For a more Thai take on the hipster coffee scene in Chiang Mai, I’d recommend checking out Cottontree Coffee Roasters.
Here you’ll find all the slightly pompous decoration you’d expect (and want) in a café, but their roots are more of an Arabica Thai variety.
The black and white photos on the walls depict happy Northern Thai villagers farming and brewing the addictive brown beans. The plants are actually alive and some grow out of recycled coconut shells. The uncomfortable sleek wooden tables and chairs seem to be made out of teak.
All the other unnecessary marks for a good cup of joe are clearly visible. Your drink is served in an unnecessary clay cup on an equally unnecessary wooden tray. That wooden tray has the shops name etched in the corner, and comes with an unnecessary little spoon; no sugar in sight for which to stir with said spoon.
All these things are unnecessary, but their presence is an indicator that the necessary and unseen steps were done to justify the 70 baht price tag.
Namely: buying good beans, roasting them properly, fine tuned extraction, foaming the milk correctly, and last but not least NOT SCOLDING THE MILK.
It’s kind of like seeing a man at the neighborhood BBQ with a kiss the cook apron, unlit cigar hanging out of his mouth, while wearing socks and those strappy gladiator sandals. If he went to the trouble of looking the way he does, it means that he definitely marinated his chicken the night before and you’re in for a treat.
Cottontree Coffee Roasters
Open: 08:00-16:00 Everyday
The Good Stuff Chiang Mai
The Good Stuff Chiang Mai 