MALAYSIA RECORD : LARGEST COFFEE DRINKING EVENT

MALAYSIA RECORD : LARGEST COFFEE DRINKING EVENT

KOPI TENOM Its aroma, fragrant. Its taste, enticing. That is the general experience when visiting the Yit Foh Coffee Factory, here.

The factory is one of the producers of Kopi Tenom. It has been operating since 1960 and is still employing the traditional way of producing coffee grounds: by roasting the beans over woodfire.

"This method is best in bringing out the true aroma of coffee", said its factory manager, Alex Yong, when met with Bernama at the factory in Kampung Chintamata, some 3km away from Tenom town.

Alex, who inherited the family business, opened up a new factory in 1993 and is now working at expanding the market for his products globally.

MALAYSIA RECORD : LARGEST COFFEE DRINKING EVENT

PRODUCING COFFEE

Making coffee starts with the process of sun drying coffee cherries for 14 days. After that, the outer layers of the dried cherries are hulled. It is then roasted from 7.00am to noon by a "coffee cook" while packing is done from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Yong has 36 trained staff, including six "coffee cooks", capable of producing some 600 packets of coffee products daily.

Today, the company produces 10 coffee products that are marketed nationwide as well as in the neighbouring Brunei.

Besides providing local farmers income opportunities, Kopi Tenom has also helped familiarise Sabah in the way Cameron Highlands popularised Boh Tea.

KOPI TENOM FESTIVAL BREAKS RECORD

Coffee is one of Tenom's most important agricultural produce, so much so that the district has been dubbed "Sabah's coffee capital".

To further promote it, a coffee festival is being held from today (Nov 12) until Friday (Nov 14).

The festival will culminate in an event this Friday where 4,000 people will simultaneously drink coffee, to break the current record of 3,068 people as stated in the Malaysian Book of Records.

The Tenom District Officer, Madiyem Layapan said there would also be an exhibition on Kopi Tenom at the event, with the participation of two major coffee chains.

"We would also be flying in six Microlight aircraft carrying the Kopi Tenom flag", he said.

INTRODUCING TENOM TO THE WORLD

The festival will also feature various tourist attractions in Tenom, known for its heavy influence of Murut culture, and the Kopi Tenom Beauty Pageant.

Tenom is today one of Sabah's most promising sites for agricultural development for meeting the country's produce needs.

The 2,238sqkm area is located some 173km to the south of Kota Kinabalu and is bordering Keningau, Sipitang, Beaufort and the Kalimantan region of Indonesia.

Its MP Datuk Raimee Unggi represents 68,000 people, 70 per cent of them Murut. He believes that the district is an undiscovered goldmine of the agricultural industry and is determined to develop it.

"In Tenom, the main focus is to improve the economic standards among the villagers, as its crops and fruit products have a high commercial value", he told Bernama during a recent visit to the district.

He wants to create a farm produce collection centre in Tenom to collate and organise data on produce as well as generate better income for the locals.

Raimee who is also Tenom's Parliamentary Agriculture Development Council Chairman said the centre would be equipped with modern equipments, a packaging area and fresh produce storage.

"We want our farmers to be given the best price for their quality produce", he said.

Among the farm produce with good market potential are bananas, avocado, guava and papaya. -SABAHCOLUMN @SABAHTOURISM