耐磨胶布:中国：从茶向咖啡的转变

In southwestern China, farmers have grown a famous green tea for centuries. Now, farmers are embracing the coffee bean. NBC's Adrienne Mong reports.   

       在中国西南部，那里的农民几个世纪以来一直种植一种非常有名的绿茶，现在，他们正开始种植并接受咖啡。NBC记者安德里娜报道。

By Adrienne Mong

在这里输入译文

PU'ER, YUNNAN PROVINCE – The name of this area is synonymous with the delicate leaf prized by tea aficionados in China and beyond.   

       云南省普洱市，得名于一种娇嫩美味的绿叶，而这种绿叶在中外茶爱好者中享有盛誉。

For at least 2,000 years, families have cultivated Pu'er tea in the rolling hills of Yunnan, bordering Myanmar. 

       这种绿叶就是普洱茶，农民 在云南与缅甸接壤的绵延起伏的山丘里，至少已经种植了2000年。

The tea is known for its intense earthy flavor, which devotees say improves with age.  However, it’s also valued for reputed health benefits: the ability to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure, reduce fat, and cleanse the liver of toxins.

       普洱茶因其浓郁的泥土芳香为人所知，据爱好普洱茶的人讲，这种芳香与日俱增。不过，它的价值还在于对健康有益的盛名，如可以降低胆固醇和高血压，化解脂肪和净化肝脏内的毒素。

All this led to crazy auction prices few years ago.  Reports in 2007 suggested some aged vintages of Pu’er were going for as much as $10,000 for 10 grams (0.35 ounces).

       正是因为这些美誉导致了几年前疯狂的拍卖价格。据2007年报道称，一些年久的普洱茶窖藏品价格每10克，相当于0.35盎司，被卖到10000美元。

One year later, that bubble burst.  The market for this special fermented tea collapsed after a buying frenzy turned into a selling spree by unscrupulous wholesalers who had driven up prices artificially.

       一年后，泡沫破裂了。其时，肆无忌惮的批发商人为抬高价格，在买者和卖者轮番的狂欢中，这种奇特的发酵茶市场崩溃了。

Many farmers who were caught up in the frenzy were left with nearly worthless supplies of tea, but many others had carefully spread their risk.

       许多那些曾经狂喜的农民被抛弃了，留下的是几乎毫无价值的茶叶库存，另外一些仍然在较真的拓展着他们的冒险。

To coffee.

   走向咖啡

Adrienne Mong

A tea farmer in Pu'er, where the climate and topography also favors the production of coffee.

普洱茶农，这里的气候和地理条件很适合种植咖啡。

Nestle comes to Yunnan

        雀巢来到云南

In 1988, Yunnan produced 1,500 tons of coffee beans.  This year, it’s expected to produce 35,000 tons, and that figure could double in five years. Coffee is now the province’s third-largest export product after tobacco and flowers.

      1988年，云南生产1500吨咖啡豆。今年，有望生产35000吨，五年后产量计划翻番。现在，继烟草和鲜花之后，咖啡已成为云南省第三大出口产品。

“Before I started growing coffee, I couldn’t afford a house like the one I live in now,” said Wang Zhongxue, a robust 72-year-old who cuts a striking figure with his machete.  “My house back then was made of mud and the living conditions were terrible.  When it rained outside, it rained inside, too.”

      “在我种植咖啡以前，我不可能盖得起像我现在居住的房子”，王中学，一个72岁的健壮汉子，凭借他的大砍刀让自己的生活崭露头角。“我的老房子是泥坯房，居住条件非常恶劣，外面天下雨，家里面也跟着下。”

Last year, Wang earned around $18,000 from his coffee plants.  Chinese farmers on average earn about $900 a year.

        去年，王中学从咖啡上挣了18000美元。中国农民平均年收入约900美元。

The toothy farmer said he was introduced to the idea of growing coffee back in 1992 by experts, both Chinese and foreign.  “They taught us the whole system,” he said.

       这个有点凸牙（想想龅牙珍）的农民说，回想起那是1992年，他被中外专家介绍知道了咖啡种植这件事。从那以后，他们教给我们整套咖啡种植技术。

Some of them came from Nestle, the Swiss foods giant.

       一些专家就来自雀巢，一家设在瑞士的食品巨头。

“We are in a mountainous area, the climate is good, so it’s a suitable area to grow coffee,” said Wouter De Smet, manager of the Nestle Agricultural Service based in Pu’er. 

        “我们所处的山区，气候非常好，很适合种植咖啡，" 沃特。迪斯美特说，他是雀巢设在普洱的农业服务站经理。

As early as 1988, Nestle decided to support the cultivation of Arabica beans in Yunnan and has been working closely with local officials to develop the company's program.

        早在1988年，雀巢决定支持云南种植咖啡豆，并且与当地官员密切合作推进公司的计划。

“We are working with the farmers on a [relationship basis]…so we give training and technical assistance to the farmers, which is completely free to the farmers,” explained De Smet.  Training and assistance includes everything from growing to processing to marketing.

        “我们和当地农民的合作像一种邻里关系，我们给他们提供培训和技术帮助，这些对农民完全是免费的，”迪斯美特解释到。培训和帮助包括从种植、加工到市场营销的一切事务。

Roughly 80 percent of the farmers selling beans to Nestle are small scale, "smaller than three hectares," (approximately seven acres) according to De Smet.  During the last season, after the harvest (September-February), the smallest farm delivered Nestle five pounds whereas the largest farm delivered 413 tons.

        据迪美斯特说，约80% 向雀巢卖咖啡豆的农户规模都很小，种植面积小于三公顷，相当于七亩（这个地方原文换算的有点乱）。去年冬季，咖啡豆收获后这段时间（从9月到来年2月），最小的农户只向雀巢交付了5磅咖啡豆，而最大的农户却交付了413吨。

“We buy directly from the farmer without need of the middleman or the local trader,” said De Smet.  That way, Nestle can better monitor the quality of the coffee beans – half of which are exported to Nestle factories worldwide and the other half goes to its factories in Dongguan.

       “我们直接从农户手中采购，不需要中介商或当地贸易商，”迪美斯特说。通过这方式，雀巢能够更好掌控咖啡豆的质量，这些咖啡豆一半出口到雀巢世界各地的工厂，另一半供给东莞的工厂。

The tasting center inside the Nestle compound in Pu’er was tiny, but the first thing we saw was a table with cups of coffee on top and spittoons next to each chair for the Nestle tasting panel. 

       普洱雀巢公司内的品测中心也很小，不过首先映入我们眼帘的是放有数杯咖啡的桌子和桌子边椅子下的痰盂，这是给品测组成员准备的。

Two or three other colleagues joined De Smet in blind taste tests to check the quality. 

       迪斯美特的另外两到三个同伴会参与这种试错式的测试，检测咖啡质量。

On any given day, they might taste-test 150 cups.

       每天，他们或许都品测150杯咖啡。

“We are not drinking,” De Smet emphasized.

        “我们不是喝咖啡，”迪斯美特强调道。

If the beans fall below Nestle’s standards, the delivery is rejected, but De Smet said they also try to advise the farmer how to make improvements.

         如果咖啡豆不能达到雀巢标准，交付就取消，不过迪斯美特说他们也尽力告诉农民如何做出改进。

If the coffee passes muster, the farmer is paid right on the spot – either in cash or by bank transfer, depending on the amount.

       如果咖啡通过抽查，货款现场就支付给农民，以现金方式或银行转账的方式，取决于金额的多少。

The allure of 'black gold'

   “黑金”的诱惑

Understanding and tracking coffee prices is another skill Nestle provides to the farmers.

         读懂和跟踪咖啡价格是雀巢教给农民的另一项技能。

"Our farmers are becoming speculators," said De Smet, only half-jokingly.

         “我们的农民快变成投机商了，"迪斯美特半开玩笑的说。

Nestle announces coffee prices every Monday and Thursday via text message to all the farmers' cellphones. 

          雀巢在每周一发布咖啡价格，周二通过短信发到每个农民的手机上。

"We also get 150 to 200 calls from other farmers checking on the price," he said.  "It's up to the farmer to decide whether to sell.  There is no contract.  The farmers are free to choose."

        “我们也会收到150到200个农民查询价格的电话，”他说，“它取决于农民是否决定卖出咖啡，我们没有协议，农民完全自由的做出选择。”

Wang, the elderly farmer, said his daughter and her friends track coffee prices on computers.  “When the price goes up, we know it immediately,” he said. 

          王中学，这个年迈的农民说，他女儿和她的朋友们在计算机上跟踪咖啡价格，“当价格上涨是，我们立刻就能知道。”

Adrienne Mong

A Nestle lab worker prepares coffee beans for a taste test. 

                    雀巢实验人员正在准备用于品测的咖啡。

Sometimes dubbed “black gold,” coffee is the second most widely traded commodity after oil.  And in the past year, coffee prices have gone up nearly 92 percent on major exchanges around the world. 

        咖啡一度被誉为“黑金”，是世界上仅次于石油的第二大贸易品。去年，咖啡的价格在全球主要的贸易交易所已经上涨了近92%。

“Some farmers are worried that coffee prices have risen so high now,” said Li. Zhongheng, director of the Pu’er City Experiment Demo Coffee Farm.  “They remember the Pu’er bubble," he said, referring to the fall in tea prices.

        “现在咖啡价格涨得这么高，有些农民很担忧”，李中恒说。他本人是普洱市咖啡实验示范农场的主任。“他们记得普洱茶的泡沫，”他所说的是指普洱茶价格的下跌那件事。

Li, an agriculture official who retired 10 years ago, started training local farmers in the region on how to grow coffee.  His farm is part of the province's more recent efforts to encourage farmers in Pu’er to try growing coffee – ?as outlined in the Pu'er and Yunnan governments' five-year plans.

        李，曾经是一个农业官员，退休10年了，开始培训当地农民如何种植咖啡。他的农场就是省上最近花大力气动员普洱农民试种咖啡的产物，大力种植咖啡已经被写入了普洱市和云南省五年计划。

But “we don’t encourage tea farmers to stop growing tea and switch to coffee,” said Li.  “We don’t support that.”

       不过，“我们不鼓励茶农停止种茶而改种咖啡，”李说，“我们不支持那样做。”

In fact, the farmers we visited were growing other cash crops in addition to coffee.  Wang has mango trees, which also help to shade and protect his coffee plants. 

        事实上，我们走访的农民除了种咖啡，也种其它的经济作物。王就种植了芒果树，这些树可以遮阳，对他的咖啡树起到保护作用。

Chen Bing, a 40-year-old farmer, abandoned corn and rice, mostly because they were too water-intensive, but he also farms tea in addition to coffee.  “We depend on coffee when the weather is dry and on tea when the weather is too wet,” he said.

         陈兵，一个40岁的农民，放弃种植玉米和水稻，主要是因为他们太耗费水，不过，他除了种咖啡，也种植茶叶。“天旱时，我们有咖啡作依靠，天涝时，我们依靠茶，”他说。

Starbucks’ “seed-to-cup” strategy

    星巴克从“种子到杯子”战略

Late last year, Starbucks announced it was going to get into the game and set up a government base farm in cooperation with Yunnan local officials.  The plantation will also include a development center farmer support center, and processing facilities.

       去年晚些时候，星巴克宣布它将加入这场游戏，并与云南省当地政府合作建立一个政府基地农场。这个基地将包括发展中心，农民支持中心和加工设备。

“The purpose of that [is] really to demonstrate how to grow coffee in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible [way] and also how to improve the coffee farmers’ life," said Wang Jinlong, president and chairman of Starbucks Greater China. ?He added, "?And really try to show and demonstrate…how to increase the yield.” 

      “这个基地设置的目的旨在展示如何以一种环境友好和兼顾社会责任的方式种植咖啡，此外，关注提高咖啡种植户的寿命，”王金龙说，他是星巴克大中华区总裁和主席。他补充道，“也试图显示和展示如何提高产量。”

Adrienne Mong

Wang Zhongxue's family members sort through the "green beans" of this year's harvest.

                         王中学的一家人分检今年收获的咖啡豆。

And to ensure a steady supply of beans for the American coffee retailer – ??also the world's largest. 

        此举也旨在确保向这家美国咖啡零售商——也是全球最大的咖啡零售商——稳定的提供咖啡原料。

Since entering the mainland market in 1999, Starbucks has nearly 450 stores in China itself and plans to triple that number to 1,500 by 2015.  In 2009, the company introduced to its customers a coffee blend that includes beans grown in Yunnan, “South of the Clouds.”  

       自从1999年进入中国大陆市场以来，星巴克已经在中国开办了近450家咖啡店，计划在2015年达到目前的三倍，开1500家店。2009年，星巴克公司向他的顾客引入一种混合型咖啡饮品，就包括云南产的咖啡豆。云南，意即彩云之南。

The Yunnan coffee farm project marks the first time Starbucks is growing its own coffee directly – working with local farmers to grow and cultivate the crop – instead of just buying it locally or globally. 

       云南咖啡种植项目具有标志意义，通过与当地农民合作种植和培育咖啡，星巴克首次直接参与咖啡种植，而不再仅仅是在当地或全球采购。

“It is our seed-to-cup overall supply chain strategy which will really back…our idea of making China a second home market,” said Wang.

        这是我们“种子到杯子”供应链战略，它确实也支撑了我们的”把中国作为我们第二个家乡市场“的理念。

Back in Pu'er, some farmers have taken to brewing their homegrown product.

        再说说普洱，一些农民已经开始习惯于冲泡咖啡，不过主要是为来访者。

For visitors, though.

Although De Smet and my colleagues all enjoy the taste of Yunnan coffee, the farmers have yet to embrace it in their diet.

        尽管迪斯美特和我的同伴很享受云南咖啡的美味，但当地农民在日常饮食中仍没有接受它。

“Sometimes I can’t get to sleep after I’ve had coffee,” said Wang Zhongxue, the farmer.  “So I still drink tea.”

        “喝完咖啡后，经常无法入睡，”王中学说，“因此，我仍是喝茶."