Flo Coffee Brewers lies in the historic San Pa Khoi trading area of Chiang Mai, quietly embedded in the rhythm of the neighbourhood. Housed in a timeworn shophouse with its doors open to the street, it draws a steady mix of locals, coffee devotees, and curious passers-by. Coffee here is treated as craft — from carefully chosen beans to slow, deliberate brewing — with the counter doubling as a stage where customers perch, watch, and linger. It’s one of Chiang Mai’s best places to observe the art of slow brewing in action.
Flo Coffee Brewers: A Cafe Rooted in San Pa Khoi’s Commercial Past
The exterior of Flo Coffee Brewers feels quietly cinematic, rooted in San Pa Khoi’s old-town character. The cafe occupies part of the old Lim Sakdakul Building, a long-standing commercial landmark on Charoen Muang Road. Its facade still carries the marks of that past — aged concrete walls, peeling paint, and a deep overhanging awning softened by decades of use. Wide wooden folding doors are thrown open to the street, blurring the line between inside and out and giving the space an open, communal feel.
Flo’s interior is fully visible from the pavement, drawing passers-by in with the sight of people chatting and sipping coffee. A few stools and small tables spill onto the pavement, reinforcing its role as a neighbourhood hangout rather than a destination cafe.
Overhead, tangled electric wires and exposed beams add to the distinctly Chiang Mai texture. Nothing feels styled for effect — it’s raw, honest, and lived-in. The overall impression is of a cafe that belongs exactly where it is: relaxed, a little rough around the edges, and entirely at ease with its past.
Raw on the Outside, Relaxed Within
Inside, Flo Coffee Brewers feels spacious yet grounded, shaped by raw concrete floors, timeworn plaster walls, and a high ceiling that reflects the building’s working past. Seating is deliberately eclectic — communal tables, low wooden stools, benches, and mismatched chairs — giving the space a relaxed, welcoming feel rather than anything overly designed. Subtle details add warmth throughout, from vintage furniture and personal objects to wooden ceiling panels, slow-spinning fans, and soft lighting, accompanied by an urban soundtrack that reinforces the cafe’s calm, contemporary rhythm.
Along the bar, customers sit on stools watching the baristas work at a practical, unfussy counter lined with grinders, brewers, and neatly arranged bags of beans. Set against exposed brick and soft industrial lighting, the slow bar subtly reinforces the sense that coffee-making here is something to be observed and appreciated.
Coffee First: Pour-Over at the Slow Bar
Coffee is the clear focus at Flo Coffee Brewers, with pour-over brewing taking centre stage. This is the highlight of the menu and very much part of the experience: order at the counter, choose your beans, and let a skilled barista — often the owner — guide you through a rotating selection of local coffees.
Roasts and processes vary, and you’re encouraged to smell the freshly ground beans before settling in on a stool at the slow bar to watch the brewing unfold. It’s personal, unhurried, and quietly absorbing — a reminder that great coffee is as much about process as it is about flavour.
Espresso, Thai Classics & More at Flo Coffee Brewers
Espresso-based drinks are handled with the same care, covering all the classics from espresso and long blacks to flat whites, lattes, and cappuccinos, with a choice of light, medium, or dark roasts. Thai favourites such as es-yen and iced Thai tea sit comfortably alongside modern options like a well-executed dirty coffee, with flavour profiles ranging from fruity to chocolatey. Non-coffee drinkers aren’t forgotten either, with organic naturally fermented fruit soda and Thai single-origin craft chocolate on offer.
Alongside the coffee, you’ll find a rotating selection of baked goods — croissants, madeleines, financiers, canelés, and cookies — displayed at the counter and ideal for pairing with a slow, considered cup of coffee.
The Story Behind Flo
Where Flo Began
Behind Flo Coffee Brewers is Pierre Pruttipol (Aksornkul), the founder whose background in design and community work eventually led him into the world of specialty coffee. Originally from southern Thailand, he moved to Chiang Mai and spent years honing his skills in coffee processing, roasting and hand brewing, learning from local experts and refining his craft through repetition and attention to detail. When Flo first opened, he even experimented with a pay-what-you-want pricing model and introduced his own take on traditional Thai cloth-drip coffee filters. That same thoughtful, hands-on approach still informs the cafe today, where he — and his team — build each cup slowly and with intention, engaging guests in conversation as much as in coffee.
Beyond the Coffee: HAAN Studio
Tucked down a narrow passage at the back of Flo you’ll find HAAN Studio, a quietly creative space that feels worlds away from the main road. Hidden at the back of the old Lim Sakdakul building, HAAN is an independent craft and design studio where locally made objects—often handcrafted from repurposed materials—are displayed and sold in a minimal, thoughtful setting. The studio champions simple, intentional design, from handmade wood and leather pieces to small sculptural works, and occasionally hosts workshops and events that reflect Chiang Mai’s broader maker culture. It’s the sort of place you’re just as likely to stumble into as seek out, and a nice complement to the laid-back, craft-centred ethos of Flo Coffee Brewers.
The Lim Sakdakul Building
From Grain Trade to Coffee Bar & Design Studio
Long before San Pa Khoi became associated with boutique cafes and slow-living culture, it was one of Chiang Mai’s most important commercial districts. The Lim Sakdakul Building — sometimes referred to as the Chiang Mai Limsakdakul headquarters — stands as a lasting reminder of that era.
Founded in 1957, Limsakdakul Agricultural Industrial was one of Northern Thailand’s most prominent grain traders. Collecting and processing crops such as red beans, soybeans, and mung beans from local farmers before exporting them internationally. This building served as the company’s operational heart for decades, linking rural agriculture with global markets.
Architecturally, it reflects the mid-century commercial expansion that followed the arrival of the railway. Its large-scale shophouse design and subtle Sino-Thai influences echo the merchant families who settled east of the river, turning Charoen Muang Road into a vital artery between the railway station, San Pa Khoi Market, and the old city.
Today, while the company’s operations have shifted elsewhere, the building remains a living fragment of Chiang Mai’s merchant past. Now repurposed and reanimated by places like Flo Coffee Brewers and HAAN Studio, where old trade routes have quietly given way to slow coffee and neighbourhood life.
Flo Coffee Brewers: At A Glance
Flo Coffee Brewers pairs thoughtful pour-overs, well-made espresso, and Thai-grown beans with a relaxed, lived-in space where watching the brew is part of the experience. It’s a neighbourhood cafe at heart — unpretentious, welcoming, and ideal for lingering.
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Design/Style | A historic shophouse with a relaxed, industrial interior, softened by vintage details |
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Food | Cakes & Pastries |
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Seating | Eclectic hard seating options with communal tables and slow-bar stools |
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Cost of a Hot Latte | 90 Baht* |
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WiFi Speed | See speedtest results below |
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Power Outlets | Few |
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Restroom/WC standard | Good (through the back in HAAN Studio) |
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Good To Know | • Bags of locally grown coffee beans line the slow bar, available for purchase and brewing at home • Set on Charoen Muang Road, within walking distance of Building A and GRAPH Contemporary |
WiFi Speedtest
• Measured January 2026
• You may experience different results depending on your device, browser and other factors
Flo Coffee Brewers: Gallery
Location
📍 Located on Charoen Muang Road in San Pa Khoi (Chang Moi subdistrict), Flo Coffee Brewers is just minutes from Nawarat Bridge and the river, and close to the Wat Ket boundary.
