Description / Cupping Notes

Breed By Nature, Learn from Nature

Wa Lan Ai

Wa people are also known as “people living with mountains” is one of the oldest ethnic groups in China. Lan, a common name used by Wa people which means “older son in a family”. Ai represents  a leader. Ai is a prestigious surname which cannot inherited from ancestors or given by oneself and is only allowed to be used with the establishment of his prestige among the group. Upon graduation from Simao Forestry School, when Ai Lan found big-scale coffee plantations in Pu’er, it reminded him of the mountains in his hometown.

Returning home, Ai Lan decided to plant coffee trees on A Wa mountain, located in Mangmao village, FuAi Town, Menglian Wa/Dai/La Hu county, Pu’er City, Yunnan Province, China. After he received permission from his mother, this determined man tried to plant coffee of 1 Mu on A Wa mountain at an elevation of 1800m. He then mobilized 23 families to join together to plant coffee together. Three years later, the coffee trees grew up and cherries began to ripen. Their coffee earned Starbucks Café Practices certification. Starbucks paid a premium for their quality. Ai Lan became more confident and recruited more farmers to grow coffee with him.

Ai Lan said Wa people like living close to mountains. We pay respect to the mountains and the trees.

Today 200 families have joined Ai Lan to plant coffee trees. They established the Ban An Wa Hong Coffee Plantation Specialized Cooperatives and built a processing mill under the technical guidance by Ai Lan. Ai Lan efforts have allowed villagers to make good incomes, improve the conditions of their village and make A Wa Coffee known to people from all walks of life.