Thai cafe owner’s mistake turns out to be a huge hit

Anyone that cooks has made this mistake once – using the wrong ingredient. Whether it be using salt instead of sugar or mixing up baking soda and baking powder, the resulting dish usually ends up being thrown out. One Thai cafe owner made this mistake when he used the wrong ingredient when mixing his green tea. But after doing a taste test, he put it on sale with an honest disclaimer.

Here’s what that honest mistake was and how it turned into a bestseller overnight.

More news in Thailand:

An endearing mistake

When Thai cafe Bake Con, located in the Esaan region, put up a listing for “Green tea that I mixed wrongly”, netizens were curious about the product. The description for the product tells the story of how the cafe owner mistakenly used a matcha valued at over ฿100,000 (~2,650 USD) per kilo instead of his regular matcha.

Image credit: BakeCon

But after doing a taste test, the owner found that the green tea had a depth of flavour beyond his regular green tea with notes of caramel, white chocolate, umami, and more.

Image credit: @b_borbor

Netizens were enamoured with his honesty. And maybe just a tiny bit curious about how tasty the cup of tea could be. One Twitter user shared the listing, causing it to become a viral sensation.

Screenshot: @b_borbor

Unsurprisingly, the tea quickly sold out.

Tea keeps getting sold out

But netizens who missed out were still curious and asked if the cafe would make more of this whoopsie green tea. The interest in it got so large that Bake Con ended up writing a Facebook post telling its customers to send the cafe a DM to make a reservation.

Screenshot: BakeCon

The orders filed in and the product quickly sold out for 14th October. That’s when the cafe opened up another reservation for the 18th. But that batch sold out within the hour too.

Screenshot: BakeCon

Luckily, the cafe will be open for more reservations for this green tea on 19th October 2022. Judging by its popularity, interested customers should quickly get in line. Reservations will open at noon on LINE here.

Despite the huge blunder, this cafe managed to turn its mistake into a winning product that keeps on giving.

Even mistakes can become opportunities

Mistakes can turn out to be huge breakthroughs if we don’t give up easily. Some of history’s greatest discoveries were made on the back of what were considered mistakes. And although this particular mistake-discovery combo does not stack up with the likes of the accidental discovery of penicillin, invention of the pacemaker, or baking of chocolate chip cookies, it’s still an admirable case.

A good entrepreneur will always try to find an opportunity even in the most dire of circumstances. And Bake Con’s success with this green tea is a great case of why.

Cover images adapted from (Clockwise from Top Left): BakeCon, BakeCon

Enjoying The Smart Local Thailand? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more stories like this.