Beirut Poshes Up for the Holidays

Christmas decorations in Beirut | Photo: Reuters
Christmas decorations in Beirut | Photo: Reuters
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Beirut Poshes Up for the Holidays

Christmas decorations in Beirut | Photo: Reuters
Christmas decorations in Beirut | Photo: Reuters

Once again, Beirut rises from the rubble and wipes off the dust from one of the most devastating attacks it has ever seen. Today, after the August 4 explosion that struck at the heart of the capital and suspended its pulse for days, Beirut, clinging to hope, tries to avoid missing out on the holiday season, with Christmas and New Year’s Eve fast approaching. It is determined to walk on and take off the clothes of sadness imposed by the catastrophe to posh up and take the appearance it typically does; that of a city of joy and color.

Beirut’s streets, alleys, squares, and streets have been illuminated by Christmas lights. Shops in the center of the capital spread set up decorations along the main road and on their branches. The streets of Mar Mikhael and Gemmayzeh have also worn the festive attire and are preparing for the rival of Christmas markets, the Beirut Chant concerts, and several environmental and social activities, thanks to the efforts of its people, residents, and individual initiatives.

On December 18, the Christmas activities under the title Solidarity Christmas Village will launch in Mar Mikhael. From the wounded heart of Beirut, the festive program will be inaugurated with a free concert performed by the graduates and students of the Holy Spirit University of Kasslik and includes daily activities from five in the afternoon until ten at night running until the 23rd of this month. Like other organizers of festive events in Beirut, the parties behind the initiative called on attendees to wear face masks and respect social distancing measures.

The 'In Action Events' organized Christmas Fair on Mar Nicolas Street in the Tabaris neighborhood in Ashrafieh launched its seventh edition in December. The program includes music, games, food and drinks.

A huge Christmas tree was set up in Sassine Square as part of the 'Christmas Village' in a tribute to the victims of the Beirut bombing. The names of the martyrs of the August 4 explosion are engraved on a wooden plaque placed next to it. A recreational space brimming adults and children, buying Ghazl al-Banat (an Arab sweet similar to cotton candy) and kunafa with cheese and sesame, and carrying colorful balloons as they explore the Christmas Village and the various activities organized for the occasion. Sassine will host Christmas activities until the end of the month.

For their part, commercial centers have chosen to decorate their spaces, each according to his own style. Because of the economic crisis that hit them hard on the one hand, and the lockdowns on the other they chose to re-use last year's. decorations. ABC shopping mall franchise decorated its three branches (Ashrafieh, Dbayeh, and Verdun) with his Christmas paintings, and a festively decorated large golden Christmas tree was erected in the middle of the City Center shopping center in Hazmieh.

Municipalities in Beirut and elsewhere, similarly financially strained, also reused last year’s decorations. Neither they nor any commercial institutions, local associations, or banks have the luxury to spend money on decorating, thus leaving places like Jbeil, whose Christmas trees had been lauded as the most beautiful for years, without a festive atmosphere.



Chinese Tea Hub Branches into Coffee as Tastes Change

A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP
A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP
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Chinese Tea Hub Branches into Coffee as Tastes Change

A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP
A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP

At a mountainside cafe in southwestern China, Liao Shihao brews handfuls of locally grown beans into steaming cups of coffee, a modern twist on the region's traditional drink.

For centuries, Pu'er in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea -- sometimes styled "pu-erh" -- famous across East Asia and beyond.

But as younger Chinese cultivate a taste for punchy espressos, frothy lattes and flat whites, growers are increasingly branching out into tea's historic rival.

"People are coming to try our hand-drip coffee... and more fully experience the flavours it brings," Liao, 25, told AFP.
"In the past, they mostly went for commercialised coffee, and wouldn't dabble in the artisanal varieties," he said.

Liao´s family has run the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation for three generations.

Nestled in a shady valley, spindly coffee trees line its steep hillsides, their cherry-like fruit drying on wooden pallets outside.

When AFP visited this month, clusters of tourists sipped boutique brews in the airy cafe overlooking its verdant slopes.

"It's very good," said Cai Shuwen, 21, as he perched on a bar stool lifting sample after sample to his lips.

"Even though some beans are more astringent than I imagined, others have exceeded my expectations."

- Brewing success -

Every year, Pu'er's plantations sell tens of thousands of tons of coffee to major Chinese cities, according to government data.

In metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai, a thriving cafe scene has emerged in recent years, driven by people aged between 20 and 40.

To Liao, a trained roaster and barista, coffee from his home region possesses "a creamy flavour with a silky, viscous mouthfeel".

Modern commercial plantations only sprang up in Pu'er in the 1980s, and the area is still better known for its centuries-old tea trade.

Liao's grandfather, Liao Xiugui, said "nobody knew anything about coffee" when he arrived in Pu'er a few decades ago.

At the time, the older man was one of very few people in China who had studied coffee cultivation.

But the region's relatively high altitude and temperate climate were well-suited to the unfamiliar crop, the now 83-year-old told AFP.

"The quality of the coffee we plant here is strong but not too bitter, floral but not too heady, and slightly fruity," he added.

Free from artificial pesticides and interspersed with other species for biodiversity, Little Hollow yields about 500 tons of raw coffee fruit per year.

Liao Xiugui himself drinks two or three cups a day, and credits the caffeinated beverage for keeping him spry in his advanced years.

"Drinking coffee can make you younger and healthier... and prevent ageing," he smiled.

"Also, everyone is tired at work these days... and they want to give their brains a boost."

- Richer pickings -

China's coffee output has risen dramatically in recent years, though it still lags far behind traditional powerhouses such as Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.

Yunnan, near three borders with Southeast Asian nations, accounts for virtually all of China's coffee production, much of it concentrated in Pu'er.

On a visit to Yunnan last month, President Xi Jinping said the province's coffee "represents China", according to state media.

Keen to further expand the sector, officials have rolled out policies to improve production, attract investment and boost exports, according to government statements.

They have also merged coffee production with tourism, dovetailing with a central government push to increase domestic consumption.

Longtime farmer Yu Dun, 51, said she had opened new income streams with plantation tours, homestays and a restaurant fusing coffee with the cuisine of her native Dai ethnicity.

Her prospects were bright, she said, adding that she also earned "10 times" more revenue from her beans since learning to process and roast them herself.

"We used to say only rich people could drink coffee, but that's all changed now," she said.