Wake up and smell the coffee

By Lang Hokleng | Published on May 5, 2008

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia borrowed many things from France - fresh baguettes, beautiful colonial architecture, boulevards and, perhaps most importantly, good coffee. Tiny coffee shops dot Cambodian towns and roads, offering strong black coffee for as little as 800 riel (20 cents) a cup. From very early in the morning until very late at night, people gather in the coffee parlors to chat over delicate glasses of the aromatic brew, talking about everything from politics to business, as well as a range of personal issues. It would be a familiar scene to residents of many countries and cities.

In Cambodia, coffee is usually made using the gravity method of pouring boiling water through a sock of gauze or by letting it drip through a metal filter slowly into the cup below it, ensuring that all of the precious flavor is captured from the ground coffee beans. Coffee beans are the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, which was discovered in Ethiopia in the 9th century. Since then, it has been consumed, most often as a hot stimulating beverage based on the roasting process developed in Arabia centuries ago.

Ly Chan Tha, 46, is the owner of a coffee shop at the corner of Pasteur (Street 51) and St.138. His shop opens at 4 A.M. every morning. “My shop is busy all day long, with the people drinking my coffee and having breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner,” he said. “A small black cup of coffee costs 800 riel (20 cents), and a glass of coffee with ice costs 1,200 riel (30 cents), as well as a glass of ice coffee with milk costs 1,500 riel (38 cents).”

Normally at the side street coffee shops, the drink is served alongside meals for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner, which are generally set at very reasonable prices. “At my shop, rice with meat or chicken costs between 3,000 riel (75 cents) and 8,000 riel (US$2) per meal,” Tha said.

Sok Thy, 45, a motor-taxi driver who drinks black coffee at Ly Chan Tha’s shop every morning, said that he is addicted to the coffee and can not do anything without a cup of coffee every day. “I have had coffee more than 10 years, my body [starts to] tremble when I have not got a cup of coffee or got it late,” he said. “I [am] addict[ed to] coffee.” Coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant found in several beverages today, though it was a new discovery when coffee was first enjoyed. Lighter roasts have more caffeine, while darker roasts are sweeter. Caffeine can increase a person’s energy level and is used by some people to wake up, most likely those who visit Ly Chan Tha’s shop when it opens at 4 A.M.

Currently, there is also no shortage of upscale establishments that specialize in serving premium coffee. In Phnom Penh, for instance, the Tea & Coffee shop on Monivong Boulevard and the City Cat on Russian Boulevard are among the best for tasting and smelling the best coffee over a conversation. These modern class coffee shops are popular among business people, well-paid employees, and noble teenagers. The price of a cup of coffee at these shops is more expensive than those on the side streets, costing at least US$1.50 for a glass of coffee with ice and milk, and at these parlors, a range of delicious snacks and meals are also available at very competitive prices for middle and high class people.

Some species of coffee plants, particularly of the robusta persuasion, are cultivated and grown in Southeast Asia. This particular type of coffee bean is often used in espresso blends, due to its effects on the flavor and foaminess of the drink. Vietnam and Indonesia are two of the top three green (coffee seeds that not yet roasted into beans) coffee producers in the world. However, Brazil produces more coffee than both countries combined.

Though Cambodia is not a member of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the country produces a few thousand bags of coffee a year and has a couple hundred hectares on which the coffee plants are cultivated. A small contribution on the global scale compared to the nearly 2.5 million bags filled with 60 kg of coffee ICO non-member countries produce in a year, but it allows for local flavor at the coffee shops.