And all means were good to bring the coffee to our Buying Station.
This coffee season has been our most busy season ever. From the moment we opened the Buying Station last November, I don't think there was a moment when there weren't any farmers queueing in order to sell their coffee. Of course, the high coffee price on the world market had something to do with this. And all means were good to bring the coffee to our Buying Station. This season also saw a new record. At our Buying Station we welcome all farmers, how small or large their deliveries are. Up until this year, the smallest delivery ever was 20 kg. Since last month, this is now 18kg. It was the complete harvest of an elderly couple with just 100 trees.
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It's been a while since my last blog post. There is a very good reason for my few weeks-long silence: coffee. Of course. What else? The higher the prices, the longer the queues outside our buying station. All farmers want to make the most of the current prices by selling all the coffee they have ready at the moment, and with these prices, you can hardly blame them. And as a result we've been (and still are) working very long hours, trying to work our way through the ever-growing queues.
The popularity of coffee cultivation as a cash crop is still increasing, and training of the coffee growers remains of great importance to ensure a good yield for these farmers once the newly planted coffee trees start bearing fruit. Arabica coffee trees root deep, and a straight well-developed tap root is of great importance to ensure good nutritional uptake. One of the most common malformations in nursery plants are twisted taproots. These seedlings should be discarded as the resulting trees will not only be poor yielders, but also have a shortened lifespan. During our field visits we often come upon trees with twisted or bent taproots. They may be good for an attempt of an artistic picture, but the only option for the farmer in such a case is to replace these trees. After an unusually long and very dry season, it's now the rains that aren't planning to leave any time soon. As a result many roads are not in the best condition, like the one we took last week on our way to Jinggu. We left Simao at 11 am and arrived at our destination at 11 pm. Total distance covered: about 150 km. After having done a number of visits in Jinggu, we continued to Zhenyuan. Our first contacts in that region date back about two years ago when we gave a training on coffee cultivation. The local farmers gain their income mainly from growing corn, tobacco and rearing pigs. Some village communities and local farmers have taken up coffee cultivation as a main cash crop. The first harvest from these villages are expected next year. And where we started with muddy roads, the last field visit of this trip led us to this river, only to be crossed by a bridge, just wide enough to let one car pass at a time. Last week I visited a supplier whose first contacts with NAS date back from the early days we started working here. He started growing coffee in 1992 and during the years has expanded his plantation from 0.7 to 4.5 ha. In July he and his wife visited the Expo in Shanghai. One of the pavilions he didn't want to miss during this visit was the Belgian one since this is the country my father and me come from. Now we can only hope he won't turn from cultivating coffee to cacao having seen one of the things Belgium is famous for.
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. Last month, during our week-long series of trainings in Menglian, we stopped in Menglian town to buy some water in one of the numerous small shops. Upon seeing me, the owner asked if we were in town for coffe. We nodded, and he said "Nestle coffee?", which we confirmed. It looks like we are getting known everywhere. That our fame precedes us, was also shown a few weeks ago when we met an American who is also living in Pu'er. Strange as it may sound, it was the first time we met even though he and his family have been living here for over a year already. When I told him I worked in coffee, he asked "Nestle?". Seemed like he had already heard about me and even met my father who worked here before me.
In the five years that have past since I came to work in China, I have been on numerous field visits. In the beginning people were quite fascinated by this tall foreigner, especially in the more remote areas, but these days hardly anybody is surprised when I show up. Now I can just go there and take a walk in the fields or the villages. In the more remote areas I am often the only foreigner going there and seeing that all I do is climbing the hills planted with coffee over and over again, I sometimes wonder if these people now think that all foreigners are only interested in coffee. This presumption is fueled by the many nicknames I have, from
Last week we had a training in a Dai village in Xishuangbanna. When we arrived at 2 p.m. the village was deserted so we called the village leader. Upon his arrival a few minutes later, he turned on the village speakers, broadcasted a wake-up call which started with a rooster giving his best shot, followed by the announcement of our arrival. Half an hour later, the training room was filled, much to our surprise mainly with women. Later we learned however this wasn't so surprising as in the Dai minority, women play a leading role. |
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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