In search of coffee

We have had visitors staying with us for the last few weeks and have had fun exploring and showing them our favorite places.
Not far from us, up Doi Inthanon mountain a bit, there is a Karen village we like to visit.
It is a typical quiet dusty village filled with small gardens, pigs and dogs and where they also grow lots of coffee. After the required coffee tasting we bought a sack full of coffee beans to roast in our roaster.

In a walk around this village we discovered other things going on like this woman with her back strap loom weaving a length of colourful cloth to make up a typical top that the men and women wear here.

Drying in the hot sun we found a deck full of cabbage leaves and this tray full of colorful chili peppers that glowed like jewels.

A few days later we spent a couple of nights at Bodge and Yas.

The early morning light reflecting off the pond that the guest house looked over was pretty magical.

Another Karen village we like to visit has a large Royal agicultural project going on.
This is my favorite time of the year there because the mulberries are starting to ripen.

Fingers were covered in the red juice by the time we finished grazing on them, and washed them down with some thyme and rosemary tea.

The manager-MonTon and his wife Ohn live up there. Ohn does some lovely paintings of village life. We already have a number of her art pieces on our wall,but we couldn't resist buying a few more pieces.

As well as the herbs, cabbages, lettuce and fruit, they grow coffee in this village.
We bought a few more kilos.
Time to start roasting again and have a taste test.

After all this investigating we had worked up an appetite, so we started cooking with MonTon and Ohn, and created a feast.

The last few days a very strange weather pattern moved in bringing cold weather and rain. In Thailand we don't usually complain about the cold but we were up in the mountains and the high for the day was 9'C. We certainly weren't prepared for that!

Karen village

A few days ago we took a trip up to Sooks village in the mountains.
Sook is growing coffee and we were checking to see when we should harvest.

The coffee is doing well and should be ready to harvest soon.

The cabbages are also doing well up there.

Sook and her dad chat with us in the fields.

Meanwhile Sooks mum prepares some wood for the fire.
The mornings get pretty chilly up there these days.

Poinsettias aka the Christmas flower are used for hedge rows on the slopes. It provides great slashes of colour that is appropriate for the season.

Mountain High

A few days ago we went up to Sooks village in the mountains.
After navigating the hairpin bends and seemingly vertical climb, we reached Sooks village where the air was noticeably cooler and fresher.

The first order of the day was to greet family and friends.

Sooks dad with his grandchild.

Sooks mum working on her needle work.

 

A walk through the village produced some great pics of flowers growing along the side of the road and peaking over the garden fence.

 



 

Then it was time to do some serious work out in the fields, accompanied by the songs of birds and the hoots of monkeys that lived in the jungle not 50 metres from where we toiled.

The coffee plants had just finished flowering and the new coffee beans were starting to form.

 

The young 2 year old plants needed to have the young beans stripped off the plant, so they would have another year to grow stronger before bearing a crop.

So that was our job for the day. We spent a pleasant few hours working amongst the young coffee plants.

There was alot more growing on the land. In between the coffee plants there were peaches starting to form on the tree.
Parsley ready to plant in the fields.

 The hydrangea bushes that are part of the royal project up here were flowering.
Between all this were the ubiquitous bananas.

A few jack fruit trees laden with their fruits.

Also an avocado just a few months off harvest.

We weren't the only ones working in the fields.
Sooks onion crop is coming along well.

 

We admired the new fish pond that had been filled with baby cat fish. These will be ready to eat in about 5 months



On the drive back to the village there were some great views down the valley.

After a hearty lunch we checked on the Still where rice whiskey was being distilled.

Of course we had to sample it.

I think it is a acquired taste.

Heading back to the lowlands we passed the road building crew. The road up to Sooks village is made of concrete. They've been working on this road for a few years now. Only a few more kilometres to go.