Wandering with coffee flower season

Coffee flower season - Photo: SH

I am not a white cloud but I am fortunate to have left my footprints on many hillsides in the coffee blossom season of Huong Phung, Huong Linh, Huong Son, Huong Tan communes or Khe Sanh town. To gently touch each fragile coffee flower petal, cherish the gentle, pure fragrance that follows the nomadic wind throughout the space, penetrating every corner of the village.

To highlight the brocade colors of the Van Kieu girls who are meticulously picking each coffee fruit under the tall tree canopy that provides shade from the wind and rain for the blooming tea and coffee garden... in the Doa Cu area (Huong Phung).

Perhaps hidden deep in the memory of the Van Kieu girl are the childhood days following her father to the coffee garden when the dawn had not yet appeared, only the white clouds drifted lightly, hovering over the mountain top. Just to watch each cluster of coffee flowers forming a pure white strip, quietly spreading its fragrance, blending into the symphony of floral scents of the mountains and forests.

And every time she reaches out her tiny hand to grab a bunch of coffee flowers, the Van Kieu girl feels like she is holding in her hand a spring full of vitality. Or one morning, waking up, sitting next to her mother cooking breakfast for her father in the kitchen in the middle of the old brown stilt house that has been through many rainy and sunny seasons located next to the coffee plantation, the gentle, pure scent of coffee flowers wafts in with the spring breeze, calling. Stepping out into the yard, the Van Kieu girl is suddenly surprised and then bursts into joy because the coffee flowers have bloomed white on the branches.

Just yesterday, the flower buds were still shyly hiding in their gentle pale green shells, but after just one night of sleep, the flowers have bloomed and spread their fragrance. The Van Kieu girl ran barefoot up the hillside, and then her eyes were filled with the vast fields of bright white coffee flowers calling for the sun. The sun rose, chasing away the dew drops still sleeping on the branches. The brighter the sun, the purer the white color of the coffee flowers and the more fragrant the flowers.

The sun urges the flowers to spread their fragrance to call the bees to collect honey, stirring up in the soul of the Van Kieu girl many fluttering, stirring emotions that are difficult to put into words. Then the youth and love of the Van Kieu girl blend with the scent of coffee flowers spreading in the silence, serenity of many gentle moonlit nights, melted by the sounds of the panpipes, the pi flutes... Now it has become a ray of light from the beautiful past illuminating the present life, although there are still a few sighs in the cold, lonely nights.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to wander through several hills with Mr. Van Viet Long in Huong Phu village, Huong Phung commune to admire coffee flowers and sit with him under the canopy of jackfruit coffee trees that are decades old with sturdy trunks, reaching high to firmly protect the tea coffee garden in the white flower season.

Mr. Long opened my eyes to many interesting things about the harmony and symbiosis between Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee, and Jackfruit coffee that are currently present in Huong Phung land. For example, Jackfruit coffee ( scientific name Coffea Excelsa or Coffea Liberica, belonging to the family Thien Thao) was thought to only exist in the Central Highlands, but in fact, it is quite abundant in Huong Phung commune.

The mature jackfruit coffee variety is usually 2-5 m tall with very large trunks, leaves and fruits, completely different from the Arabica and Robusta coffee varieties. The jackfruit coffee variety usually blooms white flowers in December (lunar calendar) and then bears ripe red fruits hanging on the tree waiting for the hands of the harvesters around February (lunar calendar) every year. That means when the jackfruit coffee variety is ripe, it is the time when the Arabica and Robusta coffee flowers are in full bloom.

Tea, Myrtle and Jackfruit coffee create a harmony between the white color of tea and Myrtle coffee flowers and the red color of ripe jackfruit coffee. And many coffee connoisseurs often share the feeling that waking up every morning and enjoying a cup of jackfruit coffee with the faint aroma of ripe jackfruit and a little sour taste of cherry... creates an indescribable feeling. The jackfruit coffee variety was brought back from Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces by coffee growers in Huong Phung commune to cultivate about 15-20 years ago.

At that time, this variety of tree was mainly planted by people in Huong Phung commune to create windbreaks and shade trees for tea and Robusta coffee gardens. Now, the jackfruit coffee variety is bringing in a significant source of income for coffee growers. On average, a jackfruit coffee tree yields 30 - 50 kg of fresh fruit depending on its age. There are jackfruit coffee trees over 15 years old that can yield 1 - 1.5 quintals of fresh fruit.

Jackfruit coffee berries ripen in a concentrated manner, making them easy to harvest. Just spread a tarp under the tree and set up a ladder to harvest them all at once. Since 2024, the purchase price of jackfruit coffee has increased much higher than previous years.

This year, the jackfruit coffee harvest season has begun and traders are purchasing at 22,000 VND/kg. Jackfruit coffee is an easy-to-grow, easy-to-care-for, low-cost, drought-resistant plant, and harvesting is not as labor-intensive as Arabica coffee. The harvest season is also the time of hot weather, so it is convenient for drying the fruit....

I come to the coffee flower season not only to feel the extremely poetic natural scenery because the coffee flowers are like a "white silk strip" stretching across the hillsides of Huong Phung, Huong Linh, Huong Son, Huong Tan or Khe Sanh town, but also to share the joy and worry that fluctuates with the rain and sunshine of the farmers who have devoted their lives to coffee trees. Is each "white snow" carpet of coffee flowers a worthy reward for the care, expectation and dedication of the coffee growers here?

Sy Hoang

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/lang-dang-voi-mua-hoa-ca-phe-193052.htm