Coffee – Feeling Full of Beans on Phuket
Making karfay boran - ground beans in the net, add hot water and away you go. - Photo by Heinrich Damm.
Think coffee. If you’re American, that’s probably Starbucks (they’re here on Phuket). If you’re European, then you’ll probably be looking for the Illy logo. What you may not realise is that Thailand has been growing coffee for ages. In Southeast Asia, only Vietnam and Indonesia produce more.
For the baristas among you, Arabica beans are grown in the highlands of northern Thailand while farmers in the hotter lowlands of the coastal provinces along the western edge of the Gulf of Siam produce Robusta beans.
Companies such as Boncafé, a Thai-Swiss joint venture, export large amounts of both in a variety of blends, which you can also buy in supermarkets on the island, either as whole beans or ready-ground. If you want to buy it without the supermarket mark-up, there’s a Boncafé shop not far from Tesco-Lotus in Phuket Town.
But when in Rome… The coffee to drink in Thailand is karfay boran (traditional coffee). This is served in a glass with condensed milk in the bottom of it. It looks like an upside-down Guinness. Yecch.
Actually, not yecch – the coffee is so strong that you’ll hardly notice the sweetness, and if it’s the morning after a tough night out, this is what you need to set you up for the day: a karfay boran and some patango – light sticks of dough that are flash-fried for a crunchy and revivifying mouthful or two. Patango are also great for dunking in your coffee. You’ll find this combo in most markets around the island, but get there early; they usually run out around 7:30 am.
Coffee to go: the sign on the roof of the bike says "Karfay Boran". - Photo by Marshall Astor.
In Muslim communities around the island (even more so if you take a trip to the deep south of Thailand) bars selling alcohol are a bit thin on the ground, but people make up for this with coffee shops. The premises are mostly fairly basic, but the coffee is usually excellent.
Thais also make great iced coffee. If you like it with milk, then ask for karfay yen. For black, ask for o-liang. Both are delivered in a glass with a straw and plenty of ice. Thais understand that coffee has to have TASTE, and that ice dilutes it as it melts, so they make it good and strong.
For a hyper-caffeine jolt, you’ll need a bottle of Krating Daeng. It means “Red Bull”. No, Krating Daeng is not a copy of the Red Bull you find in European discos. It’s the other way round. It’s a Thai invention that was copied and taken to Europe. The only difference is that the original Thai version is a bit sweeter.
Finally, for solid coffee (handy when driving, for example), check out Kopico. This is a cappucino-flavoured hard candy that you’ll find in just about any shop that sells food or drink anywhere in Thailand. One baht a pop.
Think you can stay awake now?
I think Robusta coffee has gotten a bad rap. People tend to compare it to Arabica – and there’s no question, at least in my mind, that Arabica makes a far superior cup of coffee or espresso.
It helps if you think of Robusta as being a different drink altogether, and avoid the comparison. Some of the best Robusta in the world is served in Thailand and Vietnam. If you avoid stirring up the sweetened condensed milk laced with palm oil in the bottom of the cup, the Thai gaffee lon can be quite refreshing. And jolting.
Viva la difference….