It may sound absurd to brave Ladprao’s nightmarish traffic just for a cup of joe. But it totally sounds legit if it’s for Red Diamond Café, a coffee establishment equipped with innovative roasting machines, almost 100 varieties of the world’s best beans and gorgeous, avant-garde coffee-making machines—a combination that quickly puts most of the cafés in town to shame.
Set in a converted building that once housed a bridal shop, Red Diamond Café highlights an industrial setting with a blend of metal, copper and exposed concrete. The ground floor acts as a roasting house, where floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with containers storing beans face a cozy coffee bar. Upstairs provides more seating, a smoking lounge and a coffee lab that also functions as a barista school. (Check the café’s Facebook page for information on classes.)
Head barista Nicholas Haw assures each cup of coffee comes out perfect by strictly monitoring every step of the coffee-making process. (He starts the day by carefully measuring the pH balance of the water.) Apart from two house blends, you are offered specialty brews made with beans that have scored more than 80 points by the Specialty Coffee Association’s standards, including the café’s very own Phatang Dry Ruby beans grown at their farm in Chiang Rai. Beans that have scored 90+ points and beans that have been awarded by Cup of Excellence (a prestigious competition that recognizes high-quality coffee) are also available.
These award-winning coffee beans are turned into caffeinated cups via progressive-looking machines such as the handsome, white Mavam, which boasts excellent temperature control features, and a siphon-like steampunk machine that can be controlled by an iOS app for brewing precision. Small machines like Hario V60 and the multi-functional Trinity ONE are also on hand to make drip brews.