Yar Sin

Yar Sin, founder of Biome Coffee, a company that processes and exports Myanmar-grown coffee. With support from CPDP, a Taiwan-based NPO that empowers coffee producers toward self-sufficiency, he is steadily growing his business.

Biome Coffee operates processing facilities and its own farm in Myanmar’s two largest coffee-producing regions, Pyin Oo Lwin and Ywangan in Shan State, which together account for about 80% of the country’s total coffee production. It currently works with 15 producer groups. To support these farmers, Biome Coffee provides essential equipment like hullers and drying beds at no cost and shares advanced processing techniques. Through these efforts, it has built lasting relationships with its producers.

Biome Coffee takes its name from the diverse microorganisms that play an important role in fermentation and the vast ecosystems of plants and animals in the natural world. Biome Coffee’s greatest strength lies in the diversity and uniqueness of its lots. In addition to standard processing methods, it offers exclusive lots such as Vanilla Double-Washed (DA) Honey, Brown Sugar DA Honey, and Lychee DA Washed – coffees not found elsewhere. To cater to clients looking for unique offerings, Biome experiments with 20-30 new lots each year, refining and commercializing them.

At the same time, Biome Coffee ensures consistency by systematically measuring pH, flavor, and sugar content to maintain stable flavor and quality year after year. Despite having a small, seven-person team, they employ innovative methods that distinguish them in Myanmar’s coffee industry. So, what drives Yar Sin forward?

Growing alongside producers

Across the world, many coffee growers run small, family-run farms. The majority of farmers Yar Sin works with are no exception. While coffee is their primary source of income, they also cultivate crops like tomatoes and other vegetables. Among these producers, there is a growing awareness that processing their own coffee rather than selling cherries directly yields higher profits. As a result, many have set up basic processing equipment and machinery on their properties to handle post-harvest processing themselves.

However, most of these growers lack direct access to buyers and have no resources to market their coffee or establish sales channels on their own. To address this, Yar Sin proposed: “We’ll find buyers for you. In return, please try the farming and processing methods as we recommend. Eventually, it will benefit you, too.” This partnership-based approach has helped him foster strong relationships with producers.

Indeed, aside from the few months of harvest season, Yar Sin focuses almost entirely on building his customer base. With financial backing from CPDP, he has been hosting cupping events in Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He especially values connections with roasters, explaining that they have a deep understanding of quality and are willing to pay a premium for good coffee.

One of Yar Sin’s key supporters is Happy, the co-founder of CPDP and owner of Wells cafe, a Taiwanese company involved in both coffee retail and green bean distribution. In 2024, Wells cafe imported around 100 tons, a connection that has opened many doors for Yar Sin. These efforts directly benefited producers as well.

There is another reason why Yar Sin is determined to secure sales channels. If producers decide coffee cannot provide a stable or sufficient income, they may be driven back to cultivating opium poppies, the raw material for narcotics.

That risk is especially high in Ywangan, Shan State, where poppy cultivation was once widespread. Although government-backed programs starting in the mid-2010s have helped shift farmers toward coffee, progress remains tenuous, especially amidst ongoing civil conflict. Even so, Yar Sin is determined to keep searching for a way forward.

Inspired by his dedication

Yar Sin first met Happy at a food festival in Thailand in 2023. As Happy walked past Biome Coffee’s booth, he glanced at the four green bean samples on display and remarked, “This is good coffee.” What shocked Yar Sin was not just the comment, but the fact that Happy could instantly and accurately identify each coffee’s processing method, humidity level, and temperature just by looking at the beans. Happy recalls:

“I’ve worked with green coffee for years. When I see beans, it feels as if they’re speaking to me. I could immediately tell they had been handled with great care.”

Meanwhile, at the Wells cafe booth, Yar Sin tasted their coffee and was struck by the vast difference in quality. Determined to learn as much as he could from Happy, he began traveling to Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan to attend SCA courses taught by him.

However, the course fees were equivalent to an entire year’s income for Yar Sin. When he asked, “Can I pay later?” Happy simply replied, “You don’t need to pay.” He covered the tuition himself.

“When I first met Yar Sin, he didn’t speak a word of Chinese. But within just two to three months of studying online, he was able to hold conversations with me and ask questions.

Thinking about how much effort he put in made me emotional. I had never met a student so dedicated to learning about coffee. That’s what ultimately inspired me to start CPDP’s project in Myanmar.”

Rethinking what it means to help

Since founding Wells cafe in 2010, Happy has been sourcing coffee from Ethiopian exporters. What started as one bag per month grew to 30-40 containers annually. Yet, despite this expansion, farmers’ lives remained unchanged. The profits flowed to processors and exporters, while those who actually grew the coffee saw no improvement. Unable to intervene in the unfair distribution of profits, Happy felt powerless.

Drawing from this experience, CPDP follows two key policies: no ownership of processing facilities and no monopolization of clients. Their producer development program is limited to three years, with the goal of fostering self-sufficient coffee-growing communities. To support this, CPDP provides affordable SCA-certified training programs, helping local leaders gain the knowledge and skills needed to pass on to Myanmar’s farmers.

Happy’s philosophy was shaped by a speech he attended around 2007 by Toshiharu Yamamoto, a Japanese doctor engaged in international humanitarian work.

“Dr. Yamamoto’s father was also a doctor. Before passing away, he told his son: ‘There are far too many people in the world who need saving. But even if you dedicate your entire life to medicine, you’ll only be able to help a few thousand. That’s why you shouldn’t become a doctor.’

Instead of working as a physician, Dr. Yamamoto chose to focus on international aid, training skilled medical professionals in impoverished regions across Africa and the Middle East.

That idea resonated with me. If the goal is to have Myanmar’s coffee recognized globally and improve farmers’ lives, expanding my own café is not the best solution. Even at full capacity, I could only handle about 100 containers a year, nowhere near enough to make a real impact.

And monopolizing sales channels only leads to instability. Many origin-support programs have collapsed, and several exporters have pulled out of sourcing regions entirely. Just this year in Colombia, farmers rioted when they realized how much lower their buyout prices were compared to market rates.

That was the consequence of underestimating farmers, the price of treating them as ignorant and uninformed. If we want long-term sustainability, we need transparency, just like in the wine industry, where fair trade and profit distribution are essential for lasting business success.”

Competing on the global stage with coffee

In 2023, Biome Coffee purchased land and established its own farm. Yar Sin believes that as climate change pushes coffee-growing regions further north, Southeast Asia will emerge as a major coffee-producing hub.

Yar Sin originally studied medicine at university, supported financially by his much older brothers. It was around his seventh and final year that he began considering an alternative path.

In Myanmar, doctors earn only about $200 per month, and their only option is to work under the military regime. Practicing abroad would require retraining, a process that demands both time and significant financial investment.

Faced with these limitations, he began searching for a different career path. While reading extensively for inspiration, he came across Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

The book inspired him to pursue business and work on a global scale. As he explored potential ventures, he discovered coffee. Hearing industry professionals consistently praise the quality of Myanmar’s coffee sparked his interest.

Coffee is the world’s second-largest traded commodity after oil – and more importantly, it was something he personally loved. “If coffee has this potential, maybe it can put Myanmar on the map.” With that hope, Yar Sin graduated, worked for a year at a government hospital, and then left medicine in 2018 to enter the coffee industry.

“Myanmar’s name rarely appears on the global stage – whether in business, sports, or any major industry. That’s why I want our coffee to reach a level where the world recognizes its quality, so the people of Myanmar can take pride in their country.”

“I know the road ahead won’t be easy. Myanmar is still relatively unknown, and even if our coffee matches Ethiopia’s in quality and price, many buyers would still choose Ethiopian coffee. That means we need to educate consumers, improve cultivation techniques, replant older trees, and introduce new varieties.

On top of that, we face political turmoil, inflation, fluctuating exchange rates, and unpredictable export regulations. But I still believe coffee is Myanmar’s best opportunity to step onto the world stage. And despite the challenges, I feel lucky to be part of a coffee-producing country.”