Friday, 18th January 2019, Belait - A new semester had just started and right after the December break, UTBOC planned a technical visit to Labi Coffee Farm, Brunei's only local source for coffee beans. 23 students signed up and arrived at the Belait-based farm.They were greeted by the owner's son, Raymond Yong Shin Xian, who showed the students around their 19-hectare farm and demonstrated how the beans are harvested and treated before they are sent to their processing facility in Brunei-Muara. Though they seem heavily established, their company is family run and the farm is only worked by about 10 workers.


Raymond told about the stories of when the farm was initially an orange farm that failed due to a horticultural disease that reaped their orchard. Now, it is a massive coffee farm and they have sold their product to correspondents from countries such as Vietnam, China, Japan, and even as far as Canada. From citrus to caffeine, a tale of international success from a Bruneian entrepreneur.


Students had the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the delicious brown drink that they know too well during revision week. Though they did not get to taste the world travelling coffee beans, an invitation was extended to visit the processing facility in Brunei-Muara in the near future. Another day another opportunity.