Myanmar, sometimes called Burma, isn’t a country usually mentioned in the coffee space. However, the country, tucked between Bangladesh and Thailand, is fast catching up with the quality offered by other coffee powerhouses around the world. Myanmar’s coffee production has seen growth from zero to over 1,000 metric tons of green coffee beans in bulk in under a decade.

At the same time, Myanmar and its people have endured the longest civil war of modern times, led by the country’s notorious and reclusive central military. Despite a brief moment of democratization in the 2010s, the military regime once again pulled a coup d’etat in 2021, continuing over six decades of their unwanted rule. Yet what’s different from previous decades is that, for the first time, a pro-democracy armed resistance now controls more than half the country, with many people hopeful that a new start could very well be on the horizon.

We first heard of and tasted the beautiful coffees coming out of Myanmar thanks to the help of our dear friends at Pink Headed Duck.

Like other grassroots sectors, the coffee value chain remains a key factor in responsibly supporting smallholders and cooperatives across the country while also bringing much-needed visibility internationally to the realities on the ground. Pink Headed Duck Coffee is a New Orleans-based green coffee importer focused on creating a direct link between Myanmar’s specialty coffee growers and North American buyers. Amidst the struggle within the country, our friends at Pink Headed Duck are dedicated to uplifting the producers of the Shan Hills as well as bringing education surrounding Myanmar as a whole to the roasters and consumers of North America. For more information please visit PHDCoffee.com!