Twenty-five years ago, I ventured into the coffee trade by exporting beans from Ethiopia to the USA. It was a brief but rewarding experience—like finding the perfect brew on your first try.

With visions of expansion dancing in my head, I set my sights on Southeast Asia.

Back then, Vietnam and Indonesia were the go-to spots for coffee. My goal was to connect sellers with buyers. I’m talking about direct from farms.

When I started with coffee beans from Africa, I was lucky enough to have a contact in Ethiopia who did most of the heavy lifting.

But when I landed in Southeast Asia, things took a turn. I had zero experience, no local connections, and the internet was about as useful as a decaf espresso—hardly any help at all. Navigating that scene was a steep learning curve, but it gave me the resilience and creativity I needed to succeed in the coffee trade.

I was already picturing myself as the hero of the coffee world.

Unfortunately, reality had other plans. The samples I provided didn’t quite meet the buyers’ quality and taste standards—let’s say their excitement didn’t exactly brew over.

Eventually, I stopped with coffee beans from Ethiopia. My contacts had a tiny farm, I’m talking about micro-lots. And they had connections with buyers already. So it didn’t make sense for me to stay on and take a cut of the profits

The Ethiopian farmers did 99.9% of the work anyway. They deserved all of it.

My time in Southeast Asia left an everlasting impression on me, especially in Thailand, where I now live with my family. I also find myself frequently hopping over to Malaysia and Vietnam—because who can resist the food and coffee there?

But the real surprise came when I discovered that the owner of my favorite local café wasn’t just a coffee connoisseur; he grows coffee up in the highlands of Chiang Mai. His passion and knowledge of high-quality Thai coffee were so infectious that I almost felt guilty about my previous coffee choices.

You can see it through how he explains the origins of the coffee he stocks at his café

Let’s just say I got a crash course in the art of coffee from someone who knows his beans.

And that is just the beginning of this story…