Myanmar and its history of coffee cultivation
Myanmar is located in the western portion of mainland Southeast Asia. In 1989 the country’s official English name, which it had held since 1885, was changed from the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar, although both are still used today.
Myanmar is bordered to its north and northeast by China, to its east by Laos and Thailand, and its west by Bangladesh and India. Myanmar possesses the largest expanse of tropical forest in mainland Southeast Asia with substantial biodiversity, harbouring rare species such as the red panda and the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey. Climate and terroir are perfect for coffee cultivation in various parts of the country, particularly in the Shan hills which stretch into the coffee growing regions of Yunnan and Thailand.
Myanmar has been growing coffee since the late 1800s, introduced by British colonists. Following Myanmar’s independence in 1948, a concerted drive to produce coffee at scale occurred much later during the political reforms of 2011, when agricultural growth was encouraged as part of the government’s opium eradication programme. The subsequent opening up of its economy led to the increased focus on coffee as a commercial crop.
Specialty coffee production commenced from 2015, supported by development initiatives from Winrock Foundation, USAID and CQI, with the first specialty coffees were exported to the USA in 2016 (Atlas) and to the UK in 2017, which included Indochina Coffee’s first shipment.
Partners
Mandalay Coffee Group was established in 2014 and is one of the leading exporters of Myanmar speciality coffee, buying and processing ripe cherry from smallholder and estate farmers in different regions of Myanmar at its facility just outside Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Division.
The Lady Specialty Coffee is a women-run specialty coffee processing facility, working with 51 female coffee farmers from Nwar Ban Gyi village in Ywangan, Shan State. The Lady was created by two of Myanmar’s next generation of coffee producers Su Nandar Linn and Thi Ha Gyawalie.
Shwe Taung Thu, which translates to ‘Golden Farmer’ are a group of Danu and Pa O smallholder farmers who came together in 2018 to produce specialty coffee in the Ywangan, southern Shan State. Their objective is to bring fairer trade to smallholder coffee farmers.
Ruby Hills Estate is based in Mogok, a deep and remote mountainous area to the north of Mandalay. The farm is family owned and operated by Arrow Brothers, who have been growing and processing coffee since 2002. They have won a number of national cupping competitions for their specialty coffees.