Coffee has a very rich and ancient history. It has been a beverage from the rich, the poor, the working class, royalty and of warriors. Some believe coffee's first cultivation dates back to 575 B.C. in Yemen. It is said that a pilgrims from India named Baba Budan smuggled out the first seeds to be germinated from the very tightly controlled areas of the Middle East. Coffee quickly found a place in south Asia's traditions and culture until the 1700's when a disease called "rust" wiped out many of the plantations. We are reintroducing coffee and coffee culture back to South Asia where it has very strong roots. Coffee has been grown in Nepal and sub-continent for hundreds of years. Many of the present tea plantations first planted coffee. Tea was the natural choice since it is resistant to the rust disease. In the 1980's coffee was planted in the Terai and the hill regions of Nepal. The new varieties have thrived and are producing fair amounts of coffee. Coffee can be commercially produced in many parts of the country. However, there is great potentiality in mid hills region for organic coffee production as it has got suitable climate, topography, Soil, relative humidity, Temperature and Rainfall for Arabica coffee. Some Districts like Gulmi, Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Lalitpur,Tanahu, Kavre, Sindhupalchowk, Lamjung, Kaski, Gorkha, Syangja, Parbat, Baglung are successfully growing and producing Coffee beans and is increasing gradually. This will certainly help in diversifying process and will increase the income of the farmers as well as other individuals involved in coffee processing and marketing enterprise. With the popularity of Nepali coffee among the tourists and expatriates, the demand of Nepali coffee in the domestic market improved from the mid nineties, creating renewed interest and the growers started planting coffee in an extensive way.
Explore Lekali Coffee Estate
Lekali Coffee Estate is located in Bhirkuna, ward no. 8 of Madanpur VDC of Nuwakot district near Trishuli and 35 km West North from Kathmandu metropolitan city. The are recently responsible for some of the best subscription boxes for gifts being shipped off to the west from here. The estate covers about 17.5 ha (45 Acres) of highly fertile land surrounded by Thung Thung water falls aside the Lama ban in the East, Paleko ban in the South, Mudvari and Bhadaure village in the West and Harre village in the North.
The total occupied land area of Lekali Coffee Estate has no frost in the winter and the temperatures go below up to 4 degree Celsius in Jan/Feb and 35 degree Celsius during the June / July. Annually well-distributed and optimum rainfall in this part of the land is especially recommended for the production of high quality "Arabica Coffee".
Nuwakot is a mountain district in the lower Himalayan region close to the Chinese border in the North and Kathmandu in the South. It falls under the Bagmati Zone and Central Development region. Altitude ranges between 900 to 1500 meters, which is ideally suitable 20-degree slope land, which is, stretches south to down north gently facing to East with well simply managed terraces. It has well drained friable sandy loam soil and good in organic matter.
Highlights of the Journey
On our Himalayan Lekali Organic Coffee Tour, your host in the farm will explain you through the lifecycle of coffee from seed to tree. Your host will go in depth explaining you about why Lekali Coffee introduced or start coffee farming in the region. With challenges, Lekali Coffee was successful.
Lekali started the nursery from seeds to the present stage.
You are here in our farm to see how we work and how coffee in under developed country like Nepal is growing coffee in the very terraced land where the work is not easy. You are here to get the feel and get the Nepalese cultural touch. For some people this trip to our farm can be a business, but for some it can be a trip to learn how people in mountainous places do farming. More than anything we Lekali Coffee wish you have a good learning.
For next 2 days, you will go through picking of coffee cherries from tree. You will be briefed by our coffee people how you pick and give you a small teaching session. The land is not in an easy place and we want you to be watchful where you are located and doing picking. You are here to get some involvement and get the feel of coffee cherry picking.
Coffee cherries that you picked will be transported to the facility (collection center). You are welcome to get involved in washing and helping in the processing part too. It is a opportunity for you to interact with the local people and Nepalese people are in general very friendly and you will enjoy talking to them, team working.
You will get the opportunity to take home some sample coffee that you have put your hard work. Join us on this unique kind of journey. Each day, Lekali Coffee Estate crew members and the local helpers from the village will make your stay an enjoyable one.
Evening sitting around the fire having a cup of coffee, listening the bird and insects sound. After the long sunny day and walking through the difficult picking of coffee cherries, you deserve to have a good food and sleep.
Coffee Harvesting Times
Each year coffee is harvested during the dry season (end of Feb till 1st week of April) when the coffee cherries are bright red, glossy, and firm.
How (Picking) Harvest Coffee Beans
Ripe cherries are picked by hand, our local coffee pickers mainly women from the area who was trained in coffee cherry picking. We will form 1 to 2 different team of cherry pickers each day and each team consist of 5 women. It is strictly to pick the ripen cherries and leave the unripe cherries is left on trees till they are fully ripe and ready for picking. All the picked coffee cherries are transported or carried by the pickers quickly to the collection center in the farm.
Coffee Pulping
Once the days picked is completed the coffee cherries are brought to the pulping station for inspection. Our farm manager inspects the coffee cherries to make sure there are no twigs, grasses or leaves attached with the coffee cherries. Then each lot of picked cherries are weighted and then sent to our collection tanks filled with water where density sorting occurs. In this stage we basically separate the floaters from the sinkers. The cherries that float on the top of the tank are removed and only ripe cherries that are completely submerged in water are sent to the pulping machines to remove the pulp.
Coffee Processing
The pulp machine and hand pulp will remove the outer part of the cherries and the coffee seed is released through the screen. The coffee seeds are removed to another wash tank where they are fully washed again for several time and finally they go for fermentation for next 16 to 36 hour depending on weather and outside temperature.
Coffee Fermentation
The coffee beans are covered in the slippery mucilage and sent to the fermentation tanks. The coffee fermentation tanks are used to remove the mucilage before drying. The pulped coffee beans are put into cement tanks with water and are allowed to ferment for 16-36 hours. On the way to the fermentation tanks, another density separation can occur. The highest quality coffees are the densest and should be separated and fermented in a different tank.
Coffee Drying
From the coffee fermentation tanks, the beans are moved to drying patios and dried to 11-12% moisture content. A small portion of the dried coffee parchment is hulled and milled by a mini-huller. Three hundred grams of coffee is classified for defects (100 grams is often used), and the percentage of each screen size is determined. Then, 200-300 grams of coffee is roasted in a sample roaster and cupped to determine coffee quality.
ITINERARY 07 Nights / 08 Days
Day 01 Arrive Kathmandu, Transfer to Chhahari Retreat (Tentative Date: Feb 28th 2017)
Arrive into Kathmandu and transfer to Chhahari Lodge Retreat. We'll begin with a welcome drink, do some introductions and have a simple orientation about the lodge. Everyone will be assigned their room and the afternoon is as well as a free time to relax, explore the grounds or take a short walk down in the nearby village. Dinner this evening will be a mix of Nepal and Western dishes while enjoying the night views below of Kathmandu city.
CHHAHARI RETREAT in Kathmandu on Twin Share with meals (Dinner)
Day 02 Hike to Shivapuri National Park, Overnight in Chhahari Retreat (Mar 01st2017)
After breakfast at Chhahari, we will go for a hike (small trekking inside the Shivapuri National Park) the hike will last for 4 hours. The walk heading toward north part of the Shivapuri and later the hike goes toward the eastern part of the hill overlooking Kathmandu in the south. The park includes a variety of rhododendron trees, long needle pine, as well as, many fruiting and flowering trees. Though not far from Kathmandu, Shivapuri NP, due to its diverse forests and clean water is popular both the migratory birds and the bird watchers who walk the quiet trails with binoculars in hand. The walk will end near the National Park Entry point. We can all then walk back to Chhahari for a sumptuous lunch.
Afterwards there will be a short orientation about next day's program; and question - answer session. After a great meal, jet-lag may catch up to everyone this afternoon and a hammock or your room may be irresistible.
CHHAHARI RETREAT in Kathmandu on Twin Share with meals (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day 03 Kathmandu - Drive to Coffee Farm (Mar 02nd 2017)
After a delicious western style breakfast that includes fresh orange juice and fruit we'll leave Chhahari lodge for the coffee farm.
Today's drive will take us North West out of the Kathmandu Valley, and onto the Trishuli "Highway". We'll leave behind the bustling streets of the city for the rural terraced countryside that is so famous in Nepal. The terraces amaze even well-seasoned travelers as they rise and descend for thousands of feet around you. In about an hour and half we'll stop at the village of Kakani and Rani Pauwa where we'll have expansive views of Ganesh (23,494ft), (add another summit) as well as other snowy Himalayan summits to the north of us.
We're nearly at our destination and soon arrive at Paintish kilo. We'll have a short tour of the village of Paintish Kilo, and then we walk down a winding dirt road to arrive at Lekali Coffee estate after about 40 minutes. But your duffle bag will be transported to the Lekali farm on truck or jeep. Upon arrival lunch will be served in the trekking style of tables and chairs while overlooking a 250 foot waterfall, the surrounding thatch roof villages, and of course the coffee farm.
Accommodations will include; Safari tent 9 by 10 foot tent and has 2 beds with foam camping mattresses clean sleeping bags and pillows. Toilet tents will be erected a discreet distance from our camp site. Meals will be authentic Nepalese; tasty, but with some western touches (not too hot). Dine will be set inside a dining tent or use the space inside the processing building every evening. A hot water shower tent will be available for those who wish the simple pleasure of an overhead bucket to wash the days dust away.
In the evening the Lekali Coffee operation Manager Tenzing Sherpa will provide an orientation about the farm, cherry picking techniques. Tenzing will explain you about Nepali coffee history the challenges and future opportunities in Nepal.
You are introduced to our helping hands (people) at the farm; you will meet our farm in-charge and family who live there all the year round. They are the people for next few days talking and walking with you. Today there are no major activities planned, this is a relaxing day to walk around the camping site, get to know the surrounding trails, the villagers, perhaps spot a colorful Himalayan squirrel or simply relax.
TWIN SHARE TENT Accommodation with meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner)
Day 04 At the Coffee Farm (Mar 03rd 2017)
Awaken to the sounds gregarious Red Bill Magpies and other birds who are greeting the day. The morning begins with a hot cup of tea or excellent Nepali coffee. Breakfast will be prepared and served in the dining tent.
After breakfast it's time to get dressed for coffee cherry picking; including rubber boots, and gloves too. You can fill up your water bottles while at the dining tent.
Lekali coffee crew member will arrange / provide everyone with a cherry picking bag. Tenzing will divide everyone into groups to smaller team and assign each team a block of coffee trees they may harvest.
We will be picking around 10:00 a.m. this is when the local village coffee pickers will also gather at the farm to begin their work day. Interact and engage with these locals to collect the coffee cherries.
Volunteer yourself to pick as much cherries as you can. After each bag of cherry is picked, all the coffee cherries are then brought to the collection center for processing. Guest-pickers will both register their name and the total weight that they picked on their very own bag of cherries.
Time will fly and it's soon time for a lunch break. After lunch, refill water bottles, and grab your cherry bag for some more fun with the coffee trees until another bag is full and time to register that one too. Our coffee cherry picking will last long until; we have enough cherries to put into the processing machine.
Processing: Lekali will check and decide of process only after several hundred kilos of cheery is picked in a day. Minimum 200 kilos of fresh cherries required to save energy and time to process. Lekali will store the fresh cherries soaked in the fresh water until the enough cherries ready to be processed in the machine.
TWIN SHARE TENT Accommodation with meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner)
Day 05 At the Coffee Farm (Mar 04th 2017)
Today, after the breakfast around 8 am, we can do a morning walk around the villages. Our local will gather around 10am in the morning, and then we will begin the same process again, as earlier day.
TWIN SHARE TENT Accommodation with meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner)
Day 06 Back to Kathmandu (Mar 05th 2017)
After a late breakfast around 9am, walk up to Jurethum, then we drive back to Kathmandu. We continue our drive to Kathmandu city. We will check into Chhahari lodge. Freshen up yourself, and enjoy the afternoon at Chhahari lodge with drinks.
CHHAHARI RETREAT in Kathmandu on Twin Share with meals (Lunch, Dinner)
Day 07 Kathmandu Sightseeing Tour (Mar 06th 2017)
Breakfast in the lodge, our first destination site is the famous Hindu shrine Pashupatinath Temple. It is famous and religious temple among the Hindus, Pashupatinath temple offers great prospective on Hindus. Approximately about 5 km north-east of Kathmandu, is situated amidst many other temples on the right bank of the river Bagmati. Pashupatinath is the guardian spirit and the holiest of all Shiva shrines in Nepal.
Pashupatinath area is regarded as one of the most important places of pilgrimages for the followers of Hinduism. Thousands of devotees from within and outside the country come to pay homage to Pashupatinath every day. And on special occasions like Ekadasi, Sankranti, Mahashivratri, Teej Akshaya, Rakshabandhan, Grahana (eclipse), Poornima (Full moon day) people congregate here in far greater number. Pashupatinath area is also included in the list of world cultural heritage.
After Pashupatinath, we will walk towards Boudhanath. Boudhanath Stupa is primarily for Buddhists. You will be the next one to take walk around the big Stupa. Buddhist walks around this temple, the walk known as KORA around the Stupa. You will find locals, and elderly folks walking and praying around this Stupa.
The Great Stupa of Boudhanath is the focal point of the district, and in fact until the 1980's there was very little else here. Since then, there has been a construction boom, and outwardly, at least, there is little these days to distinguish it from any other congested Kathmandu suburb. The culture, though, remains very much Himalayan with a strong presence of Tibetans and Sherpa, and this can be evidenced by the number of restaurants selling momos and thukpa and other Tibetan favorites. In fact, when traveling into the area, it is often the sight of maroon clad Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns that indicate you are getting close. Boudhanath remains a fascinating area with many Buddhist temples and eccentric characters, though don't come expecting to find a peaceful and quiet environment to sit and contemplate the wonders of the Stupa. If you do, you'll be disappointed.
CHHAHARI RETREAT in Kathmandu on Twin Share with meals (B, D)
Lunch will be included during tour
Day 08 Depart Kathmandu (Mar 07th 2017)
You will be transferred to the airport for your final departure from Kathmandu.
Breakfast included
Note:
Although we try our best to go by the above itinerary, it is subject to change sometimes by matters beyond our control.
Read More about Lekali Coffee Estate & Chhahari Retreat
http://www.lastfrontierstrekking.com/custom-trip/coffee-in-the-himalayas