Our People

The People Behind Monlan Coffee

Fraser Duff

Principal Business Sponsor

Fraser is passionate about great coffee. Back in 2018, after much research and reading about all aspects of coffee – from the bean to the cup – he ventured off on a coffee pilgrimage. The pilgrimage took him to many specialty cafes in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Most importantly it took him to the highlands of Northern Chiang Mai to a small village called AYAE. There he learnt about all aspects of the Arabica Coffee plant from seedlings to planting, growing and harvesting right through to processing and preparing the beans for roasting. He met and learnt from the local farmers and villagers as well as trekking through the jungle and picking coffee beans. This was a fascinating and enriching experience; the county side is very challenging because of its remoteness, difficulty in accessing and the steepness of the mountains in which the arabica coffee plants grow. The experience left an indelible impression of how hard the villagers and farmers in this region work and toil to provide the 1st world with this unique coffee taste experience.

Thaksaoon (Natty) Laechoe

Principal Business Manager

Natty is from the small village of AYAE. She grew up as a child in the remote mountain jungle environment, surrounded by small coffee plantations and highland agriculture. She has worked in all aspects of coffee, from growing, harvesting and processing coffee right through to cafes and being a Barista. She is a teacher by profession, however coffee is her passion. Her quest is to help support her family and the village of AYAE economically. Through improving their agricultural methods, coffee processing and doing business with the outside world, to marketing her family’s unique brand of unrivaled coffee bean. She is the business woman behind the Monlan Coffee brand and she is seeking to showcase AYAE’s specialty coffee.