The Flair Quest: Why I Brought My Espresso Press to Mate Contemporary

A Traveler Without a Grinder

In 2021, I found myself in Lampang with a Flair Espresso Press but no portable grinder. Most people would have settled for pre-ground coffee, but I had just tasted something that wouldn't let me rest: a local bean with a deep, syrupy molasses sweetness that I had never encountered in the West.

I knew that to unlock that flavor, I needed a precision grind that only a professional machine could provide.

The Message That Started It All

I remember scrolling through Facebook, looking for a shop that understood specialty coffee. I reached out to a few places, hoping someone would understand my strange request.

The 2021 Outreach:

[INSERT SCREENSHOT OF FACEBOOK MESSAGE HERE]

“Can I bring my manual press to your shop and buy your beans, if you'll help me dial in the grind on your professional grinder?”

Finding the "Sweet Spot" at Mate Contemporary

I want to give a massive thank you to the team at Mate Contemporary in Lampang. Even though I was just a traveler with a manual lever machine, they welcomed me with open arms.

I spent the afternoon at their counter. We went back and forth, adjusting their industrial grinder bit by bit until the resistance on my Flair was just right. When the shot finally pulled—thick, golden, and bursting with those rich molasses notes—we knew we had found it. I bought several bags of those perfectly ground beans to take back to Ban Sob Fa.

Even if the beans on their bar have changed since that day, the inspiration I found at Mate Contemporary remains the foundation of what we are building today.

The Morning Ritual in Ban Sob Fa

Back at my wife's parents' house in Ban Sob Fa, the Flair became the center of our mornings. I wasn't just brewing for myself; I was brewing for my wife, and whenever her sister visited from Bangkok, I’d pull shots for her husband, too.

The kitchen, usually filled with the scents of northern Thai cooking, began to smell like a high-end specialty cafe. My in-laws loved the aroma, and sharing those syrupy shots with the family became a daily ritual.

Why This Matters for Kafener

That experience taught me that Thai coffee is world-class, but it requires the right "bridge" to get from the roaster to the home. I shouldn't have to carry a 5lb manual press into a cafe just to get a great cup of Lampang coffee—and neither should you.

We started Kafener so that anyone in Thailand can access these incredible local beans, with the technology and support to make sure every brew tastes like that perfect shot I pulled at Mate Contemporary four years ago.