作者：本报记者阿图尔·阿内加  

发布时间：印度时间2017年7月9日00:08

   过去，云南省作为茶乡广为人知，如今，外界关注的目光则深入云南郁郁葱葱的腹地，落到了一家咖啡公司上。后谷咖啡公司位于距中缅边境不远处的云南省德宏州境内，公司的展示区内弥漫着浓郁的咖啡醇香。许多工人在一栋白色的大楼里忙碌，大楼保持着一尘不染的干净环境。楼里有的工作间在烘焙阿拉比卡咖啡豆，一直要焙烤至最佳状态，与之相连的其他工作间则在用冻干技术生产速溶咖啡。

   最终展现在眼前的，是个餐厅式的宽敞大厅。这大厅呈或深或浅的褐色、巧克力色调，很是应景。大门敞着，迎接客人来细品咖啡的精妙味道。与在大厅里细品现磨咖啡这馥郁体验相伴的是玻璃窗外那大树环抱，流水淙淙的闲适景象。

   不过人们还是忍不住要发问：为什么选择了涉足咖啡产业而不是茶产业？毕竟，提到咖啡的产地，更多人想到的是哥伦比亚、巴西或牙买加，而中国则是茶的老家啊。

   针对这疑问，后谷咖啡公司的资深管理人员曹有旺给出了一些答案。“咖农在选择种植区时，关注的是海拔、日照、温差和土质。从这四个方面考量，云南整体来说很适合咖啡种植，而我们公司的园区则尤其具备了咖啡种植的绝佳条件。”曹有旺先生指出，后谷咖啡公司咖啡园区的海拔为1600米，这是使咖啡树能茂盛生长的理想海拔。当地的火山土也是个加分项。此外，云南省内三大咖啡种植区的日均温差都在15-20摄氏度——这是后谷咖啡公司在竞争者中得以脱颖而出的关键，曹先生说。

   像中国其他企业那样，全球化也惠及了后谷咖啡公司。公司管理人员称，星巴克和上岛咖啡也是后谷咖啡的客户。这种与全球品牌间的合作关系扩张了后谷咖啡公司的销售链条。不过，这种联盟也有弊端。“由于这些合作，我们难以将后谷打造成一个独立的国际品牌。我们不断进步，努力取得必需的认证，但目前距离公司的终极目标还很遥远。”曹有旺先生说。

减贫努力

不论怎样，这些国际品牌因其着力让贫困的农民、工人融入由市场驱动的全球供应链，而在不知不觉间参加了云南省的减贫运动。“后谷咖啡公司有超过29万英亩的咖啡园区，近6万农户3万咖农已从中获益。”另一位后谷咖啡公司的管理人员黄希凝说道。

云南省对国际咖啡品牌并不陌生。据称，瑞士食品业巨头雀巢公司涉足云南咖啡市场的历史可追溯到1988年，它一直从普洱市、西双版纳州这些遥远的中老边境附近地区购买咖啡豆。新交通运输网络的建成也推动了云南咖啡的出口，尤其是面向欧洲市场的出口。重庆—新疆—欧洲国际铁路现已成为出口至欧洲的咖啡物流生命线。

这条铁路长11179公里，起于长江上游的重庆市，途经甘肃省兰州市入新疆维吾尔自治区，通过新疆阿拉山口后，依次进入哈萨克斯坦，俄罗斯、白俄罗斯和波兰，最终抵达德国的杜伊斯堡。

在启用跨境列车之前，后谷咖啡公司得从广州市走海运出口产品。过去，走海运出口要耗时45至50天。而如今，有了列车的便捷，公司将产品运至欧洲的时间直接缩短到了14天。

（本文作者阿图尔·阿内加为《印度教徒报》驻华记者）

原文

The Land of Tea, Transformed by Coffee

Atul Aneja                     JULY 09, 2017 00:08 IST

Deep in the green interiors of Yunnan, better known for the origins of tea, it is now the turn of a coffee company to turn heads and raise eyebrows. The strong aroma of coffee is pervasive in the demonstration zone of Hogood Coffee, located in Yunnan’s Dehong prefecture, not far from the border with Myanmar. In the white building, kept spotlessly clean by a legion of workers, there are chambers where Arabica beans are roasted to perfection. In adjacent rooms, instant coffee is freeze dried.

Finally, a large cafeteria style hall, suitably painted in shades of brown and chocolate, opens out for visitors to taste the subtle flavours of the beverage. From the glass windows of the enclosure, the relaxed view of a water body, surrounded by tall trees, adds to the aromatic experience of savouring freshly ground coffee. But the question remains: why dabble in coffee, better known as a produce of Colombia, Brazil or Jamaica, and not tea, whose natural home is China?

Cao You Wang, a senior official from Hogood enterprise, has a few answers. “Coffee-growers look at height, sunlight, temperature variation and soil condition in deciding where to start cultivation. In all four aspects, Yunnan, in general, and our farms, in particular, are perfectly suitable.” Mr. Cao pointed out that the company grows coffee at a height of 1,600 metres, which is ideal for the plants to thrive. Volcanic soil of the area is another plus. Besides, Yunnan’s three coffee growing areas have an average daily temperature difference of 15-20 degree Celsius — a crucial factor that enables Hogood Coffee to outperform competitors, said Mr. Cao.

Like many other Chinese companies, Hogood has benefited from globalisation. Company officials say they sell their product to Starbucks and UCC. The tie-up with global brands has helped the enterprise to expand its sales footprint. Yet, the association also has had its flip side. “Because of the tie-ups, we are unable to establish Hogood as an independent international brand. We are making progress, acquiring necessary certification, but are still far away from our ultimate goal,” said Mr. Cao.

Anti-Poverty Drive

Nevertheless, the international brands have been, perhaps inadvertently, roped into Yunnan’s anti-poverty drive, which is focussing on bringing poor farmers and workers into market-driven, global supply chains. “Nearly 30,000 coffee farmers and 60,000 households have benefited from Hogood’s operations that cover more than 2,90,000 acres,” said Huang Xining, another official.

Yunnan is not unfamiliar with international coffee brands. Nestle, the Swiss food giant, is known to have established a presence in Yunnan’s coffee business since 1988. It has bought coffee beans from remote locations such as Puer and Xishuangbanna, not far from China’s border with Laos. The emergence of new transportation networks is also helping Yunnan to export coffee, especially to Europe. The Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe international railway has now become the logistical lifeline for coffee exports to Europe.

Starting in Chongqing, a city on the upper Yangtze River, the 11,179-km railway line passes through Lanzhou in Gansu province. From there, it enters Xinjiang. The journey across the Alataw Pass brings the trains into Kazakhstan, before they head to Russia, Belarus and Poland, with Duisburg in Germany being the final destination. Before switching to cross-border trains, Hogood Coffee had to export its products by sea from Guangzhou. The journey by sea used to take 45 to 50 days. But the train has enabled the company to deliver goods to Europe in 14 days flat.

Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing.