Protected local food
Doi Tung Coffee
ドイトンコーヒー
Arabica coffee from the Doi Tung Development Project in Chiang Rai, Thailand, where coffee replaced opium poppies. It is registered in Japan's GI system.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 20 July 2023
- Region
- Official name in Japanese
- ドイトンコーヒー
- Official area (in Japanese)
- タイ王国チェンライ県内のメイ・ファー・ルアン郡とメーサイ郡の境界地域に位置するドイトン開発プロジェクトエリア。北緯20度07分47秒―20度27分17秒、東経99度26分31秒-99度53分37秒の間の、93.515ライ（149.62平方キロメートル）の範囲
From opium to coffee
Doi Tung is a mountain area in Chiang Rai province, on the border of Mae Fa Luang and Mae Sai districts in the far north of Thailand. Under the royal-initiated Doi Tung Development Project, villagers who once grew opium poppies were helped to grow coffee instead. Coffee became the crop that improved both their lives and the forest around them, and the project was recognised by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Mountain arabica
The fairly high altitude and climate suit arabica coffee. In Thailand, Doi Tung coffee is a registered GI and sells for about two to two and a half times the price of ordinary coffee.
Protected in Japan
Japan lists Doi Tung coffee in its GI register, so the name is protected there just like a Japanese food.
Good to know
- If you visit northern Thailand, Doi Tung also has the Mae Fah Luang Garden and the Royal Villa.
- Compare with Doi Chaang Coffee, another Chiang Rai coffee in Japan's GI register.
Questions travellers ask
What does Japan's GI registration mean?
Only products from the registered area, made the registered way, may use the name in Japan. Foreign GIs are protected there in the same way as Japanese ones.
What kind of coffee is it?
Arabica, grown in the mountains of Chiang Rai.
Where it comes from
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.