With white posters in hand, over 40 people gathered on Friday (March 22) within the Sands Expo and Convention Center hall for an auction with an fragrant accent.
Instead of antiques and artworks, 36 various kinds of coffee beans from around the globe, including Southeast Asia, were offered for bidding on the inaugural coffee auction in Singapore.
Coffee representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also had the chance to taste 108 cups of coffee prepared from the beans auctioned. The products got here from nine countries, including Indonesia and Burma.
The first-ever coffee auction organized by the ASEAN Coffee Federation goals to advertise ASEAN specialty coffee, said its president Victor Mah.
The auction was organized for the primary time as one in every of the highlights of Cafe Asia 2019 to spotlight the exertions of industry insiders who’ve witnessed the growing coffee scene within the region.
Mah, 72, who also heads the Singapore Coffee Association, added that coffee from Southeast Asia is undervalued in comparison with similar quality coffee beans from regions similar to South America.
“We want to help farmers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar, give them a place to showcase what they have,” Mah said Malay Post. He also hopes to carry an auction yearly.
Bank Indonesia, which sponsored the participation of Indonesian SMEs, also mentioned it Jakarta Post Office“Cafe Asia Expo 2019 serves as a media showcase to showcase authentic Indonesian coffee produced by SMEs to the global community.”
Minimum bids for the auction were set by farmers and so they had the chance to barter and lower the starting price if no bids were received for his or her produce.
Two-thirds of the coffee beans auctioned were from Southeast Asia and were showcased at a few of the 232 exhibition stands on the Cafe Asia and Restaurant Asia 2019 food and beverage trade fairs.
On Friday, Darma Santoso, 50, managing director of Indonesian food and beverage company My Kopi-O! Group successfully bid for coffee beans from various countries including Colombia, Indonesia and Myanmar.
His purchase of beans from Myanmar cost US$1,560 (RM6,341) per 240 kg.
“This is special. It tastes like cognac, different from other Indonesian coffees,” Santoso said.
