SWEET JESUS

Pha Yar Gyi Kone is named after the village in which this coffee is grown, consisting of 200 member Danu households. The group has donated some of their profits from last season’s coffees to the local school.

Ripe cherries are picked and delivered to a central collection point in the village. This is then hand sorted by villagers, retaining the best cherry and removing under and over ripe fruits. The cherries are then spread out to dry on raised beds for around 11-32 days. Dry milling takes place through a local exporter.

Shwe Taung Thu farmers group, which translates to ‘Golden Farmer’, is made up of Danu and Pa-O smallholder farmers who are producing specialty coffee in the Ywangan area of southern Shan State, in the east part of Myanmar. The group provides leadership, finance, technical assistance and market linkages for its members with the objective of bringing fairer trade conditions for its coffees.

Each community has its own working group which is responsible for managing the processing of the coffee within each village. The focus is exclusively on producing dry naturals – the climate and terroir is particularly suited to this process, with very dry heat during the harvest season providing excellent conditions for drying.

The name Catuaí comes from the Guarani phrase "multo mom," meaning "very good." This variety was developed by the Instituto Agronômico (IAC) of São Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil. Catuaí is the result of crossing Mundo Novo, known for its high productivity, with Caturra, chosen for its small size. The outcome is a compact, high-yielding plant with consistently good cup quality across Central America. However, it's highly susceptible to leaf rust. Catuaí comes in both yellow and red-fruited types.

The dry/natural process is the oldest and simplest method of preparing green coffee. Well-suited to environments with limited water access and hot climates, this process typically uses no water and requires no specialized equipment.

After harvesting, coffee cherries are dried until they reach about 20% moisture content. They're then usually rested for a few weeks in bags before being sent to a mill for hulling and export preparation.

The cherries can be dried on large patios or raised African beds—large trays with a mesh base that allow increased airflow for even drying. Best practices include keeping the drying coffee in shade during the hottest parts of the day and avoiding re-wetting by rain or condensation. Regular turning and good ventilation are also crucial to prevent mould formation.

To avoid defective seeds and sour fermentation off-flavours, it's best to sort the harvested cherries during the initial drying stage when under-ripe, over-ripe, and damaged cherries are easily spotted. After just a couple of days, the cherries turn a dark red-brown colour before becoming black, making it impossible to visually identify problem cherries.

Coffee begins fermenting from the moment it's picked and continues while there's enough moisture and high temperatures—conditions that favour microbial growth. This uncontrolled fermentation leads to the development of wild, fruity flavours and an increased perception of sweetness and body.