Organic Coffee Tour| You are the shining star in Yunnan night sky

Hello, everyone.

Last time we mentioned that Pret A Manger in Shanghai IFC National Gold Center sells organic coffee, and coffee beans come from organic coffee farms in Pu'er Simao, Yunnan Province. Today's "good time" will take you to this organic coffee farm in Simao area. Before I set out, I did not expect that the coffee farm deep into the vast mountains contained too many stories of local people, their emotions, their love for the land, their pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty, and their indomitable vitality and optimism above barrenness. they go beyond coffee itself, but it is actually an extension of the concept of "organic coffee": sustainable development, awe and respect for the environment and nature. And glorify the hearts of people who are good and true.

Arriving in Pu'er, the afterglow of the sunset in Yunnan

Photography: Zhang Pu

When the plane arrived at Pu'er Simao Airport, the sun was still strong in Yunnan in the evening, and Chris MacEwan, the chief global coffee strategist (Global Head of Coffee Strategy) from Pret A Manger headquarters in London, met at the airport and hurried to the coffee farm. It takes about two hours to drive from the airport to the organic coffee farm in Pret A Manger. The dense tea garden in Pu'er Mountain is the most eye-catching. The Hani master driving told us that during the day and afternoon, wild elephants may be encountered on the mountain road, or when you are lucky, a group of wild elephants of the size of the valley pass through. Between lush and lush is a picture of primitive ecology.

It is dark when we arrive at the coffee farm, and in the mountains, the Manlao River, which flows through the valley, seems to be the most vital spring. The coffee farm, called Manlaojiang Coffee Garden, originated from a poverty alleviation project in Pu'er, Yunnan Province, which promotes organic farming to help poor local farmers develop a sustainable coffee industry, which in turn can help them get rid of their extreme poverty.

The people in the mountains entertained us with fresh ingredients

Photography: Maie

The owner of the coffee farm specially slaughtered a pig, killed a duck, and cooked a table of farm dishes to entertain us. Fresh ingredients eliminated the fatigue of the journey. The stars in the night sky, flashing a bright light, guide us to explore the coffee farm. I started talking with Chris, a coffee expert who was born in New Zealand and later came to London, who travels all year round to pick out coffee for Pret A Manger. This is not the first time that Chris has come to the Manlaojiang Coffee Farm. He is obviously more natural and familiar with the local routine and joy than I am.

Early in the morning, Chris (right) has come to the workshop to prepare for the cup test.

Photography: Zhang Pu

Everything is ready, just wait for the cup test to start photography: Zhang Pu

Early the next morning, we made an appointment to do the Pret A Manger coffee cup test (Cupping) at the office of the coffee farm. I have participated in a cup test lecture in a cafe before, but I haven't tried it myself. To try it in person is to learn what it is like for Chris to taste every cup of brewed coffee with a spoon.

Chris has a nose to identify the smell of coffee, I envy it!

Photography: Zhang Pu

Stir the coffee with a spoon and suck it into your mouth

No need to swallow. Chris says the important thing is to taste the first taste.

Photography: Zhang Pu

Cupping should also be patient and skillful so that you don't have to drink every spoonful of coffee. For me, who was not born as a barista, Chris told me to always stick to my intuition and first feeling, and don't be sold or persuaded that the taste of coffee you like is what you like. Chris told me, "Coffee is what you want" (coffee is what you want). I immediately thought it was the true meaning. It doesn't matter whether the taste of coffee that bothers us is deep or shallow, fruity, sour or bitter. What matters is our hearts.

Learn coffee cup photography from Chris: Maie

After making coffee Cupping with Chris, I asked Chris, every year in Africa, Central America, China's coffee origin to identify different coffee varieties and quality, what kind of coffee is Pret A Manger looking for? "in fact, the coffee Pret is looking for is clean, fresh, simple, with the inherent nature of coffee, persistent and juicy, and will not dilute the original taste of coffee by adding milk," Chris said with a smile. It sounds a little close, but when you sink into the cup, I believe Chris has chosen this coffee from Manlaojiang Coffee Farm for Pret.

Go deep into the organic coffee farm and walk in the mountains

Photography: Zhang Pu

Although the coffee harvest season is over, the green hills are also intoxicating.

Photography: Zhang Pu

Under the leadership of Julien of the coffee farm, we began to shuttle through the coffee fields all over the mountains, and the work of the farming era left a strong impression on the mountains, which is an ancient impression of Yunnan. Julien told me that the so-called organic coffee farm, from growing, fertilizing, harvesting, drying, sorting and processing to the final packaging of finished coffee beans, ruled out chemical pollution, pesticide attacks, and artificial malicious mass picking.

"Green manure" comes from abandoned coffee bean skins, which is very environmentally friendly.

Photography: Zhang Pu

Manlaojiang Coffee Farm mainly produces "boutique coffee beans". Since 2012, the coffee produced by Manlaojiang Coffee Farm has become the first coffee in Yunnan to be certified by the European Union, the United States and China at the same time. In 2015, Manlaojiang Coffee was selected as the designated product for the global finals of "World Coffee Baking Competition" and "World Cup testing Masters" for its excellent organic quality. Now they provide coffee beans to Pret A Manger stores in China, which is also in line with Pret's global implementation of the concept of organic coffee and healthy eating.

Chris explained to me the techniques of growing organic coffee in front of the coffee tree.

Photography: Zhang Pu

Stumbled upon the only remaining coffee beans

Take it off and taste it, it's very sweet. Photograph: Zhang Pu

Chris and I were in the coffee garden in the mountains. Although it was just after the harvest season, the coffee trees were green. Among the distant mountains, the original energy rising through time was fascinating. In the harvest season, the coffee garden here, Lisu farmers will take the whole process of manual picking, pick coffee fruits from these coffee trees, and then enter the strict quality control process. These quality control processes include six hand selections throughout the process to remove defects. The process of washing coffee beans with mountain spring water and drying is also based on natural sunlight, natural and environmentally friendly.

Local Lisu farmers pick coffee beans manually during the harvest season.

Photo courtesy of Manlaojiang Coffee Farm

Julien told me that at the Manlaojiang Coffee Farm, there are more than 3,000 farmers and 15 production teams. "our coffee garden is a local poverty alleviation project. Our coffee advocates a sustainable circular production model and will not be picked on a large scale. Every harvest we harvest will lay the foundation for future coffee cultivation." As far as I know, there are a lot of women farmers on Manlaojiang Coffee Farm, which also reflects the original intention of coffee farms to help local women find employment and stand on their own feet.

Working with Chris on an organic coffee farm that supplies coffee beans to Pret A Manger

Photography: Maie

Chris focuses on coffee trees and organic ecological planting patterns here.

Photography: Zhang Pu

See that the fertilizer made by natural fermentation of coffee bean skin happens to be a virtuous circle, and the waste is used to achieve the real "green manure" effect. I asked Chris, why Yunnan and Manlaojiang in Simao? Chris told me that in fact, the area where coffee is grown has a fixed area all over the world, and coffee produced in areas with high elevations is always better than areas with low elevations. Manlaojiang's position happens to be ideal, even better than coffee from Peru and Central America. "Let's clarify the fact that the coffee produced in Yunnan is no worse than that in other parts of the world, because Chinese people like to drink tea, so there is a misunderstanding that coffee is produced in Africa and Central America. In fact, there are great coffee beans in Manlaojiang, Yunnan." Chris told me. In order to provide Chinese customers with pure taste and the concept of organic health, Pret A Manger finally chose to work with the coffee farm in Manlaojiang.

On the top of the hillside is a mountain spring water reservoir, and the underground is full of mountain spring water.

Washing coffee beans all take mountain spring water photography: Zhang Pu

Chris boarded the coffee washing and screening equipment of Manlaojiang Coffee Farm.

Photography: Zhang Pu

Subsequently, we visited the filtration plant of Manlaojiang Coffee Farm one after another. He was shocked by the equipment of the coffee farm on the border between China and Laos. In the drying workshop and the packaging workshop, the output of coffee here is really astonishing, so it is no wonder that it has become the origin of coffee sought by the British health food Pret A Manger in China.

Coffee bean drying workshop and subcontracting workshop are orderly and busy

Photo: Zhang Pu, Manlaojiang Coffee Farm

Pick up the coffee beans that have been screened and packaged. Photograph: Maie

Pret A Manger does not use organizations such as Fair Trade as an intermediary to buy coffee in developing countries. Chris told me that the reason why Pret chose to go to coffee farms in Central America, Africa and Asia to buy organic coffee is because Pret wants to make a direct contribution to the local economy and the improvement of the lives of farmers through the purchase and cooperation with coffee farms in less developed areas, rather than to show false philanthropy. This is why Chris visits coffee producing areas around the world all the year round, goes deep into the locality, communicates directly with local coffee producers and farmers, and contributes to a cup of coffee in Pret stores.

Photography: Maie

So, when you hold a cup of coffee from Pret A Manger again, you may think that this cup of coffee embodies the hard work of farmers in remote areas of Simao, Yunnan. Those days and nights fighting for boutique coffee beans are as bright as the stars in Yunnan night. Because they are far away from chemicals and pesticides, they come from mountain springs and absorb the aura of mountains. They are primitive and mysterious drinks. It is also the most kind and organic. In my opinion, every cup of Pret coffee is a story about Manlaojiang that can be told over and over again.

There are flowers in the mountains, love in the heart photography: Zhang Pu

Photography: Maie

When Chris and I waved goodbye, he was about to embark on a new journey. He showed me photos of coffee gardens in Ethiopia, where the smiles of local farmers in front of their mobile phones are so similar to those of farmers in Manlaojiang, Simao District, Yunnan Province. Coffee is not bitter, it is a sweet and tough career, just as the caramel after the volatilization of coffee, will be more and more powerful, sweet comes from bitterness, probably this is the truth.

The car crossing the Manlao River is a tough shadow.

Photography: Zhang Pu

The mountains are full of flowers, and there are no signs of wild elephants, but this trip is so organic and environmentally friendly, revealing the best intentions of mankind! A cup of Pret organic coffee, it's worth the trip!