This is another first for us — a gorgeous washed coffee from Myanmar. Think of this as a Kenya-type coffee, with blackcurrant, sweetgrass and lemon notes, with more interesting environmental and ethical credentials. We think it's important to find and support quality, ethical Asian coffees as the climate changes because they will increasingly be key origins in the shifting landscape. 'Khar Taw Hmi' is the Burmese word for Silver Oak (the trees that provide shade on Green Land farm) but also means 'just in time' - the producer believes it is a good name for this lot, to differentiate from some of the other lots from his farm.
We sourced this coffee with new friends at Indochina, who are a small importing company focused on Asian coffees. They have a great reputation in the industry, and we're looking forward to growing the relationship together!
Green Land Estate is farmed by U Sai Wan, who grew up seeing coffee farms along the roadside as a child and who now runs a family business that is one of the largest arabica plantations in the country. U Sai Wan is a leading innovator in Myanmar’s specialty coffee industry, winning national quality competitions and playing a key role in Myanmar Coffee Association. He operates the estate with his uncle and aunt, along with two local agronomists and many local workers. This coffee is the SL34 varietal, which forms around 10% of the farm.
Myanmar has grown coffee since the 1800s because of British colonisation, but specialty coffee is very recent, only emerging in 2015. We sourced this coffee through Indochina. The ripe cherries were hand harvested and then placed in water to remove the floaters. Then it was pulped and placed in concrete tanks for 48 hours of fermentation before washing. The beans were then patio dried for 7 to 10 days.
Elevation: 2150
Varietal: SL-34
Cup score: 85
Price paid per kg: £9.40
Process: Fully Washed Process, Fermentation of
30 hours.
