Sichuan has once again been hit by a severe earthquake. I was in Pu'er and didn't notice a thing, but my family, who were in Kunming at the time, did feel it. Like many we have been following the news on this tragedy and we feel for those who were hit by it, directly and indirectly.
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It is known in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Indonesia, and even though an earlier introduction in the 1800s in Britain proved unsuccessful, a group of British and French scientists believe there might be a future for this drink after all: tea made from coffee leaves. Often overlooked due to the popularity of the coffee cherries, they believe coffee leaf tea to be healthier than either tea or coffee. The brew supposedly has an earthy taste, is less bitter than tea and not as strong as coffee, and it contains less caffeine than either of these two. Moreover, it contains certain compounds that lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease, and a number of chemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers now hope that due to these and other health benefits this coffee leaf tea might rival with the highly popular coffee and black and green teas. Let's just wait and see, and maybe even try it, as back in 1851, when it was touted as the next tea, there were those who found it undrinkable...
There seem to be no limits as to what coffee can do. Not only can it be used to get you going in the morning, it might do the same for your car! It seems a team of engineers has been working for quite some years on coffee-geared cars. They use coffee chaff pellets, a waste product from coffee production, in a process called gasification: by adding oxygen to the coffee pellets, and heating this mix to over 700 degrees C, a fuel called syngas is formed. This consists of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane, and can be used by a normal internal combustion engine. Using this process, they set a world speed record on February 19, reaching no less than 65.5 mph. Who knows, in the future you might not just make yourself a cuppa in the morning, but also one for your car. In the mean time, you can check out the coffee car's own website to keep updated on the progress.
When I signed my contract, I never thought we would be staying this long, but today it is exactly 8 years to the day since I started my assignment in Pu’er. After all these years, I still really like my job, the committed team and the coffee farmers I get to work with and of course the coffee they produce. Throughout the years it was great to see the impact we had in the villages and coffee communities, as well as finding our program really is making a difference. During these eight years a lot of things have changed. Not only did the city change its name from Simao to Pu’er, and did it modernize quite bit, albeit keeping its green character, it also evolved to the Coffee Capital of China. The coffee villages and farmers flourished, almost tripling the area under production as well as the yield. Recently, on a visit to our offices, the Vice-mayor in charge of coffee mentioned that the farmers trust our operations and appreciate our services, which of course was great to hear. It made me realize once more that all the travelling and all the visits throughout the whole area the past years have resulted in a strong linkage with the farmers, which in turn brings the responsibility to not only keep, but also strengthen this relation. Through my work with the farmers and visits to their farms, I really feel part of the community. And it has been a joy seeing both the number of coffee growers linked to us and the volume we purchased have increased so significantly over the years. And last but not least, also privately we will always be linked to Pu’er. Eight years ago we arrived as a newly-wed couple, now we are a family of four, with my eldest even managing a few words in the local dialect. All of us love this little city (to local standards at least) close to the country side with its diverse and friendly people.
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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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