Shwe Ywar Ngan, Myanmar
Traceability has virtually become the new ethical standard for the consumer. However did you know that many of our giant and most trusted corporations use fake farm names or fake place names to give the impression of provenance? The competition for your spend seemingly means that no stone is left unturned when it comes to cosying up to the consumer and giving the illusion of that feel-good factor.
When though true traceability is achieved the effort made can be truly satisfying and we become citizens of the world.
We’ve been stocking Myanmar coffee since late last year and earlier this year (2018) I had the privilege of visiting this most beautiful and controversial of countries, more of which later. The first coffee we imported came from the Green Land estate owned by Sai Wan. Back then the estate was simply a name on a hessian sack. Today though Green Land and its owner Sai Wan are both a real place and a real person.
Pictured above: Sai Wan the owner of Green Land coffee plantation with (left) David Warr, Coffee roaster, Cooper & Co. Jersey Channel Islands.
We’ll see his coffee later in the year when the current crop becomes available, however in the mean time we have a new really interesting coffee from Myanmar. This time it has come from a group of villages from the Ywar Ngan region in Shan state. What’s more interesting is that it is our first Honey processed coffee, (see previous blog about different processing types). There is a far sweeter aroma to this coffee than for comparable washed processed coffee and it will add a new layer of interest for the coffee lover.
This coffee has been mostly processed at Shwe Ywar Ngan, and hulled by the Mandalay Coffee Group prior to export. That’s true traceability, the following image is taken from the patios of Shwe Ywar Ngan, a wonderful place of which I’ve written extensively in my upcoming book “The Politics of Coffee”. Watch this space!