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We followed Minso up a steep dirt path to a stack of machinery used for depulping the cherry. The machine was fed by deep, wide troughs lined with sky-blue tiles pressed into the concrete like patchwork. Although this is usually where the wet process takes place, it serves another purpose during off-season. There was a group of kids splashing around in the troughs and laughing. It was a pool party! After laughing and trying not to get the camera wet, we went on to the giant drying patio, followed by a warehouse where the coffee is sorted and bagged for shipping. Coffee grew everywhere around us as we walked around the farm. In Thailand, 95 percent of the coffee grown is a hybrid, rust-resistant, high-yield Catimor variety. After the tour we decided to get back in the truck to get an idea of how big this place really was. With the truck in low gear, we crept down a single-lane dirt road into the heart of the village below, taking in the slow-paced lifestyle as we watched people lounging on bamboo platforms or sitting in small groups outside of their homes. The sunlight began to fade and so we began the four-hour journey back to Chiang Mai. We would have loved to stay for more than one day, but we needed to get back to a place with good Internet. Handground wasn't going to build itself. CHANG MAI—BANGKOK Almost everyone has heard of Bangkok, but not because of its coffee. The temperature in the summer can rise as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 80-percent humidity, and you begin to realize why iced coffee and tea are the go-to drinks in the city. A traditional Thai iced coffee starts with a shot of espres- so, followed by a large scoop of sugar, half a can of condensed coconut milk, and is topped off with a whole lot of ice. After we posted on Instagram that we were heading to Bangkok, a member of Team Handground named Gary sent us an email with a list of his favorite cafés and a claim that the specialty-coffee scene in Bangkok was even bigger than it was in Chiang Mai. A feeling of serendipity swept over me when I saw that Kaizen Coffee was the first shop on Gary's list. Brandon and I started applying the kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement in our lives even before we had the idea to build a new coffee grinder. We loved the concept so much that we originally planned to name our company "Kaizen Coffee." Gary was busy with work but he insisted we visit a café called Roots since it's only open to the public on the weekends. The unassuming roastery lies behind a sliding glass door not far from the Ekkamai BTS (skytrain) stop. Binders of roasting logs and bins of roasted beans line the wall, and a Giesen roaster sits among a handful of small tables on the main floor. It's off-season at Doi Chaang Coffee Farm, but there is still work to be done. Coffee beans with their parchment still intact are checked for defects and sorted by hand before being placed in bags and shipped to a green-coffee buyer in South Korea. 50 barista magazine