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.
Martin
@nathen007
Thank you so much. Allow me to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones, and the team at @ecency, a wonderful, happy and healthy new year :-)
I would love that place, especially the one upstairs overlooking the see😁.
Hi @asiamalay, hop you've had a lovely Christmas. Its fantastic upstairs, but better when the sea and sky is blue, and the sun is shining :-)
Have a wonderful New Year and thank-you for calling by :-)
ohhh that's such a chill looking cafe 😮😮 i love the vibes and how cozy it is. i heard thai coffee was pretty strong. is it?
Hey you! Nice to see you. Hope you're having a great holiday with your family.
The coffee was just perfect. The photo makes the coffee a little stronger than it was but it was just right for me.
I hope life is treating you kindly and you enjoy some amazing New Year celebrations.
Take care always :-)
hellooo 😊😊 it's nice to see you too! I took a mini break but I'm still alive and kicking and so is my family! I hope you and your family are making the most of your holidays too 😊
I wonder if it's just that you're used to coffee or we here interpret thai coffee different chz all the imitation i taste here makes thai coffee much stronger thag it should be so i always get that impression 🤣
have a happy holiday too 😊 i hope you have much more stories to share next year and a lot more travels in your plans
Im not so refined to be honest. When it comes to coffee, 3 in 1 is just as good as the best beans money can buy! Most Thai coffee shops serve generic stuff anyway!
Hope you're going to get back to sharing more science next year and you have the best year you possibly can. Take care always :-)
I'm personally happy with good balck coffee and whatever milk i can find in the fridge or pantry 🤣 but the occasional cafe hopping is inevitable with these younger sisters of mine.
I forgot i used to write science blogs when i started 🤣 i should look into an occasional one every week this year of i have plans to do finish the whole year blogging 🤣
take care on your end too 😊 and happy new year in a few hours!
King of Bread ehhh what a name. I think I like those bean shaped stuff you can sit on. I don't want to call it chair, but a sitting item, it looks comfortable and nice.
The stairs looks really scary if you ask me, and I think you're right, the sitting area and the views upstairs makes up well for it.
Overall, there are good and bad, I just think the coffee and the "view" experience outweighs the downsides
'King of Bread' is rather a pretentious name and obviously they weren't, hence needing to shift the business towards coffee rather than baking but it was a good move.
The cafe was wonderful, but how long before the stairs collapse, I wonder? lol
Wishing you and your loved ones and Happy New Year and may 2025 be a massive improvement for you than 2024.
Take it easy mate :-)
Well I think it's too late now to change the name to King of coffee lol. Businesses can be like this sometimes.
What a great place. You just have to love it especially when it serves a good coffee.
Hahaha I like tea but when it smells like that… nope 🙂↔️ hahaha
The colours are cool and the patina of the place is spot on.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a fantastic New Year 🥳 all the best!
!LUV
Ahhh an artist's opinion is the most important! Yes, I think they got it all just right. 'Patina' is the word I was looking for. Perfect. The whole decor and design work so well as it looks so natural and not designed.
I hope you enjoy the celebrations nice and warm in front of an open fire whilst the snow falls outside.
Happy New Year to you and hubby. I hope 2025 is your perfect year :-)
Haha thanks! ☺️
It all works so well. I would love visiting that place.
Thank you sooooo much 🥰
No snowflakes coming down. But snow is there ☃️
HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳 to you and yours! May 2025 be wonderful, all the best wishes.
@nathen007, @littlebee4(3/10) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community | HiveWiki | <>< daily
Talk about a success story, eh?
What a fascinating building, that right on the seafront. It's full of so much character.
You make me want to go there right now. I'll remember this place, if ever I'm in Thailand.
That's a winner!
Thank you @millycf1976. I think they must have been better at designing cafes than baking bread but you're right, what an excellent business strategy that worked so well for them.
The place just works so well as it looks like it organically evolved rather than being designed. It also nice that this prime beach front spot remains original rather than developed, despite the plot being no doubt worth a small fortune now.
Hope you've had a restful holiday and will enjoy and wonderful New Years eve.
Thank you for everything and I wish you and the old fella a happy and healthy New Year :-)
Robert the Bruce is a lucky man to be shown about places like this. It looks right up my alley! I am jealous! Doing their own cumberlands as well, I would be firing a few of them in my gob!
Its nice when they're over as we can take time off and wander around 'doing' coffee and trying new places.
Just been reading about the weather up there, hope your celebrations tonight don't get cancelled! I think the word 'cancelled' has to be word of the year!
Whatever you do, have a great Hogmanay and all my love and best wishes to you and the family :-)
The very same to you mate. Without the weather of course!
Aye, its a bit windy, it has the media worried, meanwhile we are just getting on with it :OD
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Happy New Year @worldmappin. Thanks once more for continuing the best resource on Hive and I wish the team and heath, happiness and success in 2025 :-)
Happy New years @nathen007😎🥂 - Thanks for the wishes 😍
We wish you health, happiness and many great adventures for 2025!
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