Coffee Growing in a Tea Town

By+staff+reporters+PEDRO+LAGO+&+GUO+HONGYUAN

Mr. Coffee

Wouter De Smet， 39， is locally known as Mr. Coffee in Puer， a city in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， where he arrived in 2005. He loves his nickname， and considers his close ties with local coffee growers among his best achievements.

Coffee is in Wouters genes. His father is an agriculturist who worked for Nestlé for many years. He spent his early years in Africa， and then took over his fathers job. He began working for the coffee plantation in Chinas frontier province of Yunnan about 10 years ago.

“The biggest difficulty for me here is the language，” Wouter said. He overcame it thanks to the help of his colleague Hou Jiazhi， chief technician at Nestlés local operation.

“He doesnt have to master Chinese， as Hou Jiazhi is an excellent translator，” said Luo Yucheng， who works for the same sector as Hou. “Wouter has transformed Nestlés development strategies and training methods in Yunnan. He goes into the countryside and offers onspot teaching to local farmers.”

Wouter has made numerous trips to local villages. “He loves driving， and would sit behind the wheel for eight to 10 hours a day. We have been to every corner of Puers rural areas，” said Hou. He recalled one day when their car was stopped by policemen. Upon seeing a Western face in the drivers seat， they whispered to each other that Hou must be very important if he could afford a foreign chauffeur.

Coffee and Tea， Two Brews

Wouter seldom drank tea before coming to Puer， hometown of the namesake tea famous across China. He later fell in love with this traditional Chinese beverage.

Wouter is impressed with local farmers open-mindedness， intelligence， hard work and entrepreneurship. It gives him confidence in expanding commercial coffee cultivation.

Wouter modified the way growers are trained and introduced the concept of sustainable growth. Every link in the chain of coffee production can be traced now， satisfying the desire for transparency and eco-friendliness among todays consumers.

When Wouter came to Puer， the city was the principal supplier for Nestlés coffee factory in Dongguan of Guangdong Province. Over the past decade the company has hired more experts， who provide technical guidance and consultation to more than 9，300 local farmers.

“I spent two months in China back in 1998， when the country was completely alien to me，” Wouter recalled. “But I am a flexible person， open to new things and other cultures. Soon I felt at home in China， and became accepted by local communities.”endprint

The flexibility of the young Belgian won the heart of local farmers. In the 2004-2005 harvesting season， only 147 rural households sold their coffee beans to Nestlé. By the 2013-2014 season this figure had soared to 3，000. “Through Yunnans coffee farmers Nestlé has completed experiments on technology， quality and commercialization of coffee growing. A transparent market has been established in the region，” Wouter said.

As the companys supplier base in Puer grows， so does the quality of its produce. The sustainability of finished products all boil down to the quality of coffee beans. Nestlé provides roughly 50 training programs aimed at raising local coffee production to international standards. Between December 2012 and July 2013 821 local farmers passed the 4C verification， a code of conduct that sets social， environmental and economic principles for the sustainable production， processing and trading of green coffee.

In May 2014 another 1，429 local farmers received the 4C certification.“This is important for Nestlé， as part of its global plan，” said Wouter. “We expect the fourth batch of farmers to get accreditation later this year. Starting from November， the company will only purchase 4C coffee.”

Old China Hand

Hou Jiazhi and Luo Yucheng acclaim Wouter a model boss， while Wouter accredits the success of Nestlés operation in Puer to teamwork. “Nobody can accomplish the mission on his or her own. You need a team that is fully confident in the company plan， united and committed to the set goals，” he said.

Wouter was newly wed when he first came to Puer. Both of his two daughters were born here. He said when his family leaves the country， they will all feel fulfillment and happiness， as they have enjoyed living here. It always delights him when told by locals he is an “old China hand，” as it means he has merged well into the local community.

“I have worked and lived in China for nine years， all in Puer. I like the city， it is beautiful，” Wouter concluded at the end of the interview with China Today. Puer， the city named after the fermented dark tea， now takes on a dual reputation for coffee： 98 percent of Chinese coffee is grown in Yunnan Province.endprint