A few days ago, British content creator Harvey Charles was at the Mushan Coffee plantation in Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County. As a coffee lover, he was super excited to get the opportunity to see trees full of ripe coffee cherries.

Harvey looks at coffee cherries at a coffee plantation. (Photo: HIMC)

In order to experience the whole "bean to cup process," Harvey not only got to see and smell the unprocessed fruit of the coffee tree, he also got to try out his hand grinding coffee with a hand grinder and had one of the baristas teach him how to use a siphon pot. Enjoying the fruits and joy of his labor, he couldn't help but shout: "it's amazing!" and give the whole experience a thumbs up.

Harvey (right) experiences the process of hand-brewed coffee. (Photo: HIMC)

What makes a cup of coffee taste good? While barista skill definitely goes into it, bean quality is one of the factors which brands can accurately control for. From the altitude to the latitude,  the Mushan Coffee Plantation at the foot of Limu Mountain is located on prime coffee growing land in the center of the global Bean Belt. Air quality, rainfall, and annual temperatures combine to make this an ideal place for high end coffee cultivation. The unique natural environment, coupled with the selection and breeding of excellent varietals means that Mushan is able to produce premium coffee cherries. Creating a uniquely Hainan flavor that is much sought after by enthusiasts, the coffee cherries are cleaned, dried, and processed by Mushan Coffee to create a dark, rich brew.

Building the Mushan Coffee Smart Agriculture Benchmark Base in 2020, automated irrigators have been installed in each plot of land alongside soil temperature and moisture sensors that not only improve environmental sustainability indicators but also let agricultural experts perform real remote time monitoring of the trees. This professional knowledge is then shared with workers via push messages and WeChat.

Harvey checks out real-time video footage of the Mushan Coffee plantation. (Photo: HIMC)

As part of learning everything about the process of coffee growing from planting to processing and coffee brewing from bean to cup, Harvey also visited Mushan's roastery, cultural center, and local history museum.

Ripe coffee cherries at the Mushan Coffee plantation. (Photo: HIMC)