What does Myanmar coffee taste like? How is it different?
At Nilaa Coffee, we strive to be one of the most transparent coffee roasters that you will find. What exactly does that mean, though? Well, we have spent the past few years learning as much as we can about the coffees that we are roasting and selling you all. We have travelled to regions in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and India where we get these coffees (or are planning to get future coffees). We have consulted with producers, exporters/importers and other coffee professionals. We have made amazing friends at every point along the way who are supportive of our mission and want to help tell the story of a growing specialty coffee origin.
Why do we do all this, you might ask (especially when most of us have not previously taken the time to learn where our coffee comes from)? We do all this to support the long and laborious chain of work that goes into helping all of us wake up every morning. We truly believe there is value in having a connection to the things that you consume. That is why we all spend more money to dine at restaurants that source local products or purchase produce from our neighborhood farmers markets each weekend. Coffee should be no different.
For our first two offerings (and all other subsequent coffees), we want to share with you the stories of those who work year-round to make sure we have a great cup of joe to wake us up each and every day. To launch Nilaa Coffee, we decided on two coffees from a similar region in Myanmar. The Shan State is rich in history and culture; there are more than 30 ethnic groups or tribes that make up the population here. Many of the locals that farm and produce these coffees in and around the town of Ywangan are from the Danu tribe. There are several small communities surrounding Ywangan, each with a few hundred to one thousand households. Almost everyone in these communities grows coffee (as well as fruits like bananas, jackfruit, avocado, tea, oranges and more) for their main source of income. Once they have harvested their coffee cherries, they either sell them to the Mandalay Coffee Group (based in Pyin Oo Lwin) or each community will process them on their own. The local organization, Shwe Taung Thu (meaning “the golden farmer”), assists with technical support, funding and logistics for shipping and exporting.
The locals here, in and around Ywangan, are so incredibly cohesive in how they work together and support one another – not just in making coffee but in all aspects of life. Since they have started producing specialty coffee a few years back, many communities have already used proceeds to fund clean water projects as well as the building of health clinics and schools. There is an overarching and undeniable feeling of joy and comradery that one gets when visiting these communities.
Anyways, that’s enough about how wonderful everyone is …. for the moment.Let’s talk about the coffees. These two coffees (1) the Mya Paw Saw and (2) the Ywangan Villages are very different due to how they were processed after harvest. The Mya Paw Saw coffee is dried completely on raised beds in each individual community. Every day, dozens of locals take shifts working at their respective drying facility. They sort cherries, organize them on beds, rake and rotate them for even drying and more. There is so much care and effort put into their work, and it shows in the coffees. The drying process here tends to create much brighter fruit notes, giving the coffee drinker strawberry, rhubarb, lemon and some light nutty flavors. These coffees tend to be a bit “winey” and have a very expressive character to them.
The Ywangan Villages coffee, while coming from the same area, is quite different. These cherries are immediately sent by truck to the Mandalay Coffee Group (MCG), where they are first washed then pulped in order to be ready for drying. Instead of the entire cherry drying on tables, here we have only the bean (and one protective outer layer) that is carefully sorted, raked and dried for the next few weeks. MCG’s facility is new, clean and state of the art. They carefully and meticulously produce and export many tons of coffee every year. Because of the extra water used to “wash” these coffees before drying, they tend to have more balanced flavor notes. When drinking the Ywangan Villages coffee, one should taste fresh mandarin or lemon, black tea and toasted hazelnuts.So, there you have it. The who, what, where, why and how of our first two coffees. We hope you enjoy them. Stay tuned – we have more stories and coffees to share with you!!