Doi Chang

Doi Chang, meaning “Elephant Mountain”, is the name of the area while Doi Chaang is the name of the famous coffee company. Each year, it produces about two thousand tons of coffee. The coffee is organic – there are no fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides used.

It is an ideal place to see how coffee is made from scratch. The coffee cherries are harvested, sorted, and washed before being sent for ‘pulping’. This means taking out their skins with the help of machinery. The next step is natural fermentation where the beans are kept wet for 24 hours and then dry for another 24 hours. They are sun-dried for almost a week. Finally, they are stored in a weather-controlled warehouse. Doi Chaang produces 4 different grades of beans which are eventually roasted and sealed in 4-7 layer foil bags to be sold.

As the concept of defined ‘plots’ does not exist here, there aren’t any divisions in the land. As a visitor, one can take a guided tour with Doi Chaang or simply walk around. The farm here is actually a conglomeration of hundreds of smaller, individual-owned land operating together as a coffee collective. In recent years, the cooperative have started growing other products like oolong tea, macadamia nuts, and coffee blossom honey to diversify their incomes.