There is nothing like the smell of flowering coffee fields. In Yunnan, this period coincides with the start of the raining season, normally in March or April, as the rain breaks the dormancy of the flower buds. Though, not all buds flower all at once. Some dormant or undeveloped buds might only flower at a later time. 90-95% of Coffea arabica is self-pollinating: flowers are pollinated by pollen of flowers from the same tree, after which the cherries immediately start to develop. Depending on the variety, cherries will turn from green to yellow or red when ripe. As a result of the staggered flowering, you can see trees with red and green cherries. The duration of the process from flowering to mature coffee cherries depends on a number of factors, including the coffee variety, climatic conditions and agricultural practices. For Coffee arabica it takes about 6-9 months, which means harvest is about to start here in Yunnan.
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It turns out that coffee is surrounded by mysteries. Not just the name, but also, and maybe even more so, the origin of the drink itself. There are various legends about the where, when and how it was discovered.
One of the most famous stories must be that of Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat shepherd. Though, he might have been an Arabian one, depending on which story you chose to believe. Anyway, on what probably was a bright and sunny day somewhere halfway through the 9th century he noticed his goats behaving pretty energetic after they had eaten the red cherries of a certain, rather leafy bush. Being a curious and adventurous lad, he decided to taste a few himself and soon was dancing along with his flock. Exhilarated with his discovery, he filled his pockets with the red cherries and ran off to a nearby monastery. However the monk he told his story to was not at all impressed and, deciding they must be 'the devil's work', he threw the cherries into the fire. Now, it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what happened next: a heavenly aroma soon filled the air in and around the monastery and the other monks came to investigate where this wondrous smell came from. The cherries were raked from the fire, crushed to find out the origin of this aroma and covered with hot water in an attempt to preserve it. And so the world's first cup of coffee was a fact. Wonderful as this story is, in other legends it's not the goats, but birds that take the lead role. Like the one about the Yemenite mystic Gothul Akbar Nooruddin Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhlili who noticed a flock of birds with unusual vitality when travelling in Ethiopia. And of course, he just had to try some of the cherries these birds had been eating. It most likely was another flock of birds who led Sheikh Omar to the same discovery, as he was living as a recluse in Mocha, a coffee producing area in Yemen. Contrary to his fellow-discoverers, he decided to make a brew of the cherries and, after noticing its stimulating effect, he is said to have administered it to the locals to cure them from some mysterious ailment. Some say he even used it to cure the daughter of the King of Mocha. But, as said at the beginning, these are all just legends and it's not really all that important whether or not they are true. Though I'm willing to bet you might find at least one of these legend's main characters wandering through your mind when you have your next cup of coffee. Today is the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. It is said that farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. For coffee farmers in Yunnan on the other hand, this date is closer to the start of their harvesting season. Nevertheless... Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all! While drinking your cup of coffee, have you ever wondered where this black gold got its name? Turns out it's not as simple as one may think.
Some sources claim the word coffee is derived from the Dutch koffie or the Italian caffe. In both cases, they find their origin in the Turkish kahveh, which in its turn stems from the Arabic qahwah, short for qahwat al-bun, that translates to the poetic wine of the bean. Other research says that the name coffee originates from the Ethiopian region Kaffa, one of the historical homes of the plant. And as coffee is known as buno in that region, this story also brings us back to qahwat al-bun. So, no matter what the true origin of the name is, next time you have a coffee, just enjoy your cup of heavenly wine of the bean. The main pest for coffee plants in Yunnan is the coffee stem borer. These are 1 to 2 cm long beetles which lay their eggs in cracks and crevices or under loose scaly bark of the coffee stems. The damage is done by the larvae which hatch from these eggs, when they feed on the cork under the bark. In a later stage the larvae eat their way through the heartwood, creating tunnels in all directions. In the field, damage shows by wilting trees with cherries in bad condition, as shown in the picture. The only thing left to do in such a case is killing the larvae and pruning the tree. Since trees exposed to sunlight are more vulnerable to infection with these insects, maintaining shade trees in the field helps to lower the infection rate. Another way to control this pest is manually catching the larvae. This year the prevalence is higher than previous years, most likely as a result of the recent drought which has weakened the trees. Last Thursday the latest Nescafé gift box was launched in Beijing. It features a 100% Arabica coffee originating from Yunnan and sourced directly from the farmers through our own buying station. I was asked to give a presentation of NAS' activities at the launch. I was very honoured to be at this event as it was a big recognition for my team and I to see that after nearly 20 years of focussing on coffee development and quality improvement in the region, Yunnan coffee has now reached a standard to produce a premium Nescafé. |
AuthorI wouldn't be surprised to find out I was born with a passion for coffee. For the life of me, I can't remember not loving coffee. And by that, I don't just mean drinking it, but everything involved from its cultivation over the processing to the final product that is my loyal companion throughout the day. Archives
February 2014
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