The Coffee Journey of a Teenager Bike - The Little Barista in Gukeng Helps Small Farmers in Sandimen

Editor's Note: The teachers and students of South China Elementary School heard that the Changzhi Lily Tribe in the Morakot disaster area needed help with green coffee beans. They bought them through the school and their parents to roast them, and then let the children try the brewing for the charity sale. They were really touched! At present, there are still a lot of Sandimen small farmer coffee sold by the South China Elementary School Charity Sale. Those who are interested can contact the South China Elementary School, No. 28, Huanan Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, telephone (05) 5901529, or contact the principal Chen Qingzhen 0935107609.

Outside the 2013 Yunlin County Children's Film Festival, the children of Huanan Elementary School first stared intently at the blending of hot water and coffee powder in the siphon pot, then poured it into a tasting cup, and offered it to the visiting guests with both hands. The guest shakes the coffee in the cup slightly and sips lightly. The rich coffee aroma and light fruity acidity enter the throat along the nose and taste buds, and a feeling of happiness pervades.

"Uncle, is it good? If it tastes good, you can take away a whole bag of happiness. A bag is only 500 yuan, which is cheaper than supermarkets, and the quality is better. Drinking coffee can also do charity, killing two birds with one stone!" "The children's cries sound childish, but they are confident.

In this charity sale, students from Yunlin Gukeng Huanan Elementary School assisted small farmers in Changzhi Lily Tribe Park in Pingtung to sell Sandimen coffee beans. Seeing the child's sincere eyes, the adults present responded without hesitation. Each half-pound pack of South China coffee with children's paintings on it is priced at 500 yuan per pack, which is much more expensive than imported coffee, but behind these pure Taiwanese small-scale farmers' coffee beans, it represents the children's efforts to help Morakot The love of the disaster-stricken households.

In less than an hour, the 20 packs of coffee for testing the water temperature of the on-site charity sale were all gone. Chen Qingzhen, the principal of Huanan Elementary School, said that the proceeds from the charity sale will be used to help disadvantaged families in the community and the program of going to school with peace of mind. Seeing the enthusiastic response from customers when the children tried selling coffee, Chen Qingzhen became more confident in the charity sale.

Gukeng Coffee Primary School and Sandimen Coffee Small Farmers

How did this coffee relationship between Yunlin Gukeng Remote Elementary School and Pingtung Morakot disaster-stricken households come about?

On November 30 last year, Chen Qingzhen saw a report by Liu Weiting, a reporter from the independent media Morakot News Network, "Changzhi Lily Tribe (41) Sandimen Coffee Beans Waiting for Buyers." The plight of beans not being sold. This attracted the attention of the teachers and parents of elementary schools in South China, which is famous for its special coffee teaching. Chen Qingzhen then conveyed the news to Xu Yihong, the parent of the student who specializes in marketing coffee from small farmers in Taiwan, and invited friends to go to Pingtung to learn about it.

Xu Yihong, who is also a small-scale coffee farmer in Gukeng, has created his own brand "Dajianshan Yunlin Gukeng Coffee" for nearly ten years. He is deeply aware of the challenges and problems faced by small-scale coffee farmers in Taiwan. Therefore, during this trip, in addition to purchasing green coffee beans from tribal residents, Hsu Yi-hung also provided suggestions on coffee planting, storage, brewing and running personal coffee shops for residents, hoping to guide the residents to produce and sell their own coffee one day and make a difference.

"Tribal residents are very talented in artistic creation. If they can learn the skills of brewing coffee and operate special coffee shops combined with installation art, they will definitely attract tourists to visit," Xu Yihong picked up the photos stored in his smartphone and commented on the permanent The residents of the house are full of praise for the installation art made during the celebration of Christmas.

Elementary school students in South China personally designed brands and labels for the coffee sale (Photo/provided by Chen Qingzhen)



South China elementary school students personally designed related cultural and creative products for Taiwan Coffee, such as coffee headscarves. (Photo/Provided by Chen Qingzhen)

Coffee special teaching remote primary school reversed the fate of the school

back toSouth China Elementary SchoolHuanan Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, is a small settlement with a population of less than 400 people. Although it is located in Gukeng, the hometown of Taiwanese coffee, and there is "Jianhushan World" next to it that attracts tens of thousands of tourists on holidays, but The fame of Taiwanese coffee and the crowds of tourists do not seem to have much to do with Huanan Village.

Six years ago, when Chen Qingzhen came to Huanan Elementary School to take over as the acting principal, he found that Huanan Village "has no coffee business district, only old farmers who can't sell coffee; there are many landslides, elderly people living alone, declining birth rate and single-parent disadvantaged families." Residents planted oranges, hemp bamboo and other crops, and switched to coffee after the September 21 earthquake. Due to the lack of production and sales channels and unstable income, the population moved out, and South China elementary schools faced the crisis of closing down schools.

In order to reverse the situation of abolished schools, Chen Qingzhen led the teachers to plan a series of coffee experience and teaching courses according to the low, middle and high grade levels by exploring the development of Gukeng coffee industry and the ecological environment, driving the transformation of South China elementary schools into Distinctive elementary school.

Children in grades one and two first visit coffee gardens through outdoor teaching, learn how to harvest coffee beans from coffee farmers, and learn about the ecology and environment of coffee trees; The nearby coffee farmers and distributors interviewed the farmers about the difficulties they faced in sales; in the fifth and sixth grades, in addition to learning to roast coffee beans, the children also formulated action strategies based on the production and marketing problems discovered in the interviews, helping small coffee farmers to develop brand marketing, Or roast your own coffee beans for sale.

After the baptism of this series of courses, these young reporters not only interviewed the local coffee elders and small farmers in Gukeng, but also embarked on a young Bike coffee tour, using bicycles to visit coffee producing areas all over Taiwan. See you.

Xu Yihong, who grew up in Gukeng and ventured out when he was young, experienced years of hard work in setting up roadside stalls and operating supermarkets. He couldn’t let go of the coffee feelings in his hometown. He returned to his hometown in 2004 to set up a company, using Dajianshan as the brand, and transformed As a professional coffee farmer, at the same time, it acquires the coffee bean processing in Gukeng and other producing areas in Taiwan. Relying on the foundation laid by operating supermarkets in the past, it sells Gukeng coffee to department stores, national highway rest stops, boutiques and airport stores, etc. pathway.

Xu Yihong, who had a successful career in coffee, learned about the special coffee teaching content of Huanan Elementary School, and transferred his eldest son, who was already in the fourth grade of primary school, to Huanan Elementary School without hesitation. Xu Yihong believes that this kind of day school education is the real application of knowledge. Therefore, in the process of arranging bicycles for the children to visit the coffee producing areas, Xu Yihong is the best person to consult. He introduces small coffee farmers who are familiar with him to the children and helps the children to complete the production."Reading the coffee map of Taiwan"'s documentary.

Chen Qingzhen (right), the principal of South China Elementary School, plans a series of cycling trips, so that children can experience the land and life of Taiwan first-hand, rather than just learning from textbooks. (Left photo/provided by Chen Qingzhen)

The Dilemma and Opportunity of Small Coffee Farmers in Taiwan

Talking about the acquisition of coffee beans from Sandimen in Pingtung, Xu Yihong believes that the lack of market information is often a common problem faced by aboriginal coffee farmers based on his past experience in interacting with small aboriginal coffee farmers. The planting knowledge, fertilization and management are relatively lacking, almost extensive management, the coffee beans grown are generally small, the yield is low, and the quality is not stable.

From a market point of view, the coffee beans in Yuanxiang, Pingtung may have disadvantages that do not meet economic benefits, but Xu Yihong believes that the coffee beans grown under extensive management are natural and have a unique flavor. In addition, the temperature in Pingtung is higher than that in Gukeng. , The time required for green coffee beans to stand for fermentation is shorter, and it will not produce a sour smell similar to distiller's grains. When washing with water, the pulp is also easy to decompose, and there will be no pectin attached to the surface of the sheepskin (seed coat), which will affect baking. flavor.

Xu Yihong believes that apart from the uneven quality of coffee beans faced by small coffee farmers in Taiwan, the biggest dilemma lies in the lack of marketing channels and brand management. In particular, farmers do not know the location of the coffee beans they produce, and do not know the grade of their own beans, so they do not know how to sell them, and others do not know how to buy them.

What is even more worrying is that many small farmers do not manage coffee as an industry. They often plant blindly while selling coffee seedlings or processing machinery companies. Farmers are forced to hoard raw beans because they turned their backs and refused to accept their account. If the drying degree is not enough and the storage is not done properly, the quality of raw beans will only get worse and worse.

In the consumer market, Xu Yihong also believes that Taiwanese people do not understand coffee. He said that Taiwanese people drank imported low-quality coffee in the early days without knowing it. They thought coffee was bitter and had to be sweetened with sugar and milk. After getting used to it, I feel that the taste of Taiwanese coffee is too weak, but this is the real coffee taste. It tastes like Taiwanese oolong tea, with a sweet aftertaste and a sweet taste.

Talking about the Morakot disaster area, Xu Yihong couldn't help recalling the time when he bought coffee beans in Xiaolin Village. He said that the coffee farmers in Xiaolin Village are very hospitable, and every time he goes to buy green beans, the boss will enthusiastically cook them for him. "At that time, I bought all the green beans in Xiaolin Village. Unfortunately, after Morakot, I never saw the owner again," he said with a sigh.

Now Xu Yihong also buys green coffee beans from the German tribe in Sandimen Township, Pingtung on a regular basis, and can receive two tons a year. This is the first time to purchase all the green coffee beans in Changzhi Baihe Tribe Park, but the total quantity is only 142 kilograms. During the acquisition process, there were also discussions with residents. Residents originally offered 550 yuan per kilogram based on the concept of retail price, but Xu Yihong bought them all at once. After converting them into unit costs, the deal was concluded at an average of 420 yuan per kilogram.

Xu Yihong said that if the cost of shipping, processing, packaging and marketing is included, the final price of this batch of coffee must be more than 1,000 yuan per pound to be profitable. Due to the current low yield of small coffee farmers in the tribal park, Xu Yihong suggested that the residents should learn the skills of roasting and brewing coffee, and move towards the way of operating specialty cafes to produce and sell coffee themselves. Only by growing coffee can they be profitable.

Chen Qingzhen (left), the principal of South China Elementary School, personally packaged the Sandimen coffee for the charity sale. Under the roasting and processing of Xu Yihong (right), these Sandimen coffee beans fully displayed the unique fruity aroma of Taiwanese coffee.

Rediscover Taiwanese coffee with the mood of drinking tea

Friends who are used to drinking imported coffee are often surprised by the fact that Taiwanese coffee costs more than 1,000 yuan per pound, and even think that they can drink better quality imported coffee at the same price. Xu Yihong has a different interpretation of this. He believes that compared with the same grade, the quality of Taiwanese coffee is not inferior to that of imported coffee. If you compare the first prize of the Taiwan coffee competition with the top Nanshan coffee in Jamaica, the top coffee in Taiwan should be relatively cheap.

"Taiwanese coffee has better fruity aroma and sweetness than imported coffee, and it tastes neither bitter nor irritating. This is the characteristic and advantage of Taiwanese coffee," Xu Yihong emphasized.

Therefore, this time, South China Elementary School Charity Bazaar sold coffee from small farmers in Sandimen at a price of 500 yuan per half-pound bag. From a commercial point of view, Xu Yihong said that the sale was too cheap. However, the principal Chen Qingzhen believes that the focus of the charity sale of Taiwanese coffee is not to make profits, but to let children develop the ability to discover and solve problems independently through the process of the charity sale, which is the meaning of education.

At present, there are still a lot of Sandimen small farmer coffee sold by the South China Elementary School Charity Sale. Those who are interested can contact the South China Elementary School, No. 28, Huanan Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, telephone (05) 5901529, or contact the principal Chen Qingzhen 0935107609.

Source: Compilation of "Upstream and Downstream News" reports