Where can I buy gourmet ground coffee in Phnom Penh? The short answer is Boncafe! In the very loosest sense of the word you can get ground coffee from many supermarkets, but. if you want high end ground, or unground coffee though, the place to be is Boncafe.
How did I discover Boncafe? Well it all started with a Pong muffin, which you can read about here.
Pong serve some of the best coffee in Phnom Penh — something I am sure others will debate me on — so I went on a journey to find out where they got their coffee from and it led me to Boncafe!
So Boncafe is a cafe?
No, Boncafe is not exactly a cafe. It’s more a wholesaler of great coffees, teas and all those wonderful syrups that you get inside those great Italian sodas you see throughout The Kingdom.
Boncafe itself is literally a showroom for all their products, which include coffee machines (more on that later) as well an area where baristas can get trained to make coffee and learn to be the best barista they can be.
I found this out by dropping it on a whim, from where the manager, Harry Wong, was happy to sit, have an espresso with me and tell me his tale.
What’s the Boncafe Cambodia story?
Boncafe was originally founded in Singapore in 1962 and came to Cambodia in 1996. Their primary focus was on business-to-business coffee sales, coffee making machines and the aforementioned barista training.
In 2014 they were purchased by Zanetti Beverage Group, an Italian company, which is no bad thing because the Italians sure do make a good cup of coffee.
To read about street food in Italy click here.
Where can I buy ground coffee in Phnom Penh?
If you have got this far without realizing we are talking about Boncafe Cambodia then kudos to you! They have three showrooms in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville.
Their Phnom Penh building is here, and if my experience was anything to go by then you will be greeted with warmth, professionalism, a smile, and if you’re lucky, a great cup of joe.
The company supplies whole bean and ground coffee to a number of supermarkets such as Lucky, Chip Mong, Bayon and the ever so wonderful Angkor Mart in Siem Reap – a place we lovingly called Kwangbok department store.
You can read about Kwangbok here
They are also available directly through all of the best delivery apps in Cambodia, which you can read about here.
Don’t drink coffee I drink tea my dear – An Englishman in Phnom Penh
If you didn’t get the Sting “Englishman in New York” song reference there then shame on you. Anyway, I do drink coffee, but as an Englishman I cannot start a day without caffeine delivered directly through a cup of tea.
Boncafe also has an awesome tea selection, with me personally going for the English breakfast tea — with milk of course — as well as the finest espresso I have had in about 5 five years. I was very much ready for a cigarette…
Where can I buy a coffee machine in Phnom Penh?
Do you want a coffee machine, or a coffee machine? Of course you can get cheaper coffee makers anywhere, but at Boncafe Cambodia you can get a full bells-and-whistles machine for under $400. They’ll deliver it, install it, and give you as many barista lessons as you need.
Yes, this is not cheap, so if you are the 50-cent Street 172 type cat then move along. If you do though appreciate good coffee at home then these are your guys, and of course should you be setting up a coffee shop, then these are definitely your people to talk to.
And there you have it! Boncafe Cambodia, fit for the tea or coffee lover, the entrepreneurial coffee shop owner, the aspiring barista, or even the nosy Street Food Guy that simply wanted a good cup of coffee.
Boncafe are currently working on their website, but you can find them on Facebook here, or do what I did and simply rock up to their store.