By Erik Crouch
Image credit: @doug88888
Nestlé has announced plans to expand its coffee fields in China, and will soon have the crop growing in lands traditionally used for many of the country’s most famous teas. If their coffee weren’t sludge, this would be great news! A new agreement with Yunnan Province’s Pu’er district will allow Nestlé to build massive coffee-growing facilities in the region, including a coffee museum and warehousing space, in addition to training 5,000 farmers. Last season, Nestlé purchased one fifth of Yunnan’s total coffee crop, and this expansion will boost its share even higher.
Nestlé isn’t the only coffee company with its fingers in Pu’er. According to FoodNavigator-Asia:
Starbucks also signed a similar [agreement] with the Pu’er government to promote coffee growing in the region. The company has increased its coffee purchase in Yunnan by more than 2,000% since 2007, when it first started buying beans in the province. […]
While still not in the mainstream, where tea rules by a massive margin, drinking coffee is growing quickly among the Chinese […] Last year, the company found that Chinese consumers prefer a rich, aromatic taste with balanced, milky flavors.
Nestlé states that their coffee fields have provided more than 8,500 farmers with jobs and assistance, although perhaps the farmers wouldn’t be so excited once they taste gritty instant-Nescafe.
