The name Oat Twin means “brick well.” This gorgeous community takes its name from a local spring that, as legend has it, was discovered by a traveling king. He had an enclosure built around the water source, and the town grew up around it.
Today, Oat Twin produces some of our favorite Myanmar natural process coffees, which feature a brisk and clean citrus note that is balanced by an intriguing rum-raisin tone and satiny body.
Oat Twin’s coffee production is managed by a tremendous working group composed of twelve young women and three young men. These community leaders told me that since many of the village’s men have left the region to find work in larger cities, the women had historically struggled to find ways of supplementing their household income. Happily, over the last several years, specialty coffee has provided that additional revenue stream. Oat Twin’s coffee work has been so successful that in addition to taking care of their own families, they’ve been able to invest in a new community center.
The average family has ½ acre of coffee trees, and coffee has now surpassed citrus and avocado as the community’s top cash crop.
The working group leadership is incredibly sharp and motivated to do things right, and they tell me that the collaboration required to produce great coffee has strengthened their community. As one woman put it, “We used to be just neighbors. Through coffee work, we’ve become more like sisters.”
Coffee Stats:
- GPS: 21.1786, 96.51289
- Elevation (masl): 1299
- Ethnic Group: Danu
- Coffee-producing families: 150
- Coffee variety: Catuai, SL34
- Average coffee yield: 1000 (kg fresh cherries/acre)
