Fah Thai Magazine May June 2018

BURMA BREWS
Clockwise from
Top Right
Grading beans at
coffee factory.
Local brands of
Myanmar coffee.
Coffee beans
ripening on
the bush.
I presumed that many of those
who worked for the colonials had
stayed on after the Brits had left
and put down roots here. Even in
the town’s main market, which
was a riot of noise, colour and
unusual smells, most of the stall
vendors seemed to be Nepali
or Indian.
I settled into a café to reflect
on these rich experiences, and
was delighted to find a fantastic
range of coffees to choose from.
I ordered a latte, and while I was
enjoying it, I got talking to a
man called Samuel. “Do you like
our local coffee?” he asked, and
when I expressed surprise that
the beans came from the area,
he explained that the soil and
climate in the hills around Pyin
Oo Lwin make it ideal for growing
coffee. It turned out that there are
many small coffee plantations in
the region, all of which are part of
the Myanmar Coffee Association
and produce top-grade varieties,
such as S795, which is much
sought after by coffee buyers.
“So how come you know so
much about coffee?” I asked
Samuel. “Well, it just so happens
that I was a manager of one
of the local plantations for a
decade,” he answered with a
grin. “Would you like to take a
look around one tomorrow? I’ll
be showing a small group around
a couple of plantations and a
processing plant.” I jumped at the
opportunity; after all, I had drunk
coffee every day for countless
years without much idea of how
the brew was made.
Samuel picked me up the next
morning and we drove with his
small group a few kilometres out
of town to a coffee estate run by
a friend of his. The welcoming
owner, U Kyaw Sein, immediately
poured us a cup of coffee from
his farm and cracked open some
macadamia nuts to nibble as we
drank. Samuel explained that
the macadamia tree provides
excellent shade, which coffee
bushes need, and the crop of nuts
(around 12 tons a year) provided
valuable extra income.
We hopped into a pick-up
truck and bounced along dirt
tracks that led through the
estate, stopping here and there
for U Kyaw Sein to show off the
waxy-leaved coffee bushes laden
with green berries. He explained
Somehow the experience of watching
the process of coffee production all the
way from seed to cup had given me a new
appreciation of just how much knowledge
and hard work goes into producing the
drink that kick-starts my days.
that with careful maintenance, a
coffee bush can keep producing
beans for up to 80 years, but it
was evident that this is a labourintensive
business. As we drove
around, we passed small groups
of workers pruning the bushes,
weeding the area around them
and adding fertiliser to the earth.
Apart from coffee, which yields
about 15 tons of green beans a
year from around 200 acres, the
estate also grows dragon fruit and
avocados. The avocado is another
tree that doubles as a shade tree
for coffee and brings an extra
source of income.
Samuel then took us to the
Mandalay Coffee Group processing
plant on the outskirts of Pyin
Oo Lwin to see what happens to
the beans once they have been
harvested. I was shocked to see
all kinds of elaborate machinery
used to soak the beans, throw
out the bad ones, take off the
skins and then roast them so that
they are ready for consumption.
In one corner of the processing
plant, a small army of women sat
grading berries one by one, a job
that would drive me mad with its
repetitive nature.
We couldn’t leave without
sampling the finished product,
and I smacked my lips as I supped
a cup of S795 Arabica special.
Somehow the experience of
watching the process of coffee
production all the way from
seed to cup had given me a new
appreciation of just how much
knowledge and hard work goes
into producing the drink that
kick-starts my days. I thanked
Samuel for allowing me to see
an aspect of this former colonial
town that I never knew existed,
one that complements a colourful
past with the hope for a bountiful
future. He smiled and presented
me with a small packet of Arabica
to take home as a souvenir, telling
me that it was his pleasure to
share the secrets of his home
town’s rich culture with a
stranger from far away.
Clockwise from
Top Left
Burmese worker
roasting coffee
beans.
Ex-coffee
plantation manager
Samuel pointing out
features of healthy
coffee bush.
Coffee beans
being processed at
processing plant,
Pyin Oo Lwin,
Myanmar.
74
75