Stalking the cheap coffee: Social networks point the way

WHAT HATH STARBUCKS wrought? The price of coffee seems to be going up so fast that the oil sheiks must have taken over the industry.
Recently three people filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Board after being charged Bt2,260 at the Boncafe outlet in the Thai Life Insurance building. That was for three cups of coffee and an hour’s stay. Just being in the bistro cost them Bt1,000!
Alas, the government agency could find no fault, since there’s a sign at Boncafe saying that use of the premises for a business meeting or private tuition is subject to a charge of Bt1,000 per hour. The consumer watchdog could only ask the proprietor to make the sign a little bigger.
Fortunately, you can still get a great cup of coffee in Thailand at a decent price and not have to worry about the clock. In response to the cheeky charging in Bangkok, the social media have been cooing about a place in Muang Songkhla that opened two years ago. It’s called Cha Sung Sorn.
Tawan Wisetsuthu found his banking career at an abrupt end due to an injury to his right wrist and had to find something else to do. Opening a coffee shop seemed like a good idea to the 43-year-old, especially if he could include the concept of sharing, which he much admired.
So at Cha Sung Sorn you get coffee starting at Bt25, free Wi-Fi and, if you need it, a bicycle to borrow, also free. There’s a pile of books and you can sit and read all day without being taxed by the hour.
A heck of a generous guy for a banker, Tawan was so generous that he was soon losing money. The business was in the red for the first year. But then word got around and sales started picking up. “Since July and August we’ve had a fivefold increase in customers, and for the first time I’m able to cover all my bills,” he tells the newspaper Matichon.
Tawan is doing so well, in fact, that he’s just moved to bigger and better premises, as announced on his Facebook page. It’s less than 500 metres up the street, at 244 Nakhon Nai Road, but a lot more spacious, better decorated and really comfy.
If you’re not travelling as far south as Songkhla, Phetchaburi has another great stop for coffee called Kafeburi. It’s owned by Hathairat Deeprasert, a reporter for our sister newspaper, Kom Chad Luek. Hathairat happens to be a Facebook friend of Tawan and they’re both keen on encouraging a more sharing society.
Kafeburi charges Bt30 and up for a cup of java and also offers free Wi-Fi. Plus, there’s a guitar sitting in one corner just begging to be played. “Some of my customers have been bringing in their own guitars lately and they just hang around playing,” she says. And, since she’s a reporter on the education beat, she loves to get patrons’ heads stuck into books. “I have over 1,000 books and the customers can spend as much time here reading as they like – well, at least until 4pm, which is my time to go cycling and that’s when I close the shop.”
KafeBuri is at 99 Moo 1, Nok Road, Khlong Kachang in Muang Phetchaburi. Tell ’em Soopsip sent ya.