Chapter 86 Coffee
Foothills of Mount Kenya.
The coffee plantation Ernst chose was under construction.
As the most common beverage in Europe, America and the Middle East, coffee has a huge market.
In the previous life, Kenya was a producer of good-quality coffee, but it was not until the end of the 19th century that Kenyan coffee was planted, and British colonists introduced high-quality coffee varieties from abroad.
Now Ernst has opened a coffee plantation here in advance.
It’s funny to say that northern Kenya is the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia, but coffee didn’t take root in Kenya until modern times.
There were also a small number of coffee trees introduced from Yemen by the Arabs before, but they were not cultivated on a large scale.
Ernst directly drew on the experience of his previous life in Kenya and introduced coffee varieties from Brazil.
The eastern plateau area, dominated by the foothills of Mount Kenya, has an altitude between 1,400 meters and 2,000 meters.
The scale of the first coffee plantation currently planned reaches more than 28,000 acres.
Ernst may not have the guts to compete for business with Britain, France and other countries, but he is still very ambitious to dominate the German region.
Most of the countries that colonized overseas, such as Britain and France, had their own coffee plantations. For example, France opened plantations in Vietnam and other places. Haiti was once responsible for producing coffee for France.
Countries in the German region did not have overseas colonies, and the local area was not suitable for coffee production, which provided Ernst with convenience.
Kenyan coffee is affected by natural conditions, and its quality is very good. If the goods are good, there is no need to worry about selling them. Moreover, the cost of land in East Africa is extremely low. In terms of labor costs, it may not be comparable to the colonies of Britain, France and other countries.
But Ernst is not afraid, and is willing to give up some profits. Growing coffee in Kenya is one way to make money, and the other is to solve employment problems for immigrants.
In the previous life, Kenya relied on the coffee industry to support millions of employed people. Ernst's requirements were not high. Hundreds of thousands of people relied on this crop for employment. The East African colonies could still do it.
It takes at least three years for coffee to grow from planting to fruiting, so the effects cannot be seen in a short time. However, the East African colonies can now support the cultivation of these long-cycle crops.
At that time, with the help of Hechingen Company's mature commercial outlets in the German region, we can quickly occupy part of the German coffee market. At that time, we will be able to catch up with the convenience of the opening of the Suez Canal and reduce transportation costs.
Products from East Africa to the Austro-Hungarian Empire only need to be reached along the coastline of the west coast of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
After unloading the goods in Trieste, the goods can be distributed to various parts of the German region and the Austro-Hungarian Empire through the railway network of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the railways connecting the German regions.
If possible, Ernst could also use East Africa's geographical advantages to open a Far East coffee trade route.
Nowadays, the Far East is influenced by Western countries, and more and more people drink coffee in the Far East, which is a new market that is being opened up.
Especially since Japan's Meiji Restoration is not far away, the Meiji government will definitely vigorously learn from the West.
According to the virtues of the Japanese, they must still play the trick of leaving Asia and joining Europe. If they don’t drink this coffee, how can they integrate into the "civilized world" and become a European country.
At that time, Japan's demand for coffee would definitely explode in a short period of time, and Ernst planned to rectify the instant coffee from his previous life and export it to Japan.
After all, Europeans have rather picky tastes and may not be easily able to accept the taste of instant coffee. But when Japan first tries coffee, there must be many people who cannot accept the bitter taste of coffee.
Add more sugar and flavor to instant coffee to fool the Japanese. This is the latest "industrial" coffee in Europe, and the price can also increase a little more.
After all, traditional ground coffee is still very original, while instant coffee is almost like a pagan in the eyes of traditional coffee lovers.
There is no such thing as food safety in this era. Putting more technology into it can also give the Japanese a lot of insights. For Japan, which yearns for Western industrial civilization.
The black smoke emitted from the London factories is all sweet, so it doesn't matter if my coffee is a bit more technologically advanced, just treat it as a sweet treat.
At that time, the coffee produced in Kenya can be divided into two parts, one part of high quality will be supplied to Europe, and the other part of inferior quality will be digested through the Japanese market.
In this way, Kenyan coffee can definitely gain a reputation in Europe. After all, the quality is not bad to begin with, and on this basis, it has been screened again, and the products that come to Europe are all good ones.
And when the Japanese react, Hechingen Company can confidently say that the products are all made in Kenya and European customers are full of praise. How could there be something wrong with the products they provide to you?
Our company has specially taken care of your country's taste and made appropriate improvements to the coffee. How can we call it fraud? As for why Europeans don't drink instant coffee, that's because you didn't investigate clearly at the beginning.
Of course, instant coffee is not a scourge. Compared with traditional coffee, it is just slightly different in taste and contains a little more.
As for its carcinogenic risk, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and higher risk of obesity and diabetes than traditional ground coffee, no one can prove it in this era.
In Japan during the Meiji Restoration era, those who could afford coffee were definitely not ordinary people, at least they had to have a certain status and status.
Those are out of reach of ordinary people, so there is no risk. As long as instant coffee is not drunk with water, what is there to worry about?
Anyway, Ernst plans to make this money. When the time comes, he must do more advertising in Japan and promote his own products. In an era without perfect supervision, it is not outrageous to say that coffee is a miracle cure for diseases. After all, this At that time, the British still used opium as a panacea! So compared with Jewish businessmen, Ernst instantly felt that he was still too "conscience".
In order to prepare for the Japanese market in advance, Ernst planned to explore it in advance. After all, Japan, which has taken the initiative to open its doors to the world, has a large market.
Japan, which is learning from the West, will definitely purchase a large number of Western products and send many people to inspect and study in the West.
Speaking of studying abroad, Ernst thought that he might be able to open a pheasant university in Europe to defraud Japan of funds.
At that time, they will set up a pheasant school in the UK and France to deceive Japanese students with low tuition fees. After all, the cost of studying abroad in this era is not low.
Ernst could even take the initiative to recruit students in Japan, and once he pays the ferry tickets and tuition fees, it’s up to him where they will be recruited...
This is not because Ernst has a dark psychology. After all, influenced by his previous life, Ernst is still somewhat hostile and prejudiced against some countries.
This does not mean that it can be written off after rebirth. It will naturally be affected by the values of previous lives.
What's more, you can make a fortune from him, cheat him, and earn a favor from Japan for unknown reasons.
After all, they are "friendly countries" separated by a strip of water! Alaska and Japan are both in the North Pacific bath, so they should help their neighbors more.