We took a morning flight to KK and went straight for the coffee farms arranged by our friend, Jack Lee from Sabarica. From there, we could see the mesmerising Mt Kota Kinabalu, and patches of Arabica coffee trees thriving in the neighbouring highlands.

Getting up close with coffee grown in Borneo is always exciting while living at the farmers’ home was another experience altogether! Dr Schwarz and Andreas wasted no time in going right into the fields with the local farmers while addressing problems that they saw, and how to make improvements. Kenny also roasted their coffee on the spot with a small gas roaster to give them instant feedback on quality in the cup.

It was a fruitful trip for us to witness the pioneering coffee farmers working so hard to make coffee their livelihood, but most importantly, while we saw great potentials, we also see a sizeable room for improvements in coffee cultivation.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been made between Earthlings Coffee Workshop, Coffee Consulate Asia, and Sabarica. We are so glad to be able to contribute to Sabah’s thriving coffee-growing communities in the form of specialised agricultural knowledge and inspirations to plan for a sustainable future. Really looking forward to long-term collaborations and help to bring Malaysia’s Arabica cultivation to the next level by promoting eco-friendly farming practices, and do what we can to protect Borneo’s withering biodiversity.