I wish everyone a happy Valentine's day with their loved one.
A few years ago my wife noticed the heart-shaped shadow of a coffee seedling. It only needed a little help to make the shape more obvious in the photo, hence making it the ideal image for this special day.
I wish everyone a happy Valentine's day with their loved one.
1 Comment
Preparations to say farewell to the year of the tiger and to welcome the year of the rabbit are well under way in the region. Firecrackers can be heard throughout the day and the first fireworks brightened the sky already a couple of days ago. By the looks of it, it will be a very bright New Year's Eve this year. Happy Spring Festival everyone!
Coffee prices are going through the roof at the moment, so claiming it is pretty busy at the Buying Station right now would be an understatement. And it sure looks like we're in for an original Christmas Eve, one that consists of one extended coffee tasting session.
It's already over 5 years ago since we came to Pu'er and a lot of things have changed over this period. For starters, the name. When we arrived, the city was still called Simao, but in April 2007, the name was changed to the ancient name of Pu'er, which actually dates back to 1729. We've also seen the city expanding quite a bit. As you might have guessed from the city's name, it's history is closely interwoven with the cultivation of the famous Pu'er tea. The city is also located along the ancient Tea Horse Trail, part of which is still accessible from town and makes for a nice hike through lush forests.
It is an annual tradition to organise a family day outing during November. On such a day, all staff and their families get together for a day of fun, games and good food. This year the setting was a restaurant not far out of town, though in a very quiet environment. Surrounded by tea hills, you could just get a glimpse of the city in the far distance. An ideal place for the children to run around and have fun, while the others chatted away the afternoon with a nibble and a drink. 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! 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. 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
|
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
Categories
All
|