In Brazil, João Neto is a farmer who owns a large 230ha coffee farm in São Paulo. Many years ago while wandering in the garden, he accidentally saw a rolling patch of ground covered with coffee beans.
Looking up at the tree, Neto discovered an entire “legion” of ants attacking frantically. They bite off the stalks of ripe coffee berries and carry them back to the nest.
Ants don’t hate coffee.
Since most people only see coffee at the finished stage (beads or powder), we often forget that coffee plants have fruit. When green, coffee pods are very acrid and hard, but when ripe, it softens and becomes sweet. And all coffee growers know that there are many animals that target ripe coffee beans, including ants because it is full of natural glucose (sugar).
Since 1880, science has known the “love story” between coffee plants and ants. In Fiji (an island nation in Oceania), there is also a species of “coffee bodyguard ant” named Phildris nagasau . They actively protect their symbiotic tree, not allowing any other species to come in and help the plant pollinate itself.
The ants that Neto saw were just one of many species of ants that symbiotically with the coffee plant. They bring the ripe fruit back to the nest to make food for themselves and feed the larvae. After gnawing and eating all the soft, ripe coffee pods, the ants leave the hard seeds only to occupy the space, causing the nest to be thrown out.
Number of coffee beans obtained from ants.
In the coffee world, animal coffee is the best. These include “poop coffee” varieties ranging from mink, bird, civet and elephant dung.
According to the researchers’ analysis, after passing through the intestinal system of living organisms, coffee beans are affected by digestive enzymes. The structure of the protein is changed, losing some of the acid, but because of that, it becomes more delicious.
Although ants do not have a throat large enough to swallow coffee beans, in the process of eating, they still stick digestive enzymes on the surface of the beans. Knowing that, Neto decided to pick them all up. Fearing that he lacked the expertise to process and evaluate, he carefully handed it over to his longtime buyer, Katsuhiko Hasegawa (Japan).
In fact, Hasegawa is not a coffee expert, but is the owner of Café Paulista, which opened in 1911 in the heart of Tokyo.
The “legion” of ants are frantically attacking the coffee berries.
Initially, Café Paulista was the shop of Ryo Mizuno, the first Japanese to bring Japanese migrant workers to Brazil to grow coffee. It was later passed to Hasegawa’s grandfather. Because he doesn’t want to lose his hundred-year history, Hasegawa only imports coffee from Brazil.
Mr. João Neto – farmer who owns ant cafe farm
Knowing the “source” of the coffee bag he just received, Hasegawa is extremely excited and looking forward. He was so serious that he ignored all modern roasters and went with Neto to the old manual roasting factory far away to process.
Watching Hasegawa carefully treat the ant coffee beans as if they were precious stones, Neto was also nervous. When the steaming cup of coffee was handed over, he was so touched that he let out a groan. Bitter taste melts in the mouth. “Even though I’m not a professional coffee reviewer, I still enjoy it very much,” he said.
On the same day, some friends of Neto’s farmers participated in trying the ant coffee. Everyone nodded and praised the deliciousness, admitting that the acidity was reduced and the scent was like the smell of jasmine.
The taste of the unexpected ant coffee is truly captivating.
Just to be sure, Hasegawa packed some to bring back to Japan, got the bartenders to taste it, and got 2 responses. The first reviewer said that it has acquired a unique acidic character, unlike any other coffee. The second reviewer said it tasted sweet and the scent was great.
Unfortunately, although everyone liked it, Hasegawa still couldn’t take orders, because there was no ant coffee available to sell. Although from that day on, Neto gave the coffee farm to nature, no longer using pesticides or toxic chemicals, but the amount of coffee ants obtained was still not much. Even in the most profitable year of 2015, he only collected 27kg.
It is very difficult to get ant coffee because farmers around the world have long used pesticides to kill pests, ants and termites that attack coffee trees. Even in São Paulo, where many people know Neto’s ant coffee, only this farmer is generous enough to give up his garden to the ants.
Only certain species of ants and coffee plants form a symbiotic relationship.
According to Susanne Renner, a botanist at Ludwig Maximilian University (Germany), it took 3-5 million years of evolution between some species of ants and coffee plants to form a symbiotic relationship. But with chemicals, people easily cut off that cooperation.
Of course, if we have cut off, we can also reconnect, by stopping using insecticides or repelling ants. How much time it will take to restore this reciprocity, however, is uncertain. Therefore, no farmer but Neto dared to gamble carelessly.
And even though he loves ants and wants to dedicate all of his coffee land to them, for his livelihood, Neto is also having to gradually reduce the area to 40 hectares.
That’s why I said, this is a coffee that money can’t buy!