Akha Ama Coffee Chiang Mai: The Story Behind One of the City’s Most Famous Cafés

I’m from Ireland, so tea is my default drink. We come second only to Türkiye in global tea consumption, and I do my fair share to keep the statistics healthy. I’ve even made a pilgrimage to Uji, Japan, coming home with far more matcha than any one person could reasonably drink.

But in Chiang Mai, coffee is king.

Walk around the old city and you’ll stumble across coffee shop after coffee shop. The internet is full of lists ranking the best, the prettiest and the most Instagrammable cafés. They’re easy enough to find.

The ones that stand out to me are the cafés with a story behind them. And that’s exactly what I found at Akha Ama Coffee.

Who are Akha Ama Coffee?

If you’ve spent time travelling in Northern Thailand, you may have heard mention of hill tribes. These are the Indigenous groups of people who have lived in the mountains of Northern Thailand for generations. Each group has their own languages, culture, and traditions.

The Akha are one of the largest of these communities, with villages spread across the mountains of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Over the years, coffee has become an important source of income for the Akha villages. The cool mountain climate is ideal for growing the crop, but for years, farmers relied on selling their beans to middlemen who left them with a smaller cut of the profits.

Enter Lee Ayu Chuepa, the founder of Akha Ama Coffee. Growing up in an Akha village, he saw first-hand the challenges facing coffee-growing communities. After studying in the city, he returned with the idea of creating a business that would roast and sell coffee directly from Akha farmers, helping more of the value stay within the community.

Lee founded Akha Ama Coffee in 2010, “ama” meaning “mother”, and now has two cafes and a factory in Chiang Mai. Today, it’s become known as one of Chiang Mai’s most famous coffee brands.

While many visitors come because they cafes are stylish and the coffee is excellent, every cup also represents a link back to the villages where the beans were grown.

Visiting Akha Ama Coffee

During our stay at the vegan hotel Away Chiang Mai, we’d passed by the Phra Singh branch of Akha Ama Coffee a number of times. From the outside, it wouldn’t look out of place in Shoreditch or Brooklyn. The minimalist, red brick exterior stands out amongst the tourist shops, giving it a clean, understated look that’s modern and stylish without sticking out too much.

Inside, you’ll find lots of raw concrete and red brick, with a curved mezzanine floor that overlooks the central coffee station below. When we walked in, there was a mix of locals, tourists, and people working on laptops in the corners. It was quiet, in a peaceful kind of way, and the staff looked up and greeted us as soon as we entered.

What struck me was how understated it all was. Given the story behind Akha Ama, I’d half expected to find displays explaining its origins or walls covered in photographs of the coffee-growing communities. Instead, it’s very low-key. Beyond a short introduction tucked into the clipboard menu, there isn’t much fanfare.

Even though I’d looked up the story before visiting, I kind of liked the understated aspect of it. It never felt as though the café was trying to sell an experience, it just felt like a genuinely good, speciality coffee house that happens to have a good story behind it.

The menu reflected that focus on the coffee itself. Rather than choosing between a handful of house blends, you’re invited to choose the beans you’d like your drink made with. Each is accompanied by tasting notes, the roast level and information about where it was grown, making it feel a little like browsing a wine list before picking a bottle.

My husband opted for an iced latte with oat milk, while I went for a black coffee. As someone who normally reaches for tea, it felt only fair to taste the coffee without milk getting in the way.

As we were sipping our coffee, I noticed a couple of shelves near the front of the shop where you could buy beans and tea to take home, all grown around northern Thailand.

We decided on two bags: a dark roast and a blonde roast… and at the last minute, I chucked in a box of tea. Obviously.

The coffee might have been great, but I’m still going to be loyal to tea.

Is Akha Ama Coffee Worth Visiting?

Chiang Mai is well known for its coffee culture, and there are plenty of places around the city where you can get a good cup. In its own right Akha Ama Coffee is a cool, high quality cafe that is worth a spot on a “best of” list – but that’s not the only thing that makes it special.

Once you know the story behind the beans, and realise you’re drinking coffee grown by local people, paid fairly for their work, it adds an extra layer of meaning to the brew. This isn’t some massive conglomerate, its a homegrown local business selling homegrown local beans.

While there are tours that get you up close with northern Thailand’s coffee production, Akha Ama Coffee is a great way to still learn about and appreciate the coffee culture, without leaving the city.

You don’t have to be a coffee connoisseur to enjoy Akha Ama Coffee, I certainly am not, and I’ve written a whole blog post about the place. Nor do you have to walk in knowing every detail of the story or be able to write a thesis on Thai coffee production.

But if you like learning about the places you visit, supporting a local business, or even just want somewhere quiet to spend a peaceful hour or two with a book and some airconditioning, then yes, Akha Ama Coffee is worth a visit.

Final Thoughts

Akha Ama Coffee is one of those places that’s easy to recommend.

The coffee is excellent, the café itself is calm and inviting, and its location in Chiang Mai’s Old City makes it an easy stop while exploring. Even if you knew nothing about the people behind the beans, you’d probably leave thinking it was a great coffee shop.

But taking a few minutes to read about where those beans came from adds another layer to the experience. Rather than simply grabbing a coffee between temples, you come away with a small insight into the Akha community and the role coffee plays in northern Thailand.

I came expecting a good cup of coffee. I left with two bags of coffee and a box of tea (old habits die hard) and a better appreciation of community business in action.