farm-to-cup is on display here, with most coffee shops having direct interactions with their suppliers. Doi Chang, a mountainous area southwest of Chiang Rai, is one of Thailand’s preeminent coffee growing regions, supplying the country with the highest quality Arabica. The region’s proximity to the city creates an easy route for farmers selling coffee to roasters and producers to then distribute throughout Asia; cafe owners and roasters regularly drive up to the farms to monitor quality and assure the production and processing fits their strict standards. Where traditional methods intersect with modern preparations, the opportunities are rife to taste exciting, cutting-edge cups.
Many of the city’s best coffee shops are located a distance from downtown, tucked behind fields or down nondescript lanes. It takes purpose and curiosity to explore Chiang Rai for coffee, but patience and discovery is amply rewarded. Since the owners have such a hands-on approach with their supply chain, they are usually more than happy to talk about the entire process behind how the cup ended up in your hands, and why it excites them so much.
Local Coffee
This charming roaster and cafe is located a short ten minute drive from downtown Chiang Rai. You may feel like you’ve gotten lost for a moment; yes, the cafe is located just beyond the vegetable pathc. Promoting locally sourced coffee is the name of the game here, expertly roasted from the northern growing regions and sold next door in the cafe.
Light, open and inviting, the room is tempered with enthusiastic chatter. The coffee focuses on hand-pour styles, but there’s also delicious espresso drinks available, and all of it with a lighter roast. Colorfully packaged coffees are available to buy, and all of it has been sourced from nearby farmers. Truly this is a local coffee experience.
Hobby Coffee Brewers
A refurbished car garage that smells of anything but diesel oil is where you’ll find Hobby Brewers. Rather than roasting coffee, they prefer to rotate beans so their regulars can have new experiences every time they visit. Their specialty drinks are a combination of fresh fruit flavors combined with coffee. The “Lady Pink” and “Shot Lemon Smash” are very popular amongst local guests.
For filter coffee drinkers they brew a range of South American and African coffees. As the location is a bit out of town, there is also a dessert menu with waffles and cakes to keep your blood sugar levels up. The baristas here are quite advanced in their latte art, so should you fancy a flat white with a unicorn pattern on it, this is the place to come.
22 Grams
22 Grams brew some of the best espresso in the north of Thailand. Priding themselves on showcasing locally grown coffee, the shots here are expressive, punchy, and have a syrupy mouthfeel. Depending on the seasons, the customer has access to a rolodex of what the northern regions have to offer.
Whether you come here for their espresso, or simply drink a latte, you can rest assured that you’re tasting an intrinsic part of the local culture, and the evolution of Thai coffee into what is now a very promising product. With better farming methods and processing knowledge, coffee here in Thailand has come so far, so quickly, and this cafe is one of the very best places to experience it.
The Roastery by Roj
Local coffee aficionado’s in Chiang Rai recommend visitors to try The Roastery. Roj Pongpijit is lauded by many as being the person who introduced third wave coffee to the area. Before he opened The Roastery, Chiang Rai was serviced by commercial chain coffee shops and local places brewing sweet Thai coffee. Pongpijit spent time learning roasting techniques and creating relationships with local farmers, growers, and producers before opening his cafe. It has since become a staple in the fast growing coffee community of Northern Thailand.
Visitors are welcomed into a large wooden shop with upwards of 10 choices of local coffee for filter and espresso, mostly light roasted, both washed and natural processed. There is an extensive menu for milk-based coffee too, food, and non-coffee drinks. As you’d expect being a roaster, the shelves are swollen with bags to purchase. They do not limit themselves to only Thai coffee, and roast a selection of beans from all over the world.
Roastery is a bonafide temple to caffeination, and any visit to Chiang Rai is incomplete without paying your dues.
Alexta Coffee
Perfect for a double-dip if you head to Local Coffee, Alexta is across the road a hundred meters away. This cafe is very popular with locals, who seek it out for its high quality espresso drinks. The cafe is split into two sections with a dedicated pour-over area next to the glass doors behind which they roast their coffee.
Alexta roast their beans a little darker, so these pair well with cappuccino and americano style coffee, but should you want filter coffee then they have a good selection of local beans. Blue Matcha and Dirty Lattes seem very popular to the local demographic. Their filter coffee is predominantly berry and winey tasting, so if those are flavor profiles you tend to gravitate towards, you’re in luck.
Remote workers will find this cafe conducive to productivity, since it’s very quiet. Along with a limited menu for food (mostly croissants), the atmosphere is calm and warm.
Alio Slow Bar
Exclusively selling beans grown on their own farm in Doi Chang, Alio Slow Bar serves as a downtown touchpoint for their coffee plantation. Visitors can make the trek to the farm itself, and enjoy a coffee in the bamboo floored cafe, but if you’re pressed for time they recently opened a cafe in Chiang Rai.
A short walk from the clock tower, this moody-lit bar serves a variety of roast-levels, non-coffee drinks and is known for its friendly service. The homegrown beans are displayed in large glass jars ranging from Black Honey processed, Naturals, and Medium Roast house blends. This is the true meaning of farm-to-cup, when you can chat to the owner about the family’s history and tradition at their farm nearby.
Agape
Big windows allow a steady stream of natural light into the main room at Agape. The ambiance is perfect for a few friends to share some delicious cakes or desserts and sip expertly roasted coffee. With a location downtown, and one closer to Alexta and Local Coffee, there is a calm atmosphere that encourages books and reflection.
The downtown location is a stone’s throw away from the award winning vegan burger place, Kunda, which is a great stop for lunch. With a wide variety of coffee on offer, capsules and bags for purchase, and fridges stacked with all kinds of temptations, this truly is a haven to wile away your morning. The pour-over coffee made using local beans is the highlight at Agape.
Couple Cups
Your quintessential neighborhood coffee shop, with wide windows to people-watch, dutiful baristas hawk-eyed on your brew, all manner of to-go cups flying out the door to eager delivery drivers, couples sitting in conversation out front, cars drifting by, electricity wires fizzling in the midday sun, and curious onlookers wondering what all the fuss is about.
Couple Cups, with the cutest branding in town, is a tiny cafe specializing in good coffee and low-key vibes. You come here for specialty coffee and the wildly popular Mango Sticky Rice Cheese Pie (a spin on the famous Mango Sticky Rice dessert). Perhaps more focused on desserts than the other places mentioned in this guide, this doesn’t mean that they neglect the coffee. You can get a delicious pour-over from a number of changing roasters, prepared light-bodied and delicious.
The location makes this one of the more accessible in Chiang Rai.
Benjamin Sand is a freelance journalist and the creator of The Mouth. Read more Benjamin Sand for Sprudge.
