According to Sorakphivorn Banaul, marketing manager of EFG, which owns the local branches of global coffee chain Costa Coffee, the franchise’s cafés in Cambodia are about more than great beans and great coffee. “Skill, attention to detail and expertise are required, and our baristas are trained at Costa academies worldwide,” he says. The first Costa outlet opened in Phnom Penh in late 2012, and today Costa Coffee is one of the Kingdom’s premier coffee chains, with locations at the airport, at the riverside in front of the Royal Palace, in BKK1, and in Siem Reap. Branches will also soon open at the retail hall of Vattanac Capital Tower and in the Aeon Mall, which will formally open on July 1. Banaul says the Costa Coffee shops work heard to bring the high-quality café and food from the world wide market to provide in Cambodia market. “Most of our menu list is a highly world flavour recognized, that should be suit to today market here,” he added. Costa provides all the familiar coffee favourites made with imported beans, but also includes a wide range of noncaffeinated drinks such as iced teas, and lemonades, as well as fruit and chocolate “coolers”. The Costa Coffee menu features cakes, tray bakes, muffins, sandwiches, wraps and panini. “Our vision is to deliver an unbeatable premium European experience via handcrafted quality coffee and premium food served by baristas who are passionate about their jobs,” says Banaul. He adds that Costa’s local jewel in the crown is its riverside branch. “It’s a colonial mansion that shares part of the Royal Palace’s garden and has riverside views,” he says. On average, says Banaul, a Costa barista has to make over 1,000 cups of coffee before they’re ready to serve a customer, so as to assure they can produced “a textured, steamed and frothed masterpiece”. In June 2013, Costa Coffee Cambodia won Costa’s International Award for outstanding achievement, singled out from 30 countries worldwide.