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c Origin

Story/Mikhail Sebastian
NEW

LEVEL OF

MYANMAR

COFFEE

NGU SHWE LEE COFFEE FARM Mr. Sein has about 50 people employed at the farm.
Pickers mostly women because as he mentioned “women
My next stop was Ngu Shwe Lee Coffee farm in Pyin Oo have more patience picking coffee then males, and they are
Lwin. The farmer is Kyaw Sein. He owns 230 acres of coffee farm more accurate in selection”. Pickers get paid roughly $0.10
and has 1300 mostly SL34 varietal per acre planted. He took 4th per kilo. Mens do mostly sorting, removing floaters, de-
place, if I am not mistaken in recent cupping competition in the pulping, and drying. They get paid $4.00 per day. There are
natural process category. All coffee trees grown under the shade still equality issues among gender here. As Mr. Sein said
that allows slow maturation that would eventually manifest the “women should get paid less than men”.
results in the final cup. SL34 is high yield cultivar, and well known As most coffee farmers in Myanmar who engaged in
among specialty coffee professionals as one of the exceptional producing high quality specialty coffee, they want to see
Kenyan varietal. This varietal was born in 1931 as mutation better compensation for all hard labor and efforts they put
between Bourbon and Typica, and was introduced in order to in producing coffee that requires proper selection and pro-
withstand the heavy rain in the mountains. It has great flavor cessing in order to get paid premium. Most of the time buy-
characteristic that range from fruity, berry and citrus alike. SL34 ers do not want to spend more than $4.00 per kilo for coffee
got to Myanmar as what I was told by local sources, directly from from Myanmar with an exception of Atlas Coffee who bought
Kenya. Other varietals came from Brazil or elsewhere. Besides the whole container of Myanmar coffee from different farms
coffee he grows macadamia nuts as well. last year and paid $7.00 per kilo. That was the only time I

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