Haraar versus 'Chat'

Tell us about the latest beans you've discovered and blends you've tried

Moderators: GreenBean, Gouezeri, bruceb, CakeBoy

Haraar versus 'Chat'

Postby Bertie_Doe » Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:05 pm

When I topped up my Haraar stock a month ago, with some of the last of HB's 2008 harvest, I didn't realise what a crisis the Ethiopians are facing.

I don't know if anyone saw last weeks BBC2 documentary about the Rift Valley, it may still be available online. Things are pretty unstable there, with drought, poverty, disease and tribal warfare.

Small wonder lots of coffee plantations are being grubbed out and replaced with Chat an amphetamine-like stimulant. It's appearance looks a bit like bay leaves and it's highly addictive when chewed.

One can't help but sympathise with the farmers, when you look at the price comparisons, between Coffee and Chat. Ironically, last year was one of the best Haraars I've had for many a moon. Ethiopia is considered the birthplace of coffee, but this fact may well be lost on the poor farm workers in Vietnam, who will happily fill the gaps with low-grown Robusta. It's one of those problems that seems unique to coffee and may be insoluble.

Bertie
Isomacs Zaffiro and SuperGiada
Hottop and Precision roasters
ECM/Pasquini K2 and Aerolatte grinders
Dental vibrator
dbl/16g/44ml
User avatar
Bertie_Doe
 
Posts: 1935
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 11:23 am
Location: Cornwall

RE: Haraar versus

Postby Walter » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:02 pm

Some more info about Qat (and its effects in Yemen):

The Case of Qat in Yemen
Yemen, Coffee and Qat
Qat: The plague of Yemen
fa' zoccu hai di fari e li fatti d'àutru nun guardari....

This week I are mostly playing with my new water kettle... :)
User avatar
Walter
 
Posts: 284
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:51 am
Location: Graz, Austria

RE: Haraar versus

Postby CakeBoy » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:44 pm

Not good :(
www.CakeBoy.co.uk
International muffin blagger

Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
User avatar
CakeBoy
 
Posts: 10006
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:43 pm
Location: Oxfordshire, England

RE: Haraar versus

Postby tap » Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:21 am

deeply concerned. :(
big four diggin the soil under our coffeetree untill theress only handfull left. then a cup of mokha is worth kingdoms and horses..
dmmmn, people pay the farmer what they deserve! (like we here are paying) before the home of coffee is lost to greed and power and money...andandand.ng :evil:

sorryrammingg..
lately mostly drinking coffee or tea
User avatar
tap
 
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:41 pm
Location: finland

RE: Haraar versus

Postby triptogenetica » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:33 pm

hmm - khat is not good for you, at all, also. Devil's herb, compared to coffee.

our public need to deal with this. Jim (Hoffmann) has an excellent post on this - that the consumer is largely to blame, for not bringing their consumer power to bear on the industry - so I won't expand on it...
Bezzera BZ35 (ex Gaggia Carezza)
Grinders - Iberital MC2, Bezzera BB105, Hario Skerton
Aeropress, Cona C, Hario MCA-5 and TCA-5 vacpots
Beans - Behmor homeroast
triptogenetica
 
Posts: 395
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:14 pm
Location: Oxford, UK


Return to Beans, Blending and Cupping

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests