Thailand adds quality coffee to its export menu

Specialty brews include one made from beans found in elephant feces

Efforts to elevate the quality of Thai coffee have helped create a flourishing cafe culture in the northern city of Chiang Mai and improve the livelihoods of local farmers, many of whom belong to ethnic minority groups. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images, Denis Gray)

DENIS GRAY, Contributing writer

May 25, 2023 08:00 JST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The buzz of espresso machines, a wake-up aroma of fresh brews, bustling baristas at roadside stalls and cafes that would make London or Rome proud: Welcome to Chiang Mai, where this is a typical morning scene in Thailand's capital of coffee.