Young Bike's Coffee Journey - Little Baristas from Gukeng Volunteer to Help Small Farmers in Sandimen
Editor's note: When the teachers and students of Huanan Elementary School heard that the Changzhi Lily Tribe in the Morakot disaster area had coffee green beans in need of help, they bought them through the school and parents to roast, and then the children tried brewing them for a charity sale. It was truly very touching! At present, the Sandimen smallholder coffee sold for charity by Huanan Elementary School still has plenty of stock left. Friends who are interested can contact Huanan Elementary School at No. 28, Huanan Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, telephone (05) 5901529, or contact Principal Chen Qingzun at 0935107609.
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In 2013, outside the venue of the Yunlin County Children's Film Festival, the children of Huanan Elementary School first stared intently at the hot water and coffee grounds blending in the siphon pot, then poured it into tasting cups and offered it with both hands to visiting guests. The guests gently swirled the coffee in their cups and took a light sip. The rich coffee aroma and faint fruity acidity flowed down through the nasal passages and taste buds, and a feeling of happiness spread all around.
"Uncle, is it good? If it tastes good, you can take away a whole bag of happiness. A bag is only 500 yuan, which works out cheaper than a convenience store, and the quality is better. Drinking coffee can also do good, killing two birds with one stone!" The children's sales calls sounded childlike, yet confident.
This charity sale was the students of Huanan Elementary School in Gukeng, Yunlin, helping smallholders at the Changzhi Lily Tribe park in Pingtung market Sandimen coffee beans. Seeing the children's sincere eyes, the adults present did not hesitate to open their wallets in response. Each bag of Huanan Elementary School coffee, half a pound and bearing the children's drawings, sold for 500 yuan a bag, much more expensive than imported coffee, but behind these pure Taiwan smallholder coffee beans was the children's love in doing their part to help Morakot disaster victims.
In less than an hour, the twenty bags of coffee used to test the waters at the charity sale were sold out. Huanan Elementary School Principal Chen Qingzun said the proceeds from the charity sale would be used to assist disadvantaged families in the community and a plan for peace of mind in schooling. Seeing customers' enthusiastic response when the children tried selling coffee, Chen Qingzun became even more confident about the charity sale activity.
A Gukeng Coffee Elementary School Forms a Bond with Sandimen Coffee Smallholders
How did this coffee bond between a remote elementary school in Gukeng, Yunlin, and Morakot disaster victims in Pingtung come about?
On November 30 last year, Chen Qingzun saw a report by Liu Weiting, a reporter for the independent media Morakot News Network, "Changzhi Lily Tribe (41) Sandimen Coffee Beans Waiting for a Buyer", mentioning that Sandimen residents living in permanent housing were facing the predicament of being unable to sell their coffee green beans. This drew the attention of the teachers, students, and parents of Huanan Elementary School, which is known for its coffee-themed teaching. Chen Qingzun then passed the message to Xu Yihong, a student's parent who specializes in marketing Taiwan smallholder coffee, and invited friends to go to Pingtung together to learn more.
Xu Yihong, who is also a Gukeng coffee smallholder, has run his own brand "Dajianshan Yunlin Gukeng Coffee" for nearly ten years, and he knows all too well the challenges and problems Taiwan smallholders face in growing coffee. Therefore, on this trip, in addition to purchasing coffee green beans from the tribe residents, Xu Yihong also offered residents advice on coffee cultivation, storage, brewing, and running a personal coffee shop, hoping to guide residents so that one day they could produce and sell their own coffee and create something distinctive.
"Tribe residents are very talented at artistic creation. If they can further learn coffee brewing techniques and combine installation art with running a distinctive coffee shop, they will surely attract tourists to visit," Xu Yihong said, holding up photos stored on his smartphone and praising without end the installation art made by permanent housing residents during their Christmas celebrations.
Rediscover Taiwan Coffee with the Mindset of Tea Tasting
Friends accustomed to drinking imported coffee are often stunned that Taiwan coffee sells for more than 1000 yuan a pound, and some even think that for the same price they could drink better-quality imported coffee. Xu Yihong has a different interpretation of this. He believes that, comparing the same grade, Taiwan coffee's quality is in no way inferior to imported coffee. If you compare the first-prize work of a Taiwan coffee competition with top Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Taiwan's top coffee should be relatively cheaper.
"Taiwan coffee's fruity aroma and sweetness are both better than imported coffee, and it does not taste bitter or harsh when drunk. This is the characteristic and advantage of Taiwan coffee," Xu Yihong emphasized.
Therefore, this Huanan Elementary School charity sale sold Sandimen smallholders' coffee at 500 yuan per half-pound bag. From a commercial perspective, Xu Yihong said outright that it was sold too cheaply. But Principal Chen Qingzun believed that the point of the Taiwan coffee charity sale was not profit, but rather to let the children cultivate the ability to discover and solve problems on their own through the process of the charity sale. That is the meaning of education.
At present, the Sandimen smallholder coffee sold for charity by Huanan Elementary School still has plenty of stock left. Friends who are interested can contact Huanan Elementary School at No. 28, Huanan Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, telephone (05) 5901529, or contact Principal Chen Qingzun at 0935107609.
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