Thailand Huai Mae Liam

Huai Mae Liam, a village known for its coffee production, has recently gained well-deserved recognition for its exceptional beans. Previously, coffee from this village was often overshadowed, being marketed under the names of larger, more renowned villages like Doi Chang and Doi Pangkhon. It's time to acknowledge the hard work of Huai Mae Liam's coffee farmers and grant them the recognition they deserve.

This particular coffee comes from the farm owned by Asor Merlaeku, a highly skilled and sophisticated farmer. The unique processing method involves partial fermentation, where the coffee is removed from the fermentation tank before it's fully fermented. This deliberate approach leaves some mucilage on the parchment, resulting in a brightness akin to washed coffee, yet with a smoothness and sweetness reminiscent of honey.

Despite the initial challenges faced by Beanspire, their dedication has yielded exceptional coffee. Beanspire is a Thai-only collective committed to working closely with farmers, empowering them to access international specialty markets. At Mostra, our focus is on sourcing the best coffee possible, rather than emphasizing specific trade types or certifications. We strive to make a significant impact by showcasing the finest beans available.

From Beanspire: "As the process designer, dry miller and exporter of this coffee, we have worked in this area for 7 years now. Doi Pangkhon, in Chiang Rai, has 300 households, each typically producing about 1-2 tons of parchment. In the past years, we worked with each house individually on their wet processing and bought their parchment before hulling and grading at our mill. In 2017-2018 season, we invested in a wet mill, operated by a few of our partner producers, all belonging to the five Merlaeku brothers who are of Akha Hilltribe minority, so we had more control of the process since the cherries and we also bought cherries from outside the family as well. In the 2018-2019 season, we improved the mill by adding the roof, buying new pulpers and improving workflows. In the 2019-2020 harvest, we bought an electricity generator, built a cupping lab for the farmers, and laid new concentrate flooring for the mill. In the 2020-2021 harvest, we leased a new space in the lowland so we can dry coffee more efficiently. The elevation at Doi Pangkhon is from 1250-1450 meter above sea level. Note that we are at 19 degrees north of the equator, which means that this elevation is really high (e.g. Colombia Narino is 1 degree north, Costa Rica Terrazu is 9 degree north so coffee can grow beyond 1600m there). The varieties here are a mixture of Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai & SJ133. SJ133 is genetically identical to Costa Rica 95, while Chiang Mai is a local hybrid that is a cross between SL28 x Caturra x Hibrido de Timor."