On long weekends, the road from Bangkok to Hua Hin resembles a faulty production line. City dwellers who want to beat the rush often chilly themselves with car air conditioning instead of the ocean wind. Once they arrive, sun, sea and excellent coffee await them. This weekend surge helps keep many miniature businesses afloat, creating a market for those with discerning tastes.
Three hours south of Bangkok, Hua Hin is home to a huge expat population and a growing number of creatives seeking more space and better air quality. The coastline, on one of the longest beaches in Thailand, is full of hotels and seafood restaurants. The miniature downtown district is full of lively markets, delayed night food stalls, bars and boutiques. With over 10 million visitors a year, the demand is there.
Hua Hin has a well-established specialty coffee scene. Perhaps the proximity to Bangkok, or the fact that many foreigners call it home, means they get repeat customers year-round rather than just seasonal flops. After months spent exploring the coffee scene, the atmosphere here is very inclusive. The owners visit each other in their cafes on their days off and they highly recommend you do the same.
Maybe it’s the sea air, but it feels like a real coffee community.
Collins Coffee Bar
Cafe by day, cocktail bar by night, Collins have taken over both ends of the market. With hand-picked beans from their partner café Samadool (which you can read about in our Bangkok guide), beautifully crafted espresso, carefully hand-poured filter coffee and little treats to soften the caffeine hit. The interior is elegant and designed with mingling in mind, making walking to the bar effortless. There is a miniature patio outside, but the sun in these parts leaves it empty most days.
A relative newcomer to the Hua Hin coffee scene, they bring with them the knowledge and confidence to hone their chops abroad. As with many Thai coffee professionals, their skills were honed in Australia. Collins describes itself as an “Australian-style cafe” and honestly, it wouldn’t look out of place in St Kilda. Our visit coincided with the launch of a confined edition washed coffee from Ecuador, which had exquisite floral and citrus notes. The iced Americano had a balance of acidity and brightness, without developing a sour note. This is high-quality coffee, well brewed.
Gallery drip
The owners Teerayut Kladnil and Pornpimon Zaelim are true coffee lovers. Fresh subscription bags arrive monthly via Coffee boxgives Kladnil endless opportunity to experiment. Filter coffees are prepared on conical brewers, using mod Commander grinder (with motor), while standard orders are handled by the espresso machine. They have a powerful menu focusing on frozen drinks, including coconut matcha, overcast lemon coffee (the citrus and palm sugar are sourced locally), and an iced Bobbie, a shout-out to their dog.
Drip Gallery has been moved from across the street to a detached house with a garden. The move gave them outdoor areas where the animals can run and a shaded area under the trees where they can dine al fresco. The food menu here is extensive and the cafe is busy at lunchtime. Both owners are obsessed with food and since they are not open for dinner, they tipped us to try the seafood at Fah Muaywhich was full of local Thais and was absolutely delicious.
Drip Gallery is located at ul 29, 9 Soi 51 Naeb Kehardt Road, Hua Hin, Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan 77110. Follow them Instagram.
Chiffon Cafe
Chiffon is the baristas’ favorite café in the city. On their days off, you can find them in a miniature space discussing brewing methods and roast profiles. The atmosphere is quirky, harking back to the Beavis & Butthead MTV generation of the ’90s. Serving mostly takeaway coffees, they are celebrated for their iced Americano, which is brewed with lithe roasted beans to give it a fruity kick.
Known for its wide selection of iced matcha drinks and frappucinos, this is a popular spot for a slice of cake and flavored coffee. Their cake menu is extensive and if you are celebrating a birthday, you can place your cake order in advance. They offer chiffon cake, of course, and the pannacotta is highly praised by the locals. If you need beans, they sell several bags of Terroir, which is a venture Beer Boy.
SRNA
Sheer volume SRNA is one of the most popular cafes in Hua Hin. The place, which has a strict “takeaway only” policy, roasts its own beans, processing them from washed and natural to honeyed and oxygen-free. Since you are in Thailand, we recommend going for one of the locally produced washed coffees. The quality of Thai coffee has improved significantly over the last decade.
SRNA is also Hua Hin’s favorite place for matcha. The takeaway cups are emblazoned with the slogan: “More beach, more coffee, more matcha, less worries,” which perfectly sums up their ethos. While they offer the standard lattes, infusions, and frozen milkshakes, they set themselves apart by including ceremonial Nishio Matcha. Their vegan chilly foam drink has become a favorite among plant lovers.
They’re going crazy behind the scenes to Mahlkön grinder i La Marzocco GS3 coffee machine.
Laying the drip edge
Within reach of the ocean, Laying the drip edge this is the only beach cafe on the list. Situated across from Veranda Lodge, this little wooden lodge offers one of the widest selections of filter coffee in the city. Dozens of aluminum bottles mature in salty air, all of them are roasted in-house. The offer includes beans from almost every coffee-producing country, and prices range from inexpensive locally grown coffee to top-quality imported beans.
Espresso drinks are brewed in manual machines, filtered using a V60, and the staff will be joyful to recommend something according to your preferences. You can reach the cafe by taking a shortcut through the parking lot if you arrive by public transport, or by walking across the pool at Veranda Lodge. Chairs and tables under a few shade trees provide what you came to Hua Hin for: endless sea views.
Coffee Laboratory in Stodola
Not to be confused with the Berlin coffee giants, this is a specialty roastery located a block from the celebrated Hua Hin Night Market. Popular with expats, this coffee shop is a great place for a newbie to make friends. Coffee is roasted at Stodoła headquarters in Ratchaburi province, 30 kilometers from Bangkok. Offering both lithe and obscure roast profiles, you could easily spend a week tasting all the beans at The Barn.
Those with a sweet tooth can order Caneles, Madeleines and other delicacies prepared by The Barn Patisserie. The interior is filled with coffee accessories, and the owner is passionate and generous with advice. We drank the Kenyan pour clear and the Yellow Bourbon Thai espresso, which was floral and sweet with brown sugar.
RONIN CAPSULE – Home to a Thai artist family, this amazing gem is only open a few weeks a year, which is why we didn’t include it in the main article. However, if you’re in town during opening hours, they serve exceptional coffee and the art gallery is magical.
VELO CAFE – In two locations, they roast coffee under the “Rock & Roast” banner and serve iced coffee “from a can”.
LIVE AND ROASTED COFFEE – Q Grader, sourcing some of the best Thai beans. The location of this miniature cafe means that only the intrepid hunt it down.
SILPA – Cafe, cooring space and wine bar, ultra chilly interiors make it popular with groups. They serve coffee from stimulating local Thai roasters.
PAKKATI COFFEE STUDIO – This coffee studio, located in an senior house, sells a huge selection of local and international beans.
