Thai coffee culture and… Elephants!

Coffee is one of the most important products in the world. Almost nobody starts the morning without it. The drink is responsible for atmosphere, coziness and performance in the office. Meanwhile, the world has different coffee cultures. How does the world actually deal with coffee? Today we take a look at the coffee culture of Thailand

 

Coffee on the street

Thailand is traditionally a tea country. Most people still wake up with a pot of tea. However, coffee is starting to grow in popularity. Thailand is really catching up, a real coffee culture has emerged. This change has not gone unnoticed in the West. Major brands such as illy and Lavazza have now settled in Thailand.

Thai coffee culture is a special culture. Meanwhile, Thai coffee sellers are on almost every corner. However, you don't see any chairs around these sellers. The coffee is served in a plastic bag and filled with ice. You also get a straw so you can drink it on the go. Do you fancy hot Thai coffee? Then you get a small glass that is filled to the brim.

The problem with traditional Thai coffee is that the quality is variable. Connoisseurs are never sure whether they are getting instant coffee or a bag full of bitter coffee. This appears to be a great opportunity for the Western coffee chains. Especially in the tourist areas, these shops ensure that the traditional street vendor disappears.

Royal coffee

Despite its quality, coffee is popular with the local population. This is partly because it is an alternative crop for the mountain people. In the north, opium was mainly grown until the 1970s. The royal family has set up various programs to combat opium cultivation and to create better living conditions for the mountain people. In addition to coffee, tea and strawberries were also introduced here. In 2006, King Rama IX even received the very first UNDP Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations for these projects. The people are therefore very happy with the country's coffee production.

 

Coffee and… Elephants!

Everything has a price tag these days and this of course also applies to coffee. The most expensive coffee originally comes from Indonesia. Kopi Luwak is coffee made from cat droppings. Civets eat the coffee berries but only digest the meat. The beans come out the next day with a special taste. Kopi Luwak made from captive civets sells for around 200 euros per kilo. Exclusive Kopi Luwak from wild civets can even cost up to 5000 euros per kilo.

Thailand would like to take over this record and use the same process. However, the plantation of Canadian Blake Dinkin does not use civet cats but elephants! Picking elephant feces is a lot more labor-intensive than picking cat feces. This also makes the price a lot higher. A kilo of Black Ivory Coffee costs around 850 euros per kilo. This is a lot higher than the price of civet cats in captivity.

In addition, Black Ivory Coffee is much harder to obtain. The coffee cannot be purchased online and is produced in very limited quantities (50 kilos per year). The coffee with its particularly mild taste is only available in exclusive resorts.