Temple of Tradition

Stu

mble upon the steep-roofed, wood-framed structure by Ekkamai Skytrain station on Bangkok's bustling Sukhumvit Road, and you could be forgiven for thinking that you had come across a temple. Set amid lush greenery and running water, the building looks like a sanctuary from the clamor of the Thai capital. But in this case, coffee drinking—rather than meditation—is the preferred mode of retreat. Welcome to Banrie: Thailand's answer to Starbucks. It's a flag-flier for local coffee culture and serves a selection of domestically grown brews prepared the Thai way—with plenty of sugar and coconut milk.

"In Thailand we think of coffee as a dessert, so we make it sweet and rich," explains Banrie founder Saichol Payaonoi. He started the company in 1997 with small shops built alongside upcountry gas stations, and he now oversees 104 branches. The 39-year-old former architect and student radical is building up Banrie as a worthy adversary to the American coffee superpower that's become such a big player in his country. "To fight Superman, you can't send an ordinary ape—you need Hanuman," he says, invoking the name of the monkey-god hero of Hindu mythology. "And Banrie is Hanuman."

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For Saichol, who personally designed the company logo, the staff uniforms, the coffee cups and every store, Banrie is the expression of an aesthetic and political vision. The national anthem plays regularly at stores, and Saichol buys coffee at premium prices to support domestic growers.

Of course, you don't have to be a fervent Thai patriot to enjoy a cup of coffee at Banrie. At the end of the day, it's simply a pleasant place to relax and refuel. Try the aforementioned, temple-like branch on Sukhumvit Road. It's the chain's largest and is open 24 hours a day. The fight against the world's coffee superpower takes place around the clock, after all.