Café culture brews change in Thailand’s far south

A cultural shift is unfolding in Yala, one of the provinces in Thailand’s southern border region, where deeply rooted tea shops are bumping up with an influx of more modern cafés.

At the traditional Kedai Teh shops in Yala city, you can find old men reading print copies of newspapers and sipping tea, or hunched over while they play checkers with used soda-bottle caps as makeshift pieces. 

These Malay-style tea shops (known locally as Keda Tae) are long-standing hubs of community life here – social spaces where a mostly male clientele gathers to share news and enjoy each other’s company. But now, they are facing crosstown competition from coffee shops with wi-fi that cater to younger and more diverse customers – hipsters from the digital age. 

“Tea shops have been crucial social spaces for us,” history teacher Ihsan Tuwaeside told BenarNews. “It’s hard to imagine our community without them. 

“Our tea shops use cloth filters with various tea blends and we have pots of hot water mixed with light tea on the table for customers to refill. Some shops even offer ginger or pandan-infused water, depending on their recipe,” he said. 

Observers say the cultural clash between tea shops and coffee shops reflects broader social changes playing out in this mainly Malay Muslim region along the border with Malaysia and against the backdrop of a long-running insurgency. 

Some tea shops remain open until late night or early morning, catering to older patrons who come to watch news, boxing matches or football games. Others open after the morning prayers, around 6 a.m., and serve breakfast items such as rice salad, rice porridge, roti (a traditional pancake), and nasi goreng (fried rice).

“Before the smartphone era, [these shops] provided newspapers and were spaces for socio-political discourse. Sometimes they even acted as neutral grounds for political reconciliation during elections,” Sulaiman Maja, a community relations volunteer and regular at a Kedai Teh in Yala, told BenarNews.

The tea shop culture is so deeply ingrained in Yala city that it boasts over 50 establishments scattered across nearly every street corner and woven into the local fabric.

“Tea shop spaces, as areas for building networks that ensure life security and safety, serve not only as places for relaxation but also as sources of hope and pathways to establishing security and safety for people in the southern region,” social scientist and architect Purin Rueanghiran wrote in a master’s thesis for Silpakorn University submitted in 2022.

Generational change 

The rise of the internet has paved the way for modern cafés that attract younger generations and working professionals.

“We now have over 100 cafés in Yala,” said Kittisak Pattani, known locally as Ma Fu, the owner of The Hooman. Founded nearly a decade ago, The Hooman is one of the city’s first cafés. 

“People see them as safe zones, especially in our security-sensitive environment,” Kittisak told BenarNews.

These cafés have become the go-to places for freelancers and writers as well as those who want to keep up to date with the latest social and political developments, he said. Many offer electrical outlets, internet access and air conditioning to attract multi-tasking customers who work or study while taking a break.

The café scene in Yala has become diverse, offering everything from standard espresso machines to slow bar setups using modern Moka pots, hand-pressed espresso machines and drip methods. The shops offer a variety of coffee drinks, from espresso to latte and mocha brews, as well as other beverages and snacks. 

While an average drink from a traditional tea shop costs about 10 to 20 baht (U.S. 30 cents to 60 cents), new coffee shops offer drinks that average about 50 to 70 baht ($1.40 to $2).

Ma Fu said his shop, The Hooman, had been selling an average of 100 to 200 cups of coffee daily, bringing in about 10,000 baht ($305) in revenue. Even with the increasing number of cafés in Yala, The Hooman sells at least 40 to 50 cups every day. 

The presence of Yala Rajabhat University in the city has also helped drive the café trend. 

One owner of a small coffee shop said his top customers are students, activists and online clothing sellers. 

“If the online market is doing well, the shop is busy too. Coffee shops are primarily spaces for online workers,” Asan Doni told BenarNews.

In April, local officials hosted Yala’s first Coffee Run festival, bringing together coffee shop owners, coffee growers and roasters. About 10,000 residents joined the charity run, reflecting the surging popularity of the modern cafés.

Young women prefer cafés 

The rise of the modern café culture in Yala isn’t just about a change in beverage preferences; it also represents a significant shift in social dynamics, particularly for women.

Over the years, southern Thai women have increasingly been working outside the home, making the need for spaces to meet, exchange ideas, or simply express themselves crucial. 

These modern cafés have emerged as venues ready to accommodate these changing times, leading to a rapid increase in their numbers over the past three to four years, according to customers who spoke to BenarNews.

By comparison, certain cultural norms in southern Thailand have made tea shops predominantly male spaces, inadvertently marginalizing women, café owner Ma Fu said. 

“Culturally, it’s considered odd for women to be in tea shops,” he said. “There’s this notion that women should be in the kitchen. Tea shops with their smoky kettles remain the domain of men and the elderly.” 

“Coffee shops, however, have become spaces for the new generation, women, and are seen as fashionable.”

Asma Tanyongdaoh, a nonprofit worker and café patron, agreed.

Tea shops and cafés represent different socio-cultural spaces in the city, she said. 

“When I was young, I remember going to the village tea shop with my grandfather and father,” she said. “But as I grew older, something made me feel I shouldn’t sit in tea shops. Even though our whole family drinks tea and I’m interested in politics, there’s a feeling that tea shops are for men, making politics seem like a men-only topic.”

As Yala navigates this cultural shift, the future of traditional tea shops remains uncertain.

While some have closed down and others have transformed into cafés to cater to the younger generation, at least one merchant said Kedai Teh and modern cafés can coexist, serving different demographics and social needs.

“For me, Kedai Teh isn’t in competition with cafés. Tea shops have their specific, unchanging customer base,” the tea shop owner Ihsan said.

“Coffee shops have opened up spaces for the new generation and serve as meeting places for women. They’re spaces that seem to escape the cultural norm that good women should stay at home. So, the two are different."