Café Caps: Single Serving Coffee With Premium Flavor
Posted: Dec 04 2014
Some say the world runs on oil. But without the pleasant morning or afternoon boost from coffee, the functions of society might very well come to a halt.
Tailor On Ten recently partnered with Café Caps to provide our customers with complimentary single-origin coffees, to lubricate the machinations of tough bespoke decisions. We’ve got a range of four coffees, to please all connoisseurs. We sat down with Monsieur Guillaume de Vaulchier, founder and managing director of Café Caps, who says his coffee preferences shift throughout the day. A light, fruity Prezioso is ideal for the morning, while the afternoon calls for more strength. Guillaume’s son and business partner Maxime recommends Allegro, a medium dark roast from the famous Doi Chang area. For the evening we’ve also got a decaf version.
Speaking to Guillaume and Maxime, it’s clear that they are not only friendly and professional, but also incredibly passionate about coffee. Bean source, roasting temperature, storage time and blending all affect the result. Coffee, like wine or fine cigars, has depths of flavor dimension and subtlety to explore.
“We use pure Arabica beans only. Arabica grows only at high altitude,” Guillaume tells us. “All of our beans come from the North of Thailand or Laos. The quality of the Thai coffee is actually what inspired me to start the company.” Guillaume is a veteran in the coffee industry, having previously worked for Nestlé Coffee for 25 years, partially in Thailand. A fan of the innovative Nespresso capsule system, he realized the huge market gap for coffee capsules here. Starting his own serious new coffee brand also allowed him to stay in the country that he and his wife Coralie have come to love and call home.
“I like the weather in Thailand and it’s a nice place for a family. We just feel good here, people are very nice and we never feel aggressiveness.” Having been here for almost a decade, the de Vaulchiers have established their favorite travel destination. “We’ve been to Koh Samet more than 100 times. It’s easy to go by car for a weekend. We love the place and go regularly for a good rest on the beach. Crystal clear water, white sand and lovely food guaranteed!”
Like Tailor On Ten, Café Caps is a growing expat company with family members at its core, Guillaume having recruited his son Maxime when he finished university in France. Café Caps’ master roaster, Monsieur Alain Cahen, comes from an even more impressive ‘coffee dynasty’. “He’s a master coffee roaster, like his father, grandfather and actually his two brothers as well. Alain came to Thailand about 25 years ago to support a Royal Project where the King of Thailand had requested that the opium farmers change their crops to coffee. Most of them did and now Thailand is producing Arabica coffee that competes with the world’s best."
The superior quality is carried through production, with a special emphasis on freshness. “We put it in the capsules just after the roasting in order to preserve the freshness of the flavors,” says Guillaume. They order fresh green coffee beans on Friday and the delivery arrives Saturday. “Then we get the ground coffee into capsules on Tuesday. And our orders are always small, ensuring the beans have never gotten stored for too long.”
Café Caps’ showroom is in Thong Lo, just steps from the BTS station. “People can always visit us and get a free coffee tasting. For coffee lovers looking for exotic coffee from around the world, I would recommend Roots Coffee Roaster on Ekkamai (between soi 15 and 17) and Ceresia Coffee Roasters on Sukhumvit Soi 33/1. Or you could always pop into Tailor On Ten to try Café Caps’ Nespresso-compatible coffee. Make sure you pick up our exclusive partnership offer that grants a free box of coffee capsules to our customers.
Coffee lovers second, tailors first, we appreciate Guillaume’s unwavering sense of style, never seen without a well-pressed shirt. He offers this on how to dress to make a great impression: “I wear a classic anthracite grey suit made from a 100% wool from Dormeuil with a beautiful white Thomas Mason Egyptian cotton shirt, and cufflinks from Paul Smith. For the shoes, I need comfort, so JM Weston loafers.”
A man of great taste in both style and beverages; now you see why our partnership was inevitable. Next time you’re visiting us, don’t miss our Café Caps coffee station, located in our brand new ‘wing’, on top of a beautiful vintage Singer treadle table. See you there!