I recently interviewed our partner Fuadi and learnt a lot about his take on sustainability, coffee trade and Thai coffee. His efforts to bring Thai coffee to the international market in a sustainable and fair way is already making him a point of reference in many senses.
“After eight years in the business, it still feels like a start-up.”
Fuadi and Jarron Joplin, in Khun Lao, Chiang Rai.
What moves you about coffee?
It's the relationships with the producers and the buyers that I form over the years, which keeps me going despite all the challenges. Unless the producers roast and own a cafe, all of us in the supply chain are middlemen in some ways. I aspire to be the kind of middleman that guides people in the supply chain to see the value in what I do and share the belief of improving and showcasing Thai coffee.
How do you integrate your work as an academic with coffee?
Have you been able to apply knowledge or resources from one area into the other?
I think my engagement in both fields informs each other. The most important principles in academia are causality and replicability. While in coffee production, we need to make sure that the farmers are better off, risks are minimised, and coffee processing methods are financially viable and sustainable. Balancing all these requirements became the goal that I strive towards.
For example, whenever we design a certain experimental processing method with the hope of creating a specific taste profile, we need to plan and that means thinking theoretically about the cause and effect of whatever inputs and controls that go into the coffee processing method and the expected outcome from that process. So, if the process yields desirable results, we increase the likelihood of replicating that process in the future. While doing so, the central player that must be protected and whose interest must be taken into consideration at all times, are the producers. Oftentimes, this means there are trade offs between doing things by the book and making sure that it is practical for the producers. Knowing which "Critical Control Points" (or CCP - this is a food safety/production term) to establish, monitor and, more importantly, compromise that help achieve the balance between theory and pragmatism.
What made you believe in Thailand as an emerging origin for specialty coffee back in 2012?
It was very much driven by simply the fact that I want to see Thai coffee being represented at top cafes and roasters around the world. I was studying in the US then, and that was when specialty coffee roasters and cafes were proliferating.
I went to these places to study and realised that there are coffees from many origins. Well, anyone that grew up in Thailand would know that we produce coffee, Arabica in the North and Robusta in the South, but we have never really seen it outside of Thailand. So that absence of Thai coffee in the international specialty coffee market serves to drive me to promote Thai coffee.
How do you drink your coffee every morning?
I went through many phases. But for the last few years, my go-to brewing method is a Clever dripper. I like it because of its consistency and ease of use. Clever dripper is a full immersion method where the coffee ground gets filtered out by a paper at the end. So it's the best of both worlds (full immersion plus filter)!
What has been your greatest challenge so far regarding Beaspire?
I think it's about growing to the next phase of the business and diversifying into other coffee-related segments. After eight years in business, I still feel like a start up. Every year, there is something new to learn... Like now, climate change is really hitting us hard. And for the past few years, yield has gone down considerably.
What has been your greatest accomplishment?
It's being able to see Thai coffee being served at specialty cafes and roasters around the world. And that contributes to the vibrancy of both the growing and consumption market in Thailand. The last time I counted we were in 13 countries. And this is just by Beanspire. Now, there are more people interested in exporting coffees and making better coffees as well.
“I feel there is so much less focus on ‘organic’ or ‘rainforest’ certifications these days, and more on people empathizing with other people.”
Farmer from Doi Saket, busy at work.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability means so much to us. For a long time, I have always felt that this term actually hurts farmers. I used to think that there was a huge trade off between environmental sustainability and socio-economic sustainability of the producers. And in many ways, there is still. But more people are understanding the need to balance these two interests. For example, recently we participated in the Producer Crossover that TSU organised. It's a side meeting during the World of Coffee 2022 in Milan with a focus on regenerative agroforestry. I feel that there is so much less focus on 'organic' or 'rainforest' certifications these days and more people are empathising with the farmers. Many people now understand the need for the first-world buyers to be more farmer-centric than in the past. They understand potential trade-offs and tend to value the 'attempt' or the 'will' to improve the condition at the farms so that farmers can make a good living, while also minimising usage of resources and protecting the environment.
What does Beanspire mean?
'Beanspire' is a play on "be inspired". That should be quite obvious. But what most people do not know is that the name has two other meanings to me. It could also be interpreted as 'be among the spires', meaning being on top of the mountain peaks. And the last meaning is the fact that I started Beanspire the same year that I was admitted into the PhD program at Oxford and the slogan for Oxford is 'City of Dreaming Spires' hence it is appropriate that 'Beanspire' has some links to that city too.
Something else you’d like to share?
I really would like to thank my business partner, Jane Kittirattanapaiboon. Less people may know about her, but she is arguably the more important half of Beanspire as she is permanently based in Chiang Rai and handles most of the day-to-day operation at our mill for several years, until I moved back to Thailand to help her in 2019. There is a coffee in the stock, Wiang Pa Pao Fully Washed, which she curates (i.e. controlling the processing and sourcing the parchments) that I hope you all can support.