Origin: Myanmar Region: Shan Process: Washed Varietal: Catuai Roasting Level: Medium Taste Notes: Jasmine , Tropical Fruit , Chocolate
In 2014, in an attempt to alleviate the opium epidemic in Myanmar, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) set up the Green Gold Cooperative (GGC), which brings together many families from various villages in the Shan state to give them an alternative livelihood to opium production. Shan is a northern state of Myanmar, producing 90% of the country’s opium.
Today, it brings together some 850 coffee-producing families from 52 villages in remote areas of Shan. The first harvest of the 1 000 hectares of coffee plants planted at altitude (1 400-1 800 metres) was at the end of 2017.
The cooperative’s social organisation was developed, and community facilities were installed (nurseries, washing areas, drying tables, etc.) at the same time. Legal coffee growing, community organisation, and shared processing facilities are radical changes for the local population