Blog | Competition Coffee: Thailand COE #3 Saenchai Jupo
Category: Enthusiast Series, Our Coffees
Published: April 10, 2026
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the 2026 US Brewers Cup Championship was held alongside the US Cup Tasters Championship at Black and White Roasters. Representing Coffee Project New York, Peace Sakulclanuwat earned third place nationwide in the Brewers Cup.
Left to right: Esther Kim of Kumquat Coffee, Ashlynne Wike of Hydrangea Coffee Roasters, and Peace Sakulclanuwat of Coffee Project NY. Photo courtesy of Thunya Penbumrungvong.
She served the third place Thailand Cup of Excellence 2025 coffee from Saenchai Jupo, blended with a Panama Gesha.
In her words, from her competition script:
“I was born in one country, Thailand, but grew up in another: the United States. I was shaped by different people, different cultures, and differentenvironments. Those differences challenged me, but they also made me who I am today.
We, as humans, are just like coffee beans. The origin gives us identity, but the diverse environment shapes our expression…
If the Thai coffee represents my identity, the Panama coffee represents the diverse environment that shaped my expression. Two different cultures—two different origins—when brewed together with intention, they don’t compete, they harmonize. This is diversity creating harmony.”
Peace is an educator at the Academy at Coffee Project NY; she instructs our new hires, wholesale clients, and workshop students with a passion for sharing the tools of coffeemaking with everyone. She also placed 2nd in the 2024 USBrC.
Coffee from Thailand
Saenchai Jupo of Saenchai Estate Coffee.
As an origin, Thailand is unique: only about 10% of the coffee produced nationwide is exported overseas. Most Thai coffee is retained domestically by consumers, specialty roasters, and cafés, who comprise a thriving industry full of vigor and growing demand. When a Thai coffee is selected for export, it is intentionally shared with a global audience of coffee lovers.
Cup of Excellence (COE) offers an opportunity to taste the best coffee lots from producers all over the country. This coffee placed third, just like Peace did, in Thailand’s 2025 COE.
Saenchai Jupo is the founder and owner of Saenchai Estate in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. He grows coffee amid dense forests under a canopy of tall pines. This Bourbon lot was harvested at peak ripeness, gently washed in filtered water with its cherry intact, and fermented with lactic yeast in anaerobic tanks. It was dried in plastic temperature-controlled domes, moved to a dehumidifying room, and rested for three months before hulling.
USCC photos courtesy of Thunya Penbumrungvong.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the 2026 US Brewers Cup Championship was held alongside the US Cup Tasters Championship at Black and White Roasters. Representing Coffee Project New York, Peace Sakulclanuwat earned third place nationwide in the Brewers Cup. She served the third place Thailand Cup of Excellence 2025 coffee from Saenchai Jupo, blended with a Panama Gesha.
In her words, from her competition script:
“I was born in one country, Thailand, but grew up in another: the United States. I was shaped by different people, different cultures, and differentenvironments. Those differences challenged me, but they also made me who I am today.
We, as humans, are just like coffee beans. The origin gives us identity, but the diverse environment shapes our expression…
If the Thai coffee represents my identity, the Panama coffee represents the diverse environment that shaped my expression. Two different cultures—two different origins—when brewed together with intention, they don’t compete, they harmonize. This is diversity creating harmony.”
Peace is an educator at the Academy at Coffee Project NY; she instructs our new hires, wholesale clients, and workshop students with a passion for sharing the tools of coffeemaking with everyone. She also placed 2nd in the 2024 USBrC.
Left to right: Esther Kim of Kumquat Coffee, Ashlynne Wike of Hydrangea Coffee Roasters, and Peace Sakulclanuwat of Coffee Project NY. Photo courtesy of Thunya Penbumrungvong.
Coffee from Thailand
As an origin, Thailand is unique: only about 10% of the coffee produced nationwide is exported overseas. Most Thai coffee is retained domestically by consumers, specialty roasters, and cafés, who comprise a thriving industry full of vigor and growing demand. When a Thai coffee is selected for export, it is intentionally shared with a global audience of coffee lovers.
Cup of Excellence (COE) offers an opportunity to taste the best coffee lots from producers all over the country. This coffee placed third, just like Peace did, in Thailand’s 2025 COE.
Saenchai Jupo of Saenchai Estate Coffee.
Saenchai Jupo is the founder and owner of Saenchai Estate in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. He grows coffee amid dense forests under a canopy of tall pines. This Bourbon lot was harvested at peak ripeness, gently washed in filtered water with its cherry intact, and fermented with lactic yeast in anaerobic tanks. It was dried in plastic temperature-controlled domes, moved to a dehumidifying room, and rested for three months before hulling.
USCC photos courtesy of Thunya Penbumrungvong.