In our cover story this week, pop singer Pango mentioned the fact that she's a big fan of coffee. That makes two of us. An important part of my daily morning ritual is boiling the kettle and grinding up some coffee beans for that first morning cup. I find it hard to wake up and get going without it.
Coffee cultivation is believed to have started in the Middle East around the 15th century, and by the 17th century it had spread throughout Europe. It is now one of the most popular drinks in the world and cultivated, according to Wikipedia, in more than 70 different countries.
Despite its international popularity, it was pretty hard to find a decent coffee in Bangkok when I first visited here about 10 years ago. There were plenty of famous coffee franchise houses around, but they tend to make American style coffee (oversized and with lots of water), which I'm not really a fan of. These kinds of places can also be quite expensive. I did occasionally enjoy oleang, the sweet, strong, iced black Thai coffee poured through a stocking and sold by street vendors, but it wasn't quite the same as having the "real thing."
Happily, times have changed, and Bangkok now has a bunch of great little cafes that take pride in attempting to make top-quality, world-class coffee. Many of these places put a lot of effort into sourcing the best quality organic coffee beans from around the globe, while some also work with local farmers to develop and grow some of the best beans right here in Thailand. It's also much easier now to buy ground or whole coffee beans for brewing up at home.
There are of course a myriad of ways to enjoy coffee — hot, cold, sweet, bitter, with milk, without mild, with condensed milk, with flavoured syrup, etc. — but personally I like a simple espresso or Americano (or "long black," as we call it in Australia). Just black coffee with a small amount of brown sugar does the trick for me.
Too much coffee, however, is definitely not good for you. And those who drink coffee every day may find themselves in a bad mood and with a sluggish mind if they're for some reason unable to get their morning caffeine fix. Some believe that it's best to avoid coffee altogether, or that tea is a milder and healthier option.
They might be right, but for me that morning coffee is one of the great pleasures in life. I think I'll go and get one right now.
Ben Edwards
Editor
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