Catimor Coffee Bean Characteristics and Flavor Description - Yunnan Small Bean Catimor Coffee Story, Variety Introduction, and Quality Level

If you're a coffee lover, you may have heard of the Catimor variety. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will start with Yunnan small-bean coffee to provide a thorough introduction to this variety.

Catimor

In 1959, the Portuguese crossbred Brazilian Caturra with Timor to create Catimor, a variety with strong disease resistance. It has since become an important commercial coffee variety. East Timor was under Portuguese colonization for 400 years, and the Portuguese had long been familiar with East Timor's coffee trees. In 1959, the Portuguese moved Brazilian Bourbon mutant Caturra to East Timon to crossbreed with Timor, which carries Robusta bloodlines, successfully creating Catimor with exceptional disease resistance and productivity.

Between 1970 and 1990, leaf rust devastated coffee-producing countries worldwide. With assistance from international organizations, various countries vigorously promoted Catimor to resist leaf rust and increase productivity. These highly disease-resistant plants have the ability to withstand coffee leaf rust, so they were widely planted in Latin American countries during the 1980s. Unfortunately, because Timor variety (also known as Arabusta) is a natural hybrid of Typica Arabica and Robusta, although the latter can provide disease resistance, the delicate flavor of Arabica varieties was lost. Although Catimor inherited Robusta's strong disease resistance, it also inherited poor flavor genes. Additionally, although early Catimor had high productivity, it required shade trees to thrive, otherwise it would easily wither.

Yunnan Catimor Coffee

In 1959, the Portuguese moved Brazilian Bourbon mutant Caturra to East Timor to crossbreed with Timor (which has Robusta bloodlines), successfully creating Catimor with exceptional disease resistance and productivity. Due to leaf rust devastating coffee-producing countries worldwide, with assistance from international organizations, various countries vigorously promoted Catimor to resist leaf rust and increase productivity.

Starting in 1992, Nestlé established a coffee agriculture department specifically to guide and research the improvement and cultivation of Yunnan coffee, introducing high-yield, disease-resistant Catimor and purchasing coffee at prices according to the US spot market. Catimor is not purely of Arabica bloodline - it's a hybrid of Timor (Arabica and Robusta hybrid) and Caturra (Bourbon variety variant), so Catimor has 25% Robusta bloodline. Its Robusta bloodline determines its flavor defects: insufficient aroma richness, overall bitter taste, and tendency to develop astringency and relatively stimulating musty flavors.

Currently, the most commonly planted coffee variety in Yunnan is Catimor and its improved varieties - what people commonly call Yunnan small-bean coffee. Now it appears that most of Yunnan grows Catimor, a variety that is a hybrid of Caturra (a Bourbon lineage branch within Arabica) and Robusta lineage. The reason for planting this variety is that Catimor possesses Robusta genes, making it more disease-resistant than single old varieties, and it also has good productivity. Compared to delicate old varieties with poor disease resistance and low productivity, farmers naturally prefer planting Catimor, so Yunnan has now experienced a Catimor boom.

Growth period: Yunnan small-bean coffee trees begin bearing fruit at 3-4 years of age.

Coffee is a short-day plant. Coffee exhibits multiple flowering phenomena and concentrated flowering periods. Small-bean coffee in Yunnan flowers from February to July, with peak flowering from March to May. Coffee flowering is greatly influenced by climate, particularly rainfall and temperature. Coffee flowers have short lifespans, lasting only 2-3 days. Small-bean coffee generally begins to bloom between 3-5 AM and reaches full bloom between 5-7 AM. Coffee fruit development takes a long time. Small-bean coffee fruit takes 8-10 months to mature, typically maturing from October to December of the same year. Rainfall greatly affects fruit development, and climate conditions directly impact the fruit.

Catimor Processing Methods

Regarding Catimor processing methods, FrontStreet Coffee has two different coffee bean processing methods: washed and red cherry natural processing. So how do their coffee flavors differ? FrontStreet Coffee will brew them to see the differences.

FrontStreet Coffee: Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee Beans

Region: Baoshan, Yunnan, China

Altitude: 1200m

Variety: Catimor

Processing Method: Washed

FrontStreet Coffee: Yunnan Catimor Coffee Beans

Region: Lujiangba, Baoshan, Yunnan, China

Altitude: 1450-1550m

Variety: Catimor

Processing Method: Red Cherry Natural

Hario V60 Brewing

Because the V60 dripper's ribs are distributed in curved patterns from top to bottom with varying lengths, it allows for smoother exhaust and relatively faster flow rates during brewing. This results in more distinct layers of extracted coffee flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee will use a V60 to brew Yunnan small-bean coffee, using a segmented extraction method to increase the extraction rate of the beans.

Parameters & Technique: Grind size Ek43s setting 10 (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve), water temperature 91°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15. Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pause when reaching 125g, continue pouring to 227g when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove dripper when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 1:42.

Yunnan Small-Bean Washed Brewing Flavor: Melon, cucumber, cream, citrus, chocolate, almond, sweet orange, tea-like sensation, sweet fruity finish in the aftertaste, passion fruit acidity notes, overall distinct flavor layers.

Yunnan Catimor Natural Brewing Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, spices, caramel, red berries.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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