April 29, 2012

Blue Mountain Coffee in Xiamen Univeristy

It is not every day that you get together with two wonderful senior professors in Xiamen University who happen to be "overseas Chinese returnees" and who intellectually excelled in their fields for more than four decades in post Communist and now modern China.  Being such gracious people they even set up a meeting in a nice "western cafe" which serves Blue Mountain Coffee!!

Both of them understand that we "returnees" from Nanyang are more likely to order KOPI in the morning. That was really thoughtful of them. Actually that was my first cup EVER of Blue Mountain Coffee. I was really really humbled and touched. Blue Mountain coffee beans happen to be (at the present moment) the most expensive and sought after coffee beans in the world..No photo description available.

It was a brilliant and cool morning. The mists hanged low and photography where a little bit of sun peeked through some trees gave us some good shots!! As we had risen early we had been walking around  the Xiamen university drinking in the beauty of the most magnificent campus of all China. This was our first real mainland China day after our long haul  flight from Sarawak (16 hours with a long lay over in KL).No photo description available.

An arrangement had been made by Prof Xu for us to meet up with renown Migration Historian of Xiamen University Professor Chen Yiming who was Riau (Indonesia) born. She had spent a large part of her childhood in Singapore. She "returned" to China in 1956 to embark on her university students. By then Xiamen University was very appealing to overseas Chinese and furthermore the university education was free!! Although her parents had come from the Hainan Island she had actually stayed in the island for less than 30 days in her life!

And so over a cup of Blue Mountain Coffee we talked about our topic - the History of the Migration of the Heng Huas from Putien to Sibu (Sarawak)on 20 th May 1912 led by Rev William N. Brewster.

 Professor Chen exudes the gentle beauty of a Chinese educated woman and shows us the excellence of a great mind.




................................................................................This is extracted from Wikipedia for you:...........................

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee or Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The best lots of Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavour and lack of bitterness. Over the last several decades it has become one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world; over 80% of all Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is exported to Japan (Now that China is opening up to Blue Mountain Coffee...the world is very short of it now. Prices will boom certainly.)


It is a globally protected certification mark, meaning only coffee certified by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica can be labeled as such. It comes from a recognised growing region in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, and its cultivation is monitored by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica.

The Blue Mountains are generally located between Kingston to the south and Port Antonio to the north. Rising to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), they are some of the highest mountains in the Caribbean. The climate of the region is cool and misty with high rainfall. The soil is rich, with excellent drainage. This combination of climate and soil is considered ideal for coffee.




Two enviable bags of Blue Mountain Coffee beans...properly certified...photo from Wikipedia...




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tea is still the Chinese (Chinese means China people) favorite. Many of them said they have never had coffee in their life. I meant this is also the case for young generation.

Anonymous said...

Story of Prof. Xu.
I hope he did realise that Sarawak has changed a lot since then.
http://xdql.xmu.edu.cn/showart.asp?id=20

Ensurai said...

You are right. The coffee bar in the VIP guest house caters for foreigners and Nanyang guests. So it was kind of them to entertain us in the nice environment with quite catering services. Yes many still love their tea. But I am glad these two professors could drink coffee with us. Some different kinds of teas e.g. Twining ware on the menu ....The younger generation may be changing especially those in the cities.

Ensurai said...

Dr. Xu is very aware of the changes in Malayrsia. He has represented XMU in many overseas world conferences.

His brilliant mind and special insight would make him a special world citizen.

Like all of us...our fates depend on where we go..who help/don't help us..and what is available and our own innate drive to succeed. A may succeed in horrible circumstances in Sibu...B may just be an ordinary shop assistant (who in turn may have a son who is a brilliant doctor)...One never knows. Dr. Xu found his own destiny and lived it.

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