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Kafae boran (old-style Thai coffee)
กาแฟโบราณ: dark coffee and roasted grains dripped through a cloth sock, sweet with condensed milk
Before espresso bars reached Bangkok, coffee in Thailand meant kafae boran from Hainanese-Chinese shophouses and market carts: a dark robusta roast mixed with toasted grains, poured through a long cotton sock called a tung tom and stirred into thick sweetened condensed milk. Uncles still order it hot at 6 am with patongko dough sticks, and in the afternoon heat the same brew is poured over crushed ice and topped with evaporated milk as oliang or kafae yen. The taste is strong, roasty and slightly smoky, sweet and creamy, with a faint caramel-cereal edge from the grains; the iced version is silky and cold. The common mistake is brewing it like filter coffee with too little grounds: once milk and ice go in, it tastes thin. Use plenty, steep it in the sock and pour it through twice. The brew is ready when it is opaque, nearly black and leaves a brown film on a white spoon. It is high in caffeine, so not one for children or late evenings. Chef's tip: rinse the cloth sock in hot water only, never soap, and keep it in a jar of clean water in the fridge between uses so the coffee oils season it.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the coffee
- 1 ⅜ oz Thai old-style coffee powder (kafae boran)about 5 tbsp; some shop mixes contain barley, so check the label if avoiding gluten; or 35 g dark-roast robusta, finely ground, plus 5 g ground toasted corn kernels
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
To sweeten and serve
- 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- 4 tbsp evaporated milk
- 2 tsp sugar (optional)optional, for the iced version
- 10 ½ oz crushed ice (optional)for the iced version
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put the 1 ⅜ oz Thai old-style coffee powder (kafae boran) into a cotton coffee sock (or a fine cloth filter in a sieve) and hang it in a small heatproof jug or pot.
1 minStep 2: Pour the 1 ½ cups boiling water over the grounds, let them steep in the sock for 2–3 minutes, then lift and drain. Pour the brew back through the sock once more; it should be opaque and almost black.
4 minStep 3: Divide the 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk between the cups or glass and pour in the hot coffee, stirring until the milk dissolves and the colour turns deep caramel.
1 minStep 4: For hot kafae boran, float the 4 tbsp evaporated milk on top of the cups and serve at once. For the iced version, stir 2 tsp sugar into the hot coffee, pour over glasses packed with 10 ½ oz crushed ice and top with the evaporated milk.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kafae boran (old-style Thai coffee) take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of evaporated milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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