When I went to visit the “Land of Smiles,” which is what they call Thailand, I promptly fell in love. While I enjoyed the laid back hustle and bustle (if that makes sense) of Bangkok, I definitely appreciated the countryside even more. If there is one regret about that trip, it is that I was not able to visit the other parts of the country, one of them Chiangmai.
That’s why when we got this e-mail from Peter Bachner, my curiosity was really piqued. In his e-mail, he shares that he is “beginning the adventure of growing Arabica shade grown coffee in a mountainous jungle setting in Northern Thailand.” No one can resist the words “adventure,” “Arabica,” “shade,” and “Thailand” in one sentence, right?
So off I headed to his blog, titled “Peter Bachner’s Grand Adventure in Thailand…Growing Coffee in the Chiangmai Highlands!” That sure is a mouthful, but that is probably nothing compared to the project he is undertaking! By the way, he is doing this project in tandem with Chiangmai University, so he has excellent help.
Now if you have not been to Thailand and you have not tasted their coffee, I am telling you that you are missing a LOT. I didn’t really think of Thailand as a place to get good coffee, but I had one of the most pleasant surprises of my life when our Thai guide for the day stopped by this quaint coffee shop just outside of Bangkok. Seriously, I had not had such a strong cup of coffee till that day! It was so good I had to buy a couple of boxes to bring home. (The coffee shop is shown in the picture above. Can anyone ID it for me?) I am unsure if this is the same type of coffee that Peter is growing.
In any case, his adventure is something worth following. Let’s join him?
Originally posted on August 23, 2009 @ 7:22 am