Thailand’s third-wave coffee scene is doing its own thing, and it’s taking a bit of getting used to – it’s a scene that’s quietly become one of Southeast Asia’s most fascinating. High up in the northern highlands around Chiang Mai, some roasters are churning out arabica that wins international awards – and down in Bangkok you can find cafes that source single-origin beans from those very same mountains and brew them up with some serious kit. And it just keeps getting bigger – with market growth averaging 15–20% a year, new roasters and brew bars are popping up all over – in cities you’d never expect to see them.
This page gives you one-stop access to 1200+ specialist coffee shops across Thailand – all on one searchable Google Map that you can scroll through, add to your own Google account, and even use to plan your next coffee trip. And don’t worry, the list is regularly updated when old ones go under and roasters expand their operations.
Open the Map
Want to see the Map? Here you go: Specialty Coffee Cafe Thailand
Just click on that link, save it to your Google account, star your favourite cafes and start building a list for your trip. The map is way more useful than any old static article – and it will always be up to date.
Who made the list?
Credits where it’s due. A few years ago I had trouble finding good cafes in Thailand and I had to spend a while figuring it out every time I went to a new place. That was until I discovered the Specialty Coffee Club TH group on Facebook.
This handy list was completely created and maintained by the good folks at the group. So all credits go to them. Im writing about it so that it’s easier to find.
How the Map Works
When you open the map on your phone or laptop, just zoom in on the city or area you’re visiting – you can then use Google’s search bar to filter by area, or if you’re traveling, use the “Nearby” function to see cafes that are near your current location.
You can also save any cafe to your own Google Maps list by tapping the pin and selecting “Save. This is really useful for planning your next coffee crawl or remote work day.
On desktop, the full list view makes it easier to scan through all the options, while on mobile, the map interface is way better for quick lookups while you’re out and about.
Google’s built-in filters – like open now, rating, and distance – all work normally on these pins, and I haven’t added my own custom tags (roaster vs brew bar vs wifi spot), but Google’s own labeling usually does a pretty good job of it.
With this, I can open Google Maps anywhere in Thailand and find good coffee ust a few minutes away from me.
What Counts as “Specialty”
This list is all about cafes that focus on coffee quality – so that means places that have:
- Single-origin offerings, or at the very least, transparent sourcing
- Manual brew methods like pour-over, siphon, or similar
- In-house roasting, or at the very least, a partnership with a roaster that takes quality seriously. Some of the best coffee beans in Thailand are sent to cafes across the country.
- Trained baristas who actually know what they’re doing when it comes to extraction.
Some of the inclusions are a bit more “specialty-leaning” than strict SCA-certified operations – a cafe might roast their own beans and serve a good espresso without getting too hung up on cupping scores – and that’s perfectly fine. The point is to give you useful recommendations, not to be some sort of coffee snob.
They’ve left out Starbucks and all the chain cafes, even when they do serve “specialty” products, just because.
Where the Cafes Are
The clusters of specialist coffee shops are in Bangkok and Chiang Mai , with the first being the bigger of the two – Bangkok has hundreds of options spread across all the different neighbourhoods – from Thonglor, Ari, and Sathorn to the old town and beyond. Chiang Mai, on the other hand, pioneered Thai specialty coffee a decade ago and has a scene that punches way above its weight.
But Bangkok’s not the only game in town – there are some great options in other places too:
- Phuket and the Andaman coast (Krabi, Ao Nang) have a growing scene, especially in the beach towns where all the digital nomads hang out
- Koh Samui and Phangan on the Gulf side
- Pattaya and Chonburi on the eastern seaboard
- Hua Hin, just south of Bangkok
- Chiang Rai is way up in the far north, close to some of the actual coffee farms
Smaller cities and towns have some options scattered about – but the best way to find them is probably on the map.
Coffee Trail Ideas
Here are a few ways to structure a cafe crawl:
Bangkok day of coffee: Start with a proper espresso at a serious brew bar in Thonglor. Mid-afternoon hit a pour-over spot in Ari or near the art centre. End somewhere with some good dessert pairings – Bangkok does coffee and cake really well.
Chiang Mai roaster route: Morning at a cafe connected to a northern Thai farm (several sources from villages just an hour or two away). Afternoon at one of the pioneering roasteries in the old city – if you want to see roasting in action, a few places have visible production.
Phuket beach-to-town loop: Start near Kata or Karon if you’re staying coastal, then head into Phuket Town to see what all the fuss is about.
Remote work day: Just filter by wifi-friendly spots (Google reviews usually mention this), then look for places that have outdoor seating, plugs at the tables, and drinks beyond espresso. Some cafes quietly function as co-working spaces. But in my experience, almost every coffee shop in Thailand has good WiFi and don’t mind you staying around a bit if you buy their coffee. Explore the best cafes to work from in Bangkok.
Help Keep it Up to Date
This list depends on tips and info – so if a cafe closed, a new roaster opened, or if it’s missing your favourite spot let them know.
Missing a cafe? Feel free to let the group know in the map’s thread here.
Cafe closed or changed? Same deal as above.