Myanmar has only recently been creating speciality coffees but is doing so with impressive speed and results. Fed up with secretly producing Opium for drug lords while being prosecuted by authorities on the one hand and selling poorly processed coffee to brokers and middlemen on the other, the Hopong farmers started looking for a new way of life. Through social media, they learned that that other farms were receiving aid to learn how to create high quality, naturally processed coffee. Hti Kham village farmers were amongst those who took a major leap of faith and we think the coffees produced are incredible!
Hopong Community Members getting ready to harvest coffee cherries
Cherries are hand picked by the farmers in the early hours of the day. Once collection is finished the cherries are delivered to Hopong drying stations. Cherries are then screened with the fully ripe cherries placed on raised beds. Slow drying is a priority and drying times range between 13 – 17 days depending on weather conditions. All lots are separated by day and all members’ deliveries are fully traceable.
Hti Kham villagers hand pick the ripest cherries
Sorting occurs with incredible precision and multiple rounds
The ripest cherries are transferred to the raised drying beds where they remain for between 13 and 17 days