Where does java coffee come from, and why did a barracks cafe go viral?

A coffee shop run by the Thai Army's 4th Battalion inside a military barracks drew wide attention after uniform-clad soldiers appeared as models and staff in promotional photos featuring a lotus pond and pedal boats. It opens daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., serving mostly nearby soldiers along with curious civilians, and its popularity brought scrutiny over taxpayer spending and the role of soldiers as baristas.

Southeast Asia's novelty themed cafes have long stopped surprising anyone, yet putting one inside a barracks raised sharper questions. Thai netizens asked whether public money built the shop, and whether a soldier's duty is military service or pulling espresso. For coffee drinkers, the episode is a reminder that the story about coffee is often as telling as the origin of the beans themselves.

Southeast Asia's influencer cafes keep popping up one after another, but a "soldier cafe" run inside a military barracks in Thailand has drawn particular attention. Operated by the Thai Army's 4th Battalion, this coffee shop uses uniform-clad soldiers as models and staff, and its promotional photos — featuring a lotus pond and pedal boats — quickly went viral on social platforms. The cafe is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and its customers are mostly soldiers from the nearby barracks, though civilians also come to check it out. However, as its popularity grew, so did skepticism: some Thai netizens worry the shop was built with taxpayers' money, and others ask — is a soldier's job to serve in the military or to be a barista? Behind the warm picture of soldiers and civilians enjoying themselves together, controversy continues to simmer.

When it comes to boldness, many people's first thought is the wildly imaginative stunts of neighboring India. But this time, the story has nothing to do with India at all. Nowadays cafe styles are becoming more and more bizarre, with all kinds of themes on offer — toilet-themed, grave-themed, and rare-animal-themed ones. This kind of influencer cafe has long ceased to surprise anyone in Southeast Asia.

Yet the Thais have now gone so far as to open a cafe inside a military barracks, and the level of comfort is even more extravagant than a summer camp. This military-themed influencer cafe was opened by the Thai Army's 4th Battalion. Beside the shop is a pond full of lotus flowers, and in the promotional photos you can see soldiers sitting on pedal boats, playing and frolicking in the pond, with a relaxed atmosphere everywhere.

According to Thai media, the men appearing in the promotional photos are all soldiers in the military. They wear uniforms not to go into battle, but to serve as models promoting this uniquely styled influencer cafe. By searching specific keywords on Facebook, you can find promotional posts about this "soldier cafe," which mention that the shop is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The shop has even set up a Facebook account, and in a set of photos posted on January 19, it is clearly visible that the cafe's staff really are soldiers. Most of the cafe's customers are soldiers from the nearby barracks, though ordinary civilians can also be seen.

The scene of soldiers and civilians enjoying themselves together is heartwarming, but in the comment sections of many posts about this military-themed cafe, some negative reviews also appear — reviews that are worth pondering carefully.

From these comments, it is roughly apparent that many Thai locals also want to go and see it for themselves; at the same time, some Thai netizens worry that this cafe was built with taxpayers' hard-earned money. Some Thai netizens question: is a soldier's duty to do everything except serve in the military? Is joining the army just to become a barista? This is the position held by opponents.

Not doing their proper job, yet taking on things they shouldn't be doing — in some people's eyes, this is unacceptable; but from another angle, soldiers are people too, and barracks also have needs for food, clothing, housing and transportation. The lower limit of influencer cafes keeps being pushed: first there was word of a Syrian-style influencer ruin cafe that rubs salt in others' wounds, and now there's this kind of influencer cafe that packages those who defend the country as photo props for people. At first glance, your blood pressure is bound to rise a little, but after taking a closer look at which country it is, you immediately breathe a sigh of relief.

Some official institutions in China, such as China Post, were long ago reported to have gotten into the milk tea and coffee business. Fortunately, the chance of seeing this kind of cafe in China is not great.

Image source: the FACEBOOK account of ช.คอฟฟี่กองพันทหารช่างที่5 ค่ายเทพสตรีฯ

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.