Welcome to KOB Homegrown in Hua Thanon, Koh Samui, Thailand. It's only around one hundred metres from the Amazon coffee shop I posted about recently but the differences in the two are whole worlds apart.
The brand K.O.B., which are actually the initials for 'King of Bread', started out as a small bakery on Koh Samui making bread and cakes. Facing stiff competition, they branched out and opened their first coffee shop in 2017 and now, seven years later have 6 branches around the island and another one on neighbouring island, Koh Phangan, where the famous full moon parties take place. Not only do they sell coffee, cakes and bread, they also have quite an extensive food menu covering both ferang (foreigner) food and more local dishes. Their 'English' breakfast with home-made cumberland sausage isn't bad at all. I might have mentioned it in a previous post in the distant past!
This branch is beachside and is basically two old buildings that have been cobbled together to create the cafe you see in the pictures. If you think it all looks a bit rickety by design, I think you'd be wrong. Its definitely old and rickety through provenance.
Let's do some pictures and see what you think...
The actual counter and kitchen area
You enter through the 'shop' area before going through a door to the rear into the seating area itself which is spread out on two floors. Each of the floors has a semi open part in front of the sea but as we are again having a few days of solid, heavy rain, these areas were both wet and closed.
A grafiti wall, shutters and sitting on cusions on the floor. Yup, we're definitely millenial, tree-hugging heaven here, but, the unlike those ridiculous vinyl bean-bag things that are everywhere, these were rather comfortable. Even for a grumpy old, aching bloke like me as they were very firm and could shaped to sit exactly how you wanted.
See how its really olde Thai style, and shoes must be removed. As you can also see, there 'proper' tables and chairs for old people and digital nomads to work at.
The people you see are the wife, with her sister and husband, Robert the Bruce who are over for a month from Scotland. This is good for my post count but bad for your boredom threshold as we wander Samui trying out new places, of which there are many, to eat and drink.
This is the other half of the ground floor. Its also used for community which are advertised on the notice board, such as yoga and art and err yoga and hmmm crystal healing workshops... you get the idea!
Finally down stairs, this is the view when you sit outside at the back...
Instead of the usual various hues of ultramarine, azure and indigo, we currently find ourself surrounded by angry greys and dirty olive-browns. At least it had stopped raining for a few minutes.
So time to go upstairs and you can now change your minds about being rickety by design! It actually sways when you walk up and God forbid there is more than one person on the staircase at a time!
Of course its worth the risk. The upstairs area is open and breezy and on a 'normal' day is light and airy and has a wonderful view out to sea.
It's really nice upstairs but the mats and beanbags had been pulled inside and the plastic blinds dropped to stop the incessant rain for entering.
You will have to imagine how nice that would be on a regular sunny and hot day. I am also imagining how long it will be before they are replacing rotten floorboards. Just the practical and pragmatic side of me coming out for a minute or two!
Aircon not necessary, just the fans to keep the mozzies off.
The front outside part with the windows open. This allows airflow and keeps the place cool. Airflow is everything in tropical design, as I have found to my cost!
We'd only stopped as were on our way to dinner but slightly early so decided to have a quick coffee. Now as you are aware, I'm not particularly fussed or knowledgable when it comes to coffee. As long as its wet and warm and has at least a slight hint of coffeeness, I'm happy. Here though, I really enjoyed the taste of my rather unadventurous flat white. I was also very pleased that it was served in glass as that triggers memories of the old coffee loungues in the Arndale Centres and I truly think that coffee always tatses better served in a glass cup. This is possibly me simply being a bit OCD but as supporting evidence, I only ever drink Coca Cola when it comes from a glass bottle. Amateur Freudians, be my guest, knock yourselves out!
And there it is, a pleasently strong flat white. The only downside to glass cups is that they're far too small. I need big glass mugs! Robert the Bruce had a simple Americano which he raved on about far too much than is healthy and my wife, the non-coffee drinker went for...
... a salted caramal, cold, coffee lah-di-dah thingy which she was also very impressed with. She should have been. I could have had two flat whites for the price of one of those.
The wife's sister went for some herbal fruity tea thing that stunk like a vegan's compost heap and will have no place on this coffee post!
Overall thoughts...
I want to dislike this place so much. I want to be a grumpy old bastard who despises the healthy, young, tree hugging, elephant pant wearing millenials and their limp-wristed wussiness. I want to mock the hippy, bendy yogis and the arty-farty, colonic irrigating knobheads but all that happens when I try is that a sadness and melancholy washes over me and the regret of not making better lifestyle choices 30-odd years ago are only surpassed by raw jealousy.
I love this place and coffee shops like it. Where free and peaceful spirits float in and out and the scent of carefree, unhurried and contented souls fill your nostrils with joy.
Coffee shops like this, are good for me and good for the soul...
.... I just wish some of the clientel would shower a little more often!
I hope everyone is managing to work out what day of the week it is during the mid-Christmas, new Year flat spot and that life is treating you kindly.
