Myanmar is being recognised as one of Southeast Asia's most progressive and high caliber specialty coffee origins. After one sip of our coffee the "Myanmar Danu", you’ll understand why! We began working with our partners in Myanmar in 2018 and since then we've been on a mission to showcase the potential of this region to the Australian coffee industry. 

This year, for a short time only, we are welcoming back one of our favourite coffees from this brilliant country – the Danu. This award-winning coffee is a testament to the people who produce it, predominately the Danu community, but also growers from the Pa’O, Shan and Burmese communities. These groups have undergone several years of training from Winrock International, followed by ongoing agronomy and coffee processing training from local organisations. The result is a high calibre, delicious filter coffee that flies off our shelves, and after being unable to stock it last season, we were desperate to have it back this time around!

Using a traditional style of dry natural processing, the Danu is produced by a handful of villages around Ywangan, Shan state, a mountainous area in the central east of Myanmar. Coffee cultivation began in this region in the 1980’s as part of a government opium eradication program.

The Farms in this region range between 1300-1600m in altitude and utilise organic fertilisation practices that play into the local soil profile favourably. Dry natural processing means there are no complex fermentation processes or additions going on, just mother nature doing her thing (with the help of some dedicated farmers). This region of Myanmar is considerably further from the equator than most other coffee growing regions in the world, and the micro-climate here lends itself to a slower ripening phase. This climate is optimal for the dry natural processing of coffee, with the arid heat providing the perfect conditions for drying outside, with minimal risk of mould or rot.

The predominant variety grown here is Red Catuai, and the coffee trees are intercropped with avocados, jackfruit, papaya, and macadamia. The diversity of shade trees also reduces the spread of leaf rust amongst the coffee trees, and further encourages the use of organic techniques (pesticides and herbicides are forbidden here).

During harvest, villages are pre-financed for their cherries, receive further training and are given quality expectations to meet so that everyone is on the same page.Fully ripe cherries are collected and brought to central collection points in each village before going through an initial hand-sort. After sorting, floating, and selecting the best fruit, the coffee is then thinly laid onto raised beds to slowly dry under the Myanmar sun for 17-25 days (or until they reach their desired moisture content). The coffee is then taken to the dry mill to be hulled, graded and hand sorted. Quality is checked at every stage of the process to ensure its excellence.

What we’re left with is the stuff we can’t get enough of - our Myanmar Danu Filter Coffee. The flavour profile of this coffee is exemplary of what traditional style processing methods can be when executed with care. The Danu is deliciously sweet, with wonderfully lush fruit characteristics and hints of candy and milk chocolate.

Be sure to order some of this sought after coffee for yourself here, or try some next time you visit us at the café.