Name: Quiet Endless Searching Natural
Region: Mae Suai, Chiang Rai, Thailand
Producer: Nawin Yaesorkoo
Process: Natural
Varieties: Catuai, Typica & Chiang Mai
Altitude: 1,250–1,450 MASL
Notes: mango, mixed berries, white chocolate, black tea
Importing Partner: Beanspire Coffee
RECIPE:
Vibras Pourover Recipe:
23.5g dose
390g yield
197 F temp water
MORE:
We’ve said before that we’re in endless pursuit of moments that inspire awe and wonder, and that interconnectedness between humans and experiences is at the root of the work we do. This Thailand Natural Coffee is a beautiful example of our mission in action.
Around April, 2021, Areli began inquiring about sourcing coffees from Laos in search of a coffee for our wholesale partners, Heirloom Brew Shop. Though the Laotian coffee we found was contracted out for the year, our search led us to cup this beautiful coffee from Thailand, which will also be served at Heirloom. We named it “Quiet Endless Searching” as a nod to the journey that brought us to it.
Q.E.S. - Nawin Yaesorkoo is one of the most innovative farmers and coffee processors working in Thailand today. He grows coffee on his family farm in Hua Chang and carries out post-harvest processing at his mill in Mae Suai, one of the country’s largest coffee growing regions. Around 500 households from the Akha hill tribe cultivate coffee here, tending varieties like Catuai, Typica, Chiang Mai, and SJ133. This lot was grown by smallholder producers in the Mae Suai area and processed using the Natural method at Nawin’s mill.
Coffee farming is still relatively new in Thailand, but it’s quickly becoming a space where a new generation of producers is shaping what’s possible. Modern coffee cultivation in the country traces back to the 1970s, when an opium eradication initiative led by the King of Thailand introduced coffee trees to mountainous regions such as Doi Saket. Efforts to restore forests and replace illicit crops with coffee proved deeply successful. Today, those same mountains are flourishing with coffee farms, and varieties like Catuai, Typica, and the local Chiang Mai—an adaptation drawing from SL-28, Caturra, and Timor Hybrid—continue to thrive.
This Mae Suai Natural comes to us through our exporting partners at Beanspire Coffee, whose work we deeply admire. Co-founders Fuadi Pitsuwan and Jane Kittiratanapaiboon are part of a younger generation helping shape the future of Thai coffee. Thailand is a uniquely dynamic coffee origin: its specialty café and roasting culture is booming, and local demand often exceeds what the country produces. Only about five percent of Thailand’s specialty coffee is exported each year, which makes coffees like this especially meaningful to share—small glimpses into a thriving coffee culture that is largely enjoyed at home.
Quality and care continue long after harvest. At Beanspire’s dry mill—one of the most advanced in Thailand—coffee passes through destoning, hulling, and gravity-table density sorting, followed by multiple rounds of hand sorting to ensure clarity and uniformity in the cup. Coffees are then packed in triple-layer bags to protect quality during shipment: a cotton outer layer, HDPE lining to stabilize moisture, and GrainPro inside.
For this lot, freshly harvested cherries were carefully floated to remove defects before being spread in thin layers on raised beds to dry slowly in the sun. After several days, once the coffee reached around 11% moisture, it was milled, sorted, and prepared for export.
We’re grateful to Nawin, the Akha smallholder producers of Mae Suai, and the team at Beanspire for allowing us to continue sharing coffees like this—coffees that reflect both the care of the people who grow them and the momentum of Thailand’s evolving coffee story.
*If you would like this coffee ground, please specify brew method in comments.