Lantau’s 25 Farmers Harvest 10 Kilograms of Hong Kong-Grown Coffee

2 articles · Updated · CNN · May 16

Lantau farmers picked a record 10 kilograms of coffee cherries earlier this year, nearly 10 times their first harvest in 2023 and a milestone for a city better known for importing food than growing it.
The crop grew from 100 seeds Ringo Lam brought back from Panama six years ago; about 80 sprouted, and 25 farmers now tend roughly 400 coffee trees on the island.
Hong Kong sits 22 degrees north—inside the global coffee belt—though its low elevations and temperature profile limit flavor complexity compared with high-altitude producers, according to growers and University of Hong Kong researchers.
The beans remain a niche product: Lam says the 10-kilogram haul would not fill one standard 60-kilogram trade bag, while Brazil produced 63 million such bags last year.
Rather than chase scale, growers are using workshops, contests and farm visits to improve processing, promote local agriculture and show consumers the labor behind a cup of coffee.

Could Hong Kong's coffee farms become a blueprint for agriculture in the world's most expensive cities?

With land prices soaring, is Hong Kong's local coffee a sustainable dream or a costly passion project?