In many places in the world, today is a day on which mother's are celebrated. The way in which will differ depending on where you live, but in many cases it will involve a small present made or bought by the kids and a nice breakfast prepared by them to start the day. And a nice cup of coffee is often part of hereof. And to make it really special, why not try one of the best coffees in the world? Ethiopian Yirgacheffee Coffee is grown in the mountainous regions of Ethiopia and presents one of the most complex flavour profiles. Depending on whether you pick a medium or a dark roast, this coffee is perfect to either start the day or as an after dinner coffee. Tanzanian Peaberry Coffee may be a bit more expensive, but rewards you with a journey in flavour. Its name is derived from the peaberries it is made off, being one whole bean instead of the regular two half beans one normally finds in a coffee cherry. Only about 7 percent of a coffee crop consists of these peaberries, hence the higher price. Sumatran Lintong Coffee is a perfect example of how paying more attention to the processing of the coffee beans results in an aromatic and rich coffee that can compete with the best coffees in the world. Hawaiian Kona coffee is another example of how the hard work of the coffee growers gets rewarded by a rich and light coffee, made from only the best coffee beans grown on the volcanoes of the Big Island of Hawaii. To get the best, make sure you have the one labeled 100% Kona, as others can contain other Arabica, or even Robusta beans, which alter the flavour. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is probably the most well-known coffee of this list, and like the Hawaiian Kona Coffee, the growers fiercely protect their brand. You can hardly blame the farmers, given the reputation they have to protect. Source: www.talkaboutcoffee.com
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Today I would like to kick off a new section of my blog, one all about recipes with coffee as one of the ingredients. And on a day like today, on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards or exchanging gifts in many parts of the world, what could be better than to start with a cup of love. Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you can enjoy it with your loved one.
Here I already explained how this blog got its name. As it happens, there is also a story about how Yunnan got its name. A few weeks ago, my wife came across a book called 'The Exploration of Yunnan' by Jim Goodman. A rather interesting read about the history and people of this province. It also contains an short story about the possible origin of the name Yunnan. In the north, Yunnan borders Sichuan, a province in which the weather apparently is dominated by rain and clouds. The story goes that one of the Nanzhao princes of Dali (in Yunnan) visited the court of the Tang emperor, and told the emperor his land was south of the rainy weather, after which the Chinese emperor dubbed said territory Yunnan, or South of the Clouds.
For the first time in years both Christmas Eve and Christmas are in the weekend. Previous years not only did this holiday fall in the middle of the week, also it seemed like the farmers thought it would be a nice Christmas present to deliver coffee on those days so I would always be home late.This year, for a change, we can celebrate this holiday as a family, and we'd like to wish you...
Every year we have a family day on which my co-workers, myself and our families go on an outing. Up till now these consisted of a trip to a restaurant nearby Simao, where a leisurely day was spent, enjoying a nice meal, some treats and games. This year however was different. We arranged an excursion to nearby Ning'er where we climbed Western Door Mountain (a.k.a Pu'er Mountain) in the morning. After a delicious meal we drove a bit further where some of us undertook a second, much less steep walk through Little Black River Forest Park. All in all an active, yet pleasant day out.
The end of September preludes busy times for the local farmers. It is the start of the harvest of rice, corn, bananas, and coffee of course. Everywhere one goes you see lots of activities in the field as well as drying crops. In the more remote areas, all these activities are still done the traditional way, including the use of animal traction for transport of the produce.
We have encountered our fair share of them back in our days in Tanzania, and a few of them even tried to settle in our house and garden. In China however, our encounters have been limited mainly to brief encounters in the field. Last week however, it was the second time one of them tried to get into my room at the E&D Farm. And this one was rather persistent in its attempt. In the afternoon, the farm manager spot her a first time when airing the room. Upon opening the door she fell from the door into the room. Apparently the room pleased her so well, she decided to return after being released again into the wild. It took her some time to return, as it was already dark when I discovered her. Her attempts were however, once again, in vain as I wasn't all that keen to share my room with this slithering creature.
Again, quite some time has passed since my last post. And again, a lot of things have happened, two of which I'll talk about here. The first one is by far the best thing, being the birth of my second daughter on June 29. With 3.9 kg and 54 cm at birth, she made her big sister look like a teeny tiny baby back in her days. Though, big sis is now already three years old and very proud of her baby sister. The second one on the other hand is less positive. Last weekend I started my annual home leave by travelling back to my home country. I wasn't feeling all that well and upon arrival, I went to the hospital for a medical check-up. As the doctors couldn't pinpoint an immediate reason for my fever, they decided to keep me there for observation.
A few days and a number of blood tests later, they narrowed the possible causes down to a Rickettsia infection which I probably contracted after a tick bite during one of many field visits the past weeks. The doctors have adjusted my treatment and now it's waiting for a final confirmation of the diagnosis and my hospital discharge. In March I had my father and uncle visiting me. As my wife, daughter and I normally only see them occasionally during our home leave in Summer, this was a unique chance to catch up. And since my father is also involved in the coffee business, of course there was a lot of coffee talk and visits to coffee fields. Moreover, my father used to work in Simao before me, so he visited a lot of old friends during his stay here. This time of year the weather normally is mainly dry and temperatures are on the rise. This year however, we have been subject to a cold spell with unusually chilly temperatures and lots of rain. As a result one could see a concentrated flowering in the coffee fields, which dotted the trees with white flowers surrounded by a sweet smell of jasmine. And if all goes well, this holds lots of promise for the coming coffee season.
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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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