你不可不知的亚洲小众咖啡品牌《希诺儿咖啡》！

Fabien — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 09:01:32 +0000

咖啡是世界上最受欢迎的饮品之一，但适合种植咖啡樱桃的地方不多。其中，最著名有巴西、哥伦比亚和萨尔瓦多这几个国家。即使您不是咖啡专家，也一定会在某间咖啡馆或餐厅中看过这些国家的咖啡豆。

其实，离家不远的地方有好多个小众咖啡品牌，您是否知道？我敢说它们生产的咖啡豆能与那些大品牌媲美。希诺儿咖啡【Sinouk Coffee】就是其中之一，让我告诉你原因：

Ethical coffee sourcing and social impact on the Bolaven Plateau
希诺儿咖啡品牌总部位于老挝，它的采收、烘焙和生产都100% 来自当地的波拉文高原。因此您可以充分享受和品尝最棒的当地特产。对于有意识的消费者，我们的产品都是有机且合乎道德的来源 — 该公司正与高原上的农民密切合作，确保他们得到公平的报酬。我们致力于在我们咖啡价值链的各个接触点创造社会影响 - 通过农村社区的经济发展、支持多样性和促进工作场所的女性赋权。

Sinouk Coffee: specialty coffee roasters
老挝咖啡以其柑橘和花香而闻名；老挝的高原就种植了许多精品咖啡品种，如Catuai、Caturra、Typica、Java，它们都具有花卉特性。虽然它与我们在传统特色咖啡中所能尝到的坚果巧克力味有所不同，但它较清爽的甜味更加适合亚洲人的口味。想想我们倾向于偏爱的食物和饮料种类 — 例如大米和茶。

如果您是咖啡新手，老挝特色咖啡的清淡和甜味是个合适的切入点。一般来说，精品咖啡最好在过滤后享用，因为味道可以完全绽放—就像泡散茶。我相信希诺克咖啡拥有您从未品尝过的独特产品 - 例如蜜处理过的豆。由于其加工方法，所得的产品具有粘稠的甜味。酿造方法也会改变您尝到的味道，以冷酿风格酿造咖啡可别有一番风味。对于爱吃甜食的人来说，我们的蜂蜜加工豆是必须尝试的！没有设备？不要担心！试试我们的滴滤咖啡，品尝老挝阿拉比卡咖啡的浓郁风味。

A coffee shop chain present in Laos’ main cities
当谈到咖啡这个话题时，人们首先会想到的几件事之一就是咖啡馆。想想别致的内饰和隐藏的后巷地点（我认为这是探索城市的最佳方式）。沿着主要街道和小巷行驶，万象首都、巴色和沙瓦那等大城市拥有丰富而充满活力的咖啡馆场景。虽然我们在全国各地都有许多咖啡馆。我个人推荐我们 Khemkong 的巴黎式咖啡馆。想象一下在湄公河边闲逛，沐浴在夕阳的金色光芒中，手里拿着咖啡。发在朋友圈里必定爆赞。

Coffee tourism
除了咖啡馆，您也能体验老挝的咖啡文化。老挝的秘密花园和主要咖啡产区 - 波拉文高原。您可以在 Sinouk Resort 预订一间俯瞰美丽园景花园和瀑布的客房。甚至在收获季节可以在我们种植园参与咖啡樱桃采摘！

The upcoming China-Lao Railway
老挝与中国接壤，使国家之间的旅行变得非常便利和便宜。出行的便利性将随着今年12月中老铁路的开通进一步增加。喜欢铁路旅行的朋友，在到万象首都途中，可以欣赏乡村风光和美景。

Getting your Lao coffee fix amidst Covid-19
然而，鉴于 COVID-19 的情况，国际旅行将在 2022 年末全面恢复（希望了）。为了方便我们不能来老挝玩的中国朋友，我们也在网上零售，以确保您可以随时随地品尝享受老挝的风味 - 提供易于使用的产品，例如滴滤咖啡和Nespresso 兼容胶囊。

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The post 你不可不知的亚洲小众咖啡品牌《希诺儿咖啡》！ appeared first on Sinouk Coffee.

Waves of Challenges await the Bolaven Plateau’s 2021 Harvest Season

Fabien — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 14:14:39 +0000

Paksong, LAOS, 13 October, 2021 – Heavy rains, strong winds, and challenges brought about by the pandemic ravages through the plateau cause rising uncertainty and anxiety as farms prepare to begin the harvest season.

World coffee consumption has been growing steadily for the past five years, especially specialty coffee trade. However, Covid-19 has dampened the demand as shops were forced to close or operate at lower capacities to accommodate safety and hygiene policies. Now, two years in, policies surrounding the pandemic has eased considerably, people have settled into the new normal, and the availability of vaccines has only helped to grow renewed confidence in consumers to go out of their homes.

With an upcoming revival in demand, coffee supplies has to be able to keep up. Yet, coffee stocks worldwide are in deficit due to various factors such as shipping issues, climate change, and Covid-19. While these challenges to the coffee industry seem worlds away, Laos is opening its coffee harvest season with the same worries.

Weather and Climate

Past seasons has always been greeted by dry weather which helps with harvesting and processing of coffee cherries into green beans that are ready to be exported to local roasters or international buyers. However, as the harvest season close in, the heavy downpour and winds in recent weeks are worrying as it will affect yields if the rains do not stop. A spokesperson from Kim Yen Agricultural Development, a company that works with farmers on the ground, commented that the plateau is deep with apprehension as it continues to rain unrelentingly.

Ripe coffee cherries are highly susceptible to fall to the ground from the rain and winds as they do not have a strong grip on its branches. Consequently, by the time pickers get to them, these cherries might have already fermented causing a bad flavour to develop. The cherries that did not fall may not be in good condition either. They may experience cracking, which occurs when a lot of water is quickly absorbed and the cherry peel is forced apart causing the sweet mucilage to seep out of the cracks. This is especially detrimental to farmers who processes honey washed beans.

Evidently, both are undesirable outcomes which will result in poor cup score or worse – the lost of its specialty coffee status.

If dry weather was always the norm, why is it different now? The larger picture points towards climate change. The rising temperatures and new erratic rainfall patterns are especially crippling towards the agriculture industry. Especially Arabica coffee species due to their sensitivity towards temperature and rainfall changes.

Pests

Changes in climate conditions will also lead to other problems, such as pests. These delicate varieties are at higher risk of pest infestations (e.g. coffee berry borer beetle) that once found high altitudes of Arabica farms too cold to survive and thrive. Jaramillo et al.’s research on the relationship between temperature and the borer beetle, has shown that due to rising temperatures worldwide, the insect can now be found at higher altitudes.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the coffee berry borer beetle is a relatively new problem in Laos. These small beetles tunnel into cherries to lay eggs and are difficult to catch. The issue is further compounded as the majority of Laos’ coffee crops are grown organically – making it difficult to fight against or prevent the pest.

Not only do farmers have to worry about damage control from the weather and pests, the ever evolving Covid-19 situation is stacked against them.

Below. Coffee Borer Beetle. PHOTO: ARANGO SPECIALTY COFFEE

Covid-19 and its Issues

Transportation and Social Distancing

By now, everyone should be aware of Covid-19 measures such as wearing of face masks, 1-metre social distancing, and washing our hands regularly, these practices are crucial to help curb the spread of the virus. However, not all places are able to uphold such measures due to lack of infrastructure. Consequently, there might be a compromise between efficiency and safety; the Bolaven Plateau is one such place troubled with such a dilemma.

The standard practice is a shuttle service provided by the respective farms, picking up workers from the various villages and dropping them off at the plantation; similarly, from the plantation back to the village. But these services are not equipped to ensure adequate social distancing between passengers due to cost saving reasons. Considering other financial issues that are weighing on the farmer’s mind, such as the potentially bad harvest due to the rains and falling market prices of specialty coffee beans due to sluggish demands at the moment brought about by Covid-19. The additional rounds through the village or increase in shuttle services might be financially beyond the means of the plantation as the majority of farms in the plateau are smallholder farmers with little resources and financial breathing space.

Below. Shuttle Service to Coffee Farm. PHOTO: SIRINA SISOMBAT

The Problem of Testing and Identification

Even if these collective issues have been mitigated, there exist another set of problems – identification of Covid-19 positive workers. Workers who are asymptomatic but carriers of the virus are like landmines concealed and waiting to explode on unsuspecting people. Without access to regular testing equipment and medical facilities, the continuous movement of people during the season will be sure to put the wider community at risk.

However, the harvest season cannot be without experienced workers as coffee cherries are hand-harvested to ensure that only ripe fruit are picked. This has a direct correlation to quality, especially for specialty coffee producers – a direction Laos is moving its coffee industry towards. Particularly so this year, where the season is beginning with bad weather and under lockdown conditions. Without a guarantee of adequately skilled workers, defects to the harvest or risk of low-quality coffee will have a ripple effect down the value chain, impacting not only the farmers but also roasters and traders.

Outlook

Looking into the future, it seems the coffee industry will face many obstacles. The changing patterns of rainfall and temperature will cause erratic flowering of the coffee plants, thus, affecting harvest periods. Furthermore, it seems the Covid-19 pandemic will not be resolved in the coming years, and there are no indication towards what Laos’ next steps are for the industry. There are no easy answers nor solutions to the current situation of the Bolaven Plateau but to simply carry on.

Specialty coffee producers must continue to care about quality but they should not sacrifice, compromise or ignore the welfare of the workers. In uncertain times like these, we must ask ourselves how can we support the community around us. Not just relying on governments, but private organisations should also assume corporate social responsibility to the country they are operating in; not just ensuring fair trade practices.

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