Cambodian Roaster Seeks To Brew Global Buzz

Southeast Asian coffee from Vietnam and Indonesia percolates around the world, but if a family roaster has its way, mugs may soon be filled with a blend from another, unlikely location: Cambodia.

Every few days, the rich, earthy aroma of roasting coffee wafts over the dusty town of Mondolkiri in the country?s remote northeast as the employees of family-owned Mondolkiri Coffee maintain a tradition started in the 18th century by French colonialists.

The hills surrounding Mondolkiri are about 800 meters above sea level, an ideal climate for the coffee plants, which are irrigated by natural streams. The area has so far remained safe from rubber plantations and the depredations of other cash crops.

Mondolkiri Coffee owner Yon Thun is a relative newcomer to the business but says his love of the brew made him turn it into his livelihood.

Every couple of days, his company roasts 150 kg of coffee beans, which are ground into a powder and packaged in 25Ogram boxes which sell for 6,000 riel ($1.50) or larger half-kg boxes which sell for 12,000 riel.

?I used to drink coffee at this place and the taste was so good I asked the locals how they made it and I learnt from them,? Mr Thun said in a recent interview. ?I then started to make coffee but it was not that good at first. But I got it right after about six months.?

Cambodian coffee, like other coffees in Southeast Asia, is roasted till almost black with the help of vegetable fat. The beans are then ground into a fine powder, and the whole process is done by hand, creating a rich, dark blend.

Now that Mondolkiri Coffee has mastered the area?s signature taste, Mr Thun is eyeing the export market, and hopes his sales to supermarkets in Phnom Penh will provide him with capital to ramp up production.

In Phnom Penh where most Mondolkiri coffee is sold, business is brisk, coffee shop and supermarket owners say.

?Customers want to buy Mondolkiri coffee because it is produced in Cambodia; they support the local product and it is also a good coffee,? said Pen Phanna, a supermarket owner.

In Indochina, Vietnam has long been the largest producer of coffee and is now the world's second biggest exporter, but Cambodia and Laos lag far behind.

Apart from some beans that are sold through fair trade NGOs, much of Cambodia?s coffee is consumed locally. But those in the coffee industry in Mondolkiri say demand for their brew has tripled in the last year.

Bad roads and a primitive infrastructure have left much of the sparsely populated province cut off from the rest of the country, and largely off the tourist track. But the few tourists who make it to the hills can enjoy freshly roasted coffee, which is either made using a Vietnamese coffee filter or a sock-like cloth sieve.

?Not bad. But I think if you prepared it with an espresso fashion, you would have a pretty good shot of coffee. I would put a little bit of sugar in here and some condensed milk: It?s a good drink,? said US tourist Daniel Shearf who first tasted Mondolkiri coffee at a local restaurant.

There is little data on Cambodia?s coffee production, but industry sources say Mondolkiri Coffee and Angkor Coffee, the largest brands, sell a total two tons of coffee annually.

Sourced = The Cambodia Daily