五年前，Ben Carlson夫婦和他們的兩個兒子，千裡迢迢的從美國搬到了蒲隆地，這一切只為了找到以及處理優質的咖啡。 蒲隆地，就是那個位於東非，常年被人們視為「世上最貧窮國家」和「最悽慘的國家」的地方。然而，在Ben的眼裡他看到了三樣東西：咖啡、人以及它的巨大潛力。
咖啡和茶葉的出口是整個國家目前唯一的經濟支柱，所以在2013年，Ben和他的妻子Kristy開始了這個Long Miles Coffee Project (LMCP)，希望改變當地咖啡的質量和人們的生活。在2015年，他們生產的咖啡贏得了蒲隆地卓越杯（COE）的第3名和第8名，世界各地的烘焙商都對蒲隆地的潛力表示肯定。
近期在上海，Ben像我們講述了他的故事，並且像我們展示了一個富有激情的蒲隆地傳統擊鼓表演。
Ben隨身攜帶的蒲隆地傳統鼓，在上海的杯測會上為大家做了表演。
圖片來自： LMCP
咖啡
「蒲隆地是一個對我們來說是一個相當有趣的國家。人們對咖啡的認知甚少，咖啡生產者和處理廠無法對他們的咖啡定價，就像人們無法識別未雕琢的玉器一樣，因此這裡的人們沒有收入去做像其他國家正在使用的種植和處理方法，比如像巴拿馬那樣。」 Augies Coffee的Tim Maestas（美國）這樣說到。
蒲隆地顏色濃厚的土壤。
圖片來自： LMCP
1 處理
蒲隆地的咖啡最初是由德國人在1900年代帶進的；他們發現「波旁」是最適合在當地氣候環境種植的咖啡品種，當地的氣候通常是「熱帶」高原氣候，有著非常大的晝夜溫差。然而由於對咖啡研究投資的中止，「波旁」成了留在這個國家的唯一一個咖啡品種，並且一直使用著「全水洗」的處理方式。
精品咖啡的發展需要不斷突破創新。 在2014年，Long Miles Coffee Project (LMCP)開始對他們生產的咖啡使用了日曬處理法以及蜜處理法，這使得專業的咖啡杯測師都對咖啡的味道喜出望外。據Latorre & Dutch咖啡亞洲的負責人顧沁茹小姐說: 「通常我們能夠在水洗的蒲隆地咖啡中喝到柑橘和梅果的風味。而這是我們第一次杯測日曬以及蜜處理的蒲隆地咖啡。它的風味變成了更為複雜的草莓，葡萄和熱帶水果。看來處理方式對於咖啡的味道至關重要。」
咖啡果實的挑選和處理對生豆質量有很大影響。圖中為Long Miles的Bukeye 處理廠。
圖片來自： LMCP
2 可追溯性
可追溯性是在咖啡種植者，生豆買家和咖啡烘焙師所面對的常見的問題。目前總共有大約3500個家庭在為LMCP工作。生產採摘區域分布在八個不同的山頭和兩個處理場——Bukeye（2013年開始運作）和Heza（2014年開始運作）。 許許多多的變量都會影響最終生豆的品質，比如說，每個山頭都有著不同的微氣候，而這些微氣候又會影響到咖啡果實的成長，採摘以及處理，並且每天都不同。澳大利亞的Cartel Coffee Roasters的老闆Nathan James Johnston說： 「與Long Miles合作後，我們能夠明確的知道咖啡是在哪裡，什麼時候，又是由誰來採摘的，這對我們意義非凡」。
所有的Long Miles生豆購買者都可以明確的知道每一批次的採摘日期、地點，處理者，處理日期。
圖片來自： Dianne Wang
人
1 可持續性
「可持續性」是精品咖啡行業老生常談的話題，然而大多數的咖啡公司依然希望能夠以最低的的價格買到最好的咖啡，這對於當地的種植者而言並非可持續的行為。我們對此又有什麼解決方法呢？
首先，我們要了解一件事情，對於大部分的蒲隆地家庭而言，他們並不使用咖啡賺到的錢來購買生活的最基本需求，比如說，食物。所有的食物都是他們在自己的院子裡種植得到的。平均來看，每個家庭每年的收入只有區區100美金，這些錢通常都花在購買油，房屋維護和學費上。
Ben和Kristy所做的這件事情的不同之處在於他們讓工人們認識到LMCP不是一個非政府公益組織，而是一個生意。所有的種植者鄰裡在收穫結束後都可以得到高達三杯的報酬。但是錢也不是那麼好賺的，他們同時需要提高工作的質量。在2015年，由於對咖啡的質量標準太高，有將近400個家庭不再繼續與LMCP合作；不過到了2016年，有1500個新的家庭籤訂了合約，因為他們看到了這個項目帶來的好處。
Ben的妻子Kristy與當地農民，很多在產區美麗動人的照片都出自她的鏡頭下。
圖片來自： LMCP
Cartel Coffee Roasters的老闆Nathan James Johnston說： 「我們之所以在第一次了解到Long Miles是就對他們產生了極大的興趣是因為我們看到了他們對咖啡採摘者的報酬與平常不同。並且看到了他們對當地基礎建設、更好的住房、生活水平、醫療水平和營養狀況的參與，這些都是Long Miles對蒲隆地當地社區和人們所做的相當重要的事情」 。
2 真實事件
「改變人們的生活」說起來是如此豪言壯語。 然而如何才能讓改變發生呢？在與Ben的交談中，我們請他講講他所面對過的挑戰。顯然有非常多，可以讓他講上好幾天。
蒲隆地咖啡的生產在2007年變為私有制的，然而，有相當多的政府干預和類似賄賂的問題依然存在。有一次，一個競爭對手的處理場欺詐了農民的薪酬（只支付了一半，這在蒲隆地相當常見），試圖阻止生產農民與LMCP合作。他們賄賂了當地的官員，封鎖了道路，僱傭一些年輕人假裝喝醉來搗亂恐嚇種植者和工人。所幸問題最後通過山上的負責人來解決了，不過這樣的挑戰證明了透明化和改變是需要勇氣，耐性和持續的激情才能實現的。
潛力
Cartel Coffee Roasters的老闆Nathan James Johnston說： 「其實我第一次杯測的蒲隆地咖啡就是來自Long Miles的其中一個山頭的咖啡。那真的是非常令人難忘的瞬間，當我們研磨完咖啡豆之後，那強烈的花香充滿了整個房間，我記得當時還在想這感覺就像是那些我所熟悉的最高級別的衣索比亞咖啡的花香。我依然記得在破渣和啜吸咖啡時那讓人陶醉的感覺，這些正是為什麼我如此熱愛這些蒲隆地的微批次咖啡」 。
當講到品質控制，Ben總是非常嚴肅對待的。這次贏得了蒲隆地卓越杯的第三名和第八名就是對他所看到的潛力的一個非常可靠的證明，同時也證實了他對咖啡是多麼認真。一個很好的例子，在處理場中，有一個果實挑選小隊，所有的咖啡也要經過一個「二次浸泡」的挑選過程，保證了不會有漏網的瑕疵豆出現。Ben和Kristy所看到的蒲隆地的潛力已經不只是生意上的潛力，而是對於提供更優質的咖啡、更好的社會、更好的生活的潛力。「悲慘」將不會再被用來形容蒲隆地了，他們在生產者臉上看到的是「幸福」和「快樂」。
在Ben和Kristy的眼裡，蒲隆地是個快樂的國度。
圖片來自： LMCP
杯中的咖啡就是最好的見證。
特別感謝澳大利亞Cartel Coffee Roasters的Nathan James Johnston (http://www.coffeecartel.com.au/). 同時感謝Augies coffee 的Tim Maestas (http://www.augies.coffee/) 和Latorre & Dutch 亞洲的顧沁如小姐 (http://www.lattoredutchcoffee.com).
作者： Dianne Wang
譯者：季曉東
Long Miles Coffee Project – Future of Burundi Coffee
posted in: coffee origins, coffee people, origins, people | 0
Long miles, are what it takes to find great coffee.
Five years ago, Ben Carlson and his wife and two sons, moved from America to Burundi, long long miles to find and produce great coffee. Burundi, is an East African country that has always been tagged as 「the poorest country」 or 「the most miserable country」 in the world; but in Ben’s eyes, it has three things: coffee, people and potential.
The Carlson family. Photo credit: LMCP.
Coffee and tea exports have been the ONLY forces to support the country’s economy, so in 2013, Ben and wife Kristy started Long Miles Coffee Project, to change peoples』 lives. In 201, their production won Burundi Cup of Excellence (CoE) no.3 and no.8, roasters around the world are nodding to the potential Burundi can bring.
Recently in Shanghai, Ben unfolded the Long Miles story to us, with an influential passion and some traditional Burundi drumming.
A traditional Burundi drum Ben brought with to Shanghai. Photo credit: Dianne Wang.
Coffee
「Burundi has been an interesting country for us. With coffee that has such little recognition, it’s less likely to come across diamonds in the rough as producers and mills are less able to demand the prices that their coffee is worth, so they don’t have the income to process and grow the way some other countries do, for example, Panama.」, said Tim Maestas of Augies Coffee (US).
The rich colored soil in Burundi. Photo credit: LMCP.
1 Processing
Coffee was first introduced to Burundi by the Germans in 1900s; they found that 「bourbon」 was the best variety to grow under the local climate, which in general a 「tropical」 highland climate with big temperature gap between day and night. Due to lack of investment in coffee research, 「bourbon」 has remained the only variety produced in this country, and always been processed 「fully-washed」.
The specialty coffee industry evolves when boundaries are pushed. In 2014, LMCP introduced sun-dried natural- and honey-process to its productions, which brought nice surprises to professional coffee cuppers. According to Catherine Gu, Managing Director at Latorre & Dutch Coffee Asia, 「generally washed Burundi is full of citric and berry flavours. This is the first time we cupped natural and honey-processed Burundi. The flavour profile changed to a complexity of strawberry, grape and tropical fruits. Processing is vital to coffee」.
Cherry selection is the key to quality. Farmers working with cherries at Bukeye washing station. Photo credit: LMCP.
2 Traceability
Traceability is a common issue between coffee producers, green bean buyers and coffee roasters. Currently there are 3500 families working for Long Miles Coffee Project, over eight hills and two washing stations – Bukeye (operating from 2013) and Heza (operating from 2014). There are many variables contributing to the final green bean quality, for example, each hill has different micro climate, which affects how the cherries are picked and processed, everyday can be different. However, 「working with Long Miles, we have been able to know where, when and who picked our coffee, which is very important in specialty coffee industry to understand everyone involved」, said Nathan James Johnston, owner of Cartel Coffee Roasters (Australia).
When roasters cup the LMCP coffees, they know exactly which hill the cherries are picked, who picked and processed them, what day the coffee was picked and processed. Photo credit: Dianne Wang.
People
1 Sustainability
The specialty coffee industry talks about 「sustainability」 all the time, but majority of coffee businesses are still seeking the best possible coffee with lowest possible price, which is not sustainable for the local farmers. What solution do we have?
There is one thing that we have to understand, families in Burundi do not use coffee money on the very fundamental living, i.e. food. All the food is from their own backyard, home grown. On average, these families earn US$100 for the whole year, and usually spend on oil, house maintenance or school fees.
The locals. Photo credit: LMCP.
What Ben and Kristy have done differently was to make sure their workers understand that Long Miles Coffee Project is not NGO,but rather it is a business. All the neighbor farmers are paid at the end of harvest, as high as three times premiums. But the salaries do not come easy, they have to be earned by working up to standard. In 2015, Long Miles lost 400 families because coffee quality standard was higher; but in 2016, 1500 new families signed up because they see the benefit of Long Miles』 system.
「The reason why we first looked and were very interested in the Long Miles Coffee Project was that we can see change with the amount the hand-pickers were paid and the infrastructure that is now in place, better housing, living standards, health care, nutrition all come in to play, that is the important job Long Miles does for the community and for the people of Burundi.」, said Nathan James Johnston of Cartel Coffee Roasters (Australia).
Kristy is the person who captured the lives of the farmers. Photo credit: LMCP.
2 True Story
「Making a change to people’s life」 is spectacular phrase to say. But what about the effort to make changes happen? In the conversation with Ben, we asked him to tell us some of the challenges he faced. There were simply too many, he could go on for days.
Burundi’s coffee production was privatized in 2007, however there are still government involvements and issues such as bribery. One time, a rival washing station who has been cheating with farmer’s pays (only pay by half, which is common situation in Burundi), tried to stop farmers going to work for Long Miles. They bribed local officials, blocked the road, and paid youngsters to play drunk to intimidate naeighbor farmers and workers. The situation was eventually solved by the Chief of the Hill, but challenges like this show that transparency and changes do take some guts, patience and on-going passion to achieve.
The local farmer. Photo credit: LMCP.
Potential
「The first time I cupped coffee from Burundi, it was actually from a hill from the Long Miles Coffee Project. It is a moment I will never forget, the intense aroma of flowers filled the room after grinding the coffee, I could remember thinking that these could be as floral as some of the best Ethiopians that I was familiar with. I remember breaking the crust and sipping it was such a pleasurable moment that drew me in and is what now makes me love these micro-lots from Burundi」, from Nathan James Johnston – Cartel Coffee Roasters (Australia).
When it comes to quality control, Long Miles is all serious business. Winning no.3 and no. 8 at Burundi Cup of Excellence this year is a solid proof of the potential he saw, and how serious he is about his coffee. One example, at the washing stations, there are 「cherry selection」 teams; and all the selected cherries go through a 「second soaking」 process to make sure there are no left-out defects.
The potential Ben and Kristy saw in Burundi is no longer a potential business, it is the potential to produce better coffee, better community, better life. 「Miserable」 is never the word they would use to describe 「Burundi」, on the contrary, 「happiness」 and 「joy」 are what they see on the farmers』 faces.
「Miserable」 was never what Ben and Kristy saw on farmers』 faces. Photo credit: LMCP.
The quality of coffee makes the justice.
Written by Dianne Wang.
Special thanks to Nathan James Johnston of Cartel Coffee Roasters (http://www.coffeecartel.com.au/) . Cartel Coffee Roasters is currently the sole distributor of Long Miles Coffee Project in Australia.
Also thanks Tim Maestas at Augies Coffee (http://www.augies.coffee/) and Catherin Gu at Lattore & Dutch Aisa (http://www.lattoredutchcoffee.com) for the contribution.
原文載於cuppingspoon，請點擊原文連結查看。