This year’s House Filter comes from Ywangan, a township in the Taunggyi District of the Shan State of Myanmar.
Produced by The Mandalay Coffee Group (MCG) which was formed in 2014 and is owned entirely by citizens of Myanmar. This coffee brings together collections of cherry from over 50 smallholders, each of whom cultivates approximately 0.25 – 3 acres of land each.
Within 48 hours of picking, the hand-sorted cherry is collected in trucks and transported to MCG’s processing mill in Pyin Oo Lwin. It is then floated, pulped and fermented overnight in tiled tanks that maintain lot separation. Parchment is then rinsed in a mechanical “demucilager” and sent to dry on concrete patios. Cherry pulp gets sent back to farms immediately for fertiliser, and wastewater is treated on the facility before being eventually released as extra fertigation for coffee trees.
Myanmar has become fragile and complex in recent months, with Covid continuing to grip the country, against a backdrop of extreme violence and civil unrest, following its military coup.
Earlier this year, we spoke to our partners in the region, Indochina, to understand what we could do to help support the farmers and communities they work directly with. We were told, simply, that the best and most effective way to bring hope and real positive and sustainable change was through ongoing trade.
We, therefore, decided to put Myanmar at centre stage this year by choosing it as our next House Filter. Showcasing just how incredibly special Myanmar is as a coffee origin.
Read more about the situation in Myanmar from our partners Indochina here: indochinacoffee.com/our-partners-in-myanmar/