Coffee Addicts Advice

If  you are traveling in SE Asia, you might discover that finding a bag of freshly ground coffee beans is not an easy task. The shops are full of coffee, yes ---instant coffee. And, although you can find coffee at Starbucks or an exotic coffee shop, most of us addicts need to have coffee in our place of residence on hand at all times. At least, I do. So, what's the answer?

Well, if you are in Thailand, you'll find "real" coffee in most of the 7 Eleven stores. What I do, in a pinch is to get the plastic-wrapped paper cup of coffee that says, "Cappuccino" on it because, inside the cup there is a little coffee bag full of real coffee grinds that's not too bad at all. Now, you can either use that and fill it with the hot water at the shop, or just buy it sealed and do it at home. But, you have to make sure that it's the real deal, so you may want to check inside. The coffee bag is nice and big, so if you take it home, you can use it for a big mug of tasty "real" coffee.

However, if you don't want to use that kind of bagged coffee, you'll have to go shopping in the grocery stores for ground coffee or coffee beans if you have a grinder. In Thailand, you may find a bag of coffee that's a normal price if you look hard and long.

In Malaysia, although you may not find coffee at 7 Eleven, you can find real coffee at Tesco. Yes, folks, believe it or not, Tesco is the one place that has a large variety of coffee on their coffee aisle. Unlike Jusco or Aeon that only have one brand of ground coffee in a black bag for an outrageous price. It's not very great-tasting either. I bought the "gourmet" one and it was perhaps a little nicer.

But, in Tesco, you'll find several imported coffees, including French coffee and Brazilian coffee and the store brand. They're pretty good, like a Westerner takes their coffee, you could say.

However, when all is said and done, what we really want is organic coffee from real coffee beans that haven't been sprayed with tons of pesticide. In Malaysia, you can find organic coffee at Ikai in their "cold storage" shop. Organic coffee is a rare find, however, even in Malaysia.

Even in China, I found it difficult to get anything other than Nescafe. You sort of get used to drinking instant coffee after you've been in China for a while.

But, if you happen to be in a Western country, heading to SE Asia, BRING YOUR OWN COFFEE. Even if you do find real coffee over here, it may not be the brand you love and it most certainly won't be organic.

I found a one-cup coffee press which I take with me wherever I go and it sure has come in handy. Or, the alternative is to simply get a coffee filter holder and bring along some filters. You can buy them here, too.

Of course, you needn't worry about finding a Starbucks or McDonald's in Thailand or Malaysia. Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos probably don't have many if any of them, yet. But you can find a decent cup of coffee in Laos sort of like European style, which is very nice and cheap. China? Forget it. They don't know what coffee is, at least where I've been. You can find Starbucks in the bigger cities though, just not so much in the South which is where I spent most of my time. (Although I have to say that last time I was in Kunming, specialty coffee shops were opening up with lots of variety in them at a very high price, if one is on a budget.)