Keeping the K'ho soul in every drop of coffee

Member of the Provincial Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council K'Mak visited the Pràn-pa coffee booth of Ms. Ka Jêmima

Ka Jêmima, 29, graduated with a degree in accounting from the College of Foreign Economic Relations and had a stable office job in the city. After the Covid-19 pandemic, she decided to leave the city and return to Bao Thuan commune, Lam Dong province.

During this time, she taught Vietnamese to foreigners and worked as an interpreter to make ends meet, while also persistently researching and learning about coffee roasting and processing. The combination of her job and her apprenticeship laid the foundation for an important turning point.

In 2023, the Pràn-pa brand was officially born, carrying the dream of starting a business from the red basalt land, Robusta coffee gardens and national identity. The name Pràn-pa in the K'ho language means new vitality. For Ka Jêmima, that is the spirit she wants to convey, so that each cup of coffee not only helps to stay awake but also transmits positive energy, arouses trust and connection.

What makes Pràn-pa different is the way Ka Jêmima connects coffee beans with K'ho culture. If traditionally, the K'ho people treat guests with rice wine as a symbol of hospitality, now her family continues that spirit with a cup of homegrown and home-roasted coffee. Each cup of coffee is not just a drink, it also opens up connections, carrying within it the story of the mountains and forests, of motherland and of humanity. "I want when sipping a cup of Pràn-pa coffee, the drinker not only feels the pure flavor, but also sees the identity of our homeland in it," Ka Jêmima shared.

Starting on a small scale, Pràn-pa only roasts and grinds less than 20 kg of coffee per month. But it is this modesty that allows Ka Jêmima to focus on every detail. From the harvesting stage, she only selects red ripe berries, removes defective beans, naturally dries them for 10 - 20 days, then preserves the green beans for 1 - 3 months to stabilize the flavor, each roasting batch usually lasts about 35 minutes. Thanks to this meticulousness, the rate of defective beans is only 5 - 7%. The final product is pure roasted coffee, without seasoning or additives, preserving the rustic, original flavor and being safe for health.

For Ms. Ka Jêmima, starting a business is not only about building a personal brand but also a way to contribute to improving the community's life. Each crop season, Pràn-pa creates seasonal jobs for 5-7 workers, all of whom are local K'ho people. In addition, she also proactively buys coffee from the locals at a price 20,000 VND/kg higher than the market price, helping them earn more income instead of just selling raw beans at unstable prices. "I hope that when my hometown's coffee beans are upgraded, the lives of K'ho farmers will also gradually improve and become more prosperous every day," Ms. Ka Jêmima said.

Although still in its infancy, Pràn-pa has already attracted international attention, with its first regular customers being overseas Vietnamese and foreigners. From that signal, Ms. Ka Jêmima continues to build a domestic brand, while at the same time, cherishing the aspiration of bringing her hometown coffee to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Japan or the US, all of which are markets that value quality and cherish the cultural story associated with the product.

Ms. Ka Jêmima also acknowledged that her entrepreneurial journey was not easy, but was built step by step through research and experience. Each season, each roasting experiment brought valuable lessons to perfect the product. For her, the most important thing for young ethnic minorities to start a successful business is to persevere and keep their heart for the job, because only when done properly, coffee beans will bring lasting value.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/giu-hon-k-ho-trong-tung-giot-ca-phe-390996.html