Kafaire
Rawin
Co-founder of Kafaire
I'll always remember the smell of coffee every morning growing up. My mom drank coffee every day ever since I can remember. She's an early bird, always waking up super early to have a cup of coffee so whenever I woke up, there would be the smell of coffee throughout the house. Years before Kafaire, I was working in branding and marketing and it involved a lot of travel which gave me the chance to try coffee in many places around the world.
I came to love coffee because the more you drink, the more you discover. There are always new things for you to explore, and I'll never get bored of it. It’s also something that connects and brings people together - I love how I can sit and talk coffee to everyone from customers to professionals. It's really my favourite way to learn more about coffee and brewing techniques every day.
In the first years of Kafaire, we started as a commercial roaster for small cafés but we've recently shifted focus to home brewers as more and more people in Thailand become interested in specialty coffee. "Kafaire" is how Thai people say coffee; for example, Kafaire Dum means black coffee. We added a French twist by spelling it "Faire" which means "Do" in French. I chose this name because I wanted to send the message that coffee is not difficult - coffee is for everyone to enjoy.
When did you first start drinking coffee?
Probably around university years when I drank coffee to keep me awake! At that time, I still had no idea that I would be falling in love with it this much.
What's your favourite region for coffee?
The majority of African beans match my preference: fruity sweet with acidity. Especially our Kenya Trans-Nzoia - it's like having a berry juice; you can feel the strawberry note from your first sip!
What roasting machine are you using?
Has Garanti is our main roaster.
Where did you learn to roast coffee?
Apart from taking courses, reading textbooks, finding information online, joining workshops, and learning from our customers' feedback. We roast and adjust many many times so that we can get the perfect one for our customers. And we never stop learning.
Which do you enjoy more: roasting, brewing or sourcing?
Can I choose two? I would say brewing and roasting. I enjoy brewing because I can taste it right away! But roasting also makes me happy. My little secret goal is to roast coffee that everyone can brew even if they don't know much about brewing coffee, but the taste is still great. It's my personal secret challenge.
What's your favourite way of brewing coffee?
Every day I brew new ways! Personally, I like pour over but I always change my style and techniques. That is the beauty of brewing coffee for me.
What is your pour over recipe?
I change it up every day, but this is usually my go-to for a rushed morning! Medium grind size / 1:16 ratio / 90°c / 2:30 brew time.
"If I didn't work in the coffee industry, I would want to be a... “
Yoga teacher.