Clearing continues

The land clearing continues this past couple of weeks. Certain parts have already been burnt, but the challenge have been the unpredictable weather. Fires did not last long enough to burn off the entire undergrowth. This makes the job harder, as we need to spend additional time for burning and cutting. Nevertheless , we will proceed to buy the durian and other fruit seedlings from the agricultural station. As soon as the north portion of the land is ready, we will start to plant.

Bounty

Not too long ago CNN highlighted an interesting story in one of the local councils in Malaysia whereby rewards were given for catching rats. Indeed, this happened in Selangor and it was not the first time. Previously East Coast local councils also took this eccentric but effective measure to check the growing rat population. For every live catch , the bounty was RM 2 (USD 60 cents).

Amazing campaign, and this is not all. You have other contests like ... shoot the crow, collect & weigh the rubbish. All these initiatives invite serious individuals, who go all out. Rewarding the rat catcher seems a better and more effective approach than paying health inspectors to check on unhygienic premises and surroundings !

The teabag story

Yesterday we had a follow up meeting with the Food Technologist team of the largest food company here and globally. We had been working to deliver a product for the coffeeshop sector. This highly technical team that do installation of vending machines , hot and cold beverage dispensers had a very well equiped vending machines training room.

This was where we had our meeting. As our discussions centred on making a good cup of tea ... we tried to demonstrate using the various tea samples that we brought along. Much to our dismay , we had to draw reboiled water from the vending machine. Yes , what's ideal is freshly drawn water so that we can have sufficient oxygen to make the best brew. The traditional kettle to boil water was not available.

Nevertheless , the team was briefed on product attributes like colour, taste and aroma. But when we touched on the topic of teabags , the team leader from Singapore wanted a little explanation on the origins of teabags. Since we shared with her the story , here goes :-

In 1908 there was a tea and coffee merchant in New York City by the name of Thomas Sullivan. He had been shipping tea to his customers in expensive tins until one day he discovered hand-sewn silk bags were better alternatives. Not only they were more economical to ship, but his customers found a new way to brew tea , just dunk the teabags. The novelty caught on ... eventually machine-sewn silk bag were used. Later the gauze paper replaced the silk bag.

In 1935 the string tag was introduced. The enterprising manufacturers began to advertise their individual brand and do product differentiation. And in 1952 , Thomas Lipton patented the 4 sided tea bag , known as the flo-thru teabag. Today of course , teabags come in all shapes and sizes. No staples on tag. Increasing usage of food-grade packaging materials. The same objective though remains - hold the loose tea together and allow easy infusion with hot boiling water.

Getting dusun ready

Entering the 4th month , much of undergrowth have been cleared, including the dense bamboo forest. From the picture, you can see the undulating forest floors. Left behind are the stumps and fallen old rubber trees. As the trees come down, there is more sunlight piercing down from above. Quite a sight ! Occasionally you can see the squirrels and lizards scrambling away.

Next thing to do, start burning the land, but it has been raining cats and dogs. Infact every afternoon we can hear the thunder roaring in the distance. The local farmers reckon we can start the fire in mid May. Hopefully the weather gets kinder and drier so that we can finish preparing the land, converting it into a dusun ( fruit orchard ) the second half year.

Kacip Fatimah

It wouldn't be fair to have only Tongkat Ali, so they created the female version , Kacip Fatimah. Also known as Labisa Pumila, it is heavily advertised on TV and promoted at the supermarkets. Most local people know that Kacip Fatimah is a traditional remedy, an energy booster for the woman. In some product descriptions, the claims include increasing libido ... The factory I visited had the product offerings in carbonated energy drink and premix coffee, but not yet in premix tea.

Kacip Fatimah is a small woody and leafy plant. The leaves are 20 cm long. It is usually found in the forest floors together with the rest of forest undergrowth. Today, it is quite common to find a potted Kacip Fatimah at the backyard. With so many herbal remedies to choose from, one can only get healthier !

Tongkat Ali

Last week I drove south to JB and visited two beverage companies. Both are very large and successful businesses, distributing their products at home and export markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, S.Korea, Indonesia , Middle East and EU. Although their core business are in ready-to-drink coffee and tea, both companies have started to develop a niche segment of the market. Targeting at male adults, they promote coffee and tea with traditional herbal ingredient, Tongkat Ali.

Tongkat Ali is Malaysia's answer to viagra, and it is a flagship product for the biotech industry. There is considerable interest in this herb, as so much have been played up on its reputation of having aphrodisiac properties. Many in this industry are actually hoping that Tongkat Ali, can be widely accepted like the ever-popular Ginseng. Tongkat Ali can be in the form of beverage and pill.

Tongkat Ali, which means "walking stick of Ali" is a slender evergreen shrub with bitter brown fruit. The plant can be found in Malaysia and Indonesia. Known as Eurycoma longifolia jack, its functional properties are blended into the coffee and tea mix.

Although I do not think too much about the potent beverage and its testosterone enhancing claims , I have no qualms to sell more tea to these factories.

Story of tea

Ever wonder how tea came about ? It's a simple story ... 5,000 yrs ago during the reign of the 2nd Emperor of China , Shen Nung, he decreed that all drinking water need to be boiled as a precautionary measure. One day by accident , some tea leaves blew into the pot of boiling water that he ordered. And that became tea.

Today tea is the 2nd most popular drink after water.