Differences in Flavor Characteristics of Yunnan Coffee Varieties - Yunnan Coffee History Stories and Coffee Bean Grading

Nowadays, when Yunnan coffee beans are mentioned, I believe everyone is quite familiar with them. In recent years, Yunnan coffee beans have increasingly appeared in various competitions. People's understanding of Yunnan coffee beans has moved beyond the instant coffee era, focusing instead on individual beans with poetic names and captivating flavors.

The Journey of Yunnan Coffee

Yunnan coffee originated in 1904 when French missionary Alfred Tiedjens planted the first coffee tree at the China-Vietnam border in Dali. At that time, the number of coffee trees planted was not large, and people only knew them as small-grain coffee trees (Arabica variety), with no large-scale cultivation. By 1930, an overseas Chinese brought coffee trees to other parts of Yunnan to begin mass cultivation. However, people were very unfamiliar with this plant, locals didn't drink coffee, and it required careful cultivation, so naturally no one was willing to put effort into growing it. Thus, this batch of coffee trees was once again "set aside."

After the founding of New China, China joined the communist camp, and under expert guidance, Yunnan began mass cultivation of coffee trees and exported the produced coffee beans to the Soviet Union. At that time, Yunnan's coffee cultivation area once reached 4,000 hectares. In the 1990s, Nestlé began Yunnan coffee cultivation and, to increase yield, started introducing the Catimor coffee variety from Brazil. By 1997, the entire planting area in Yunnan reached 7,800 hectares.

(Yunnan Catimor variety)

Although Catimor has high yield, if processed using traditional natural/washed methods and brewed directly, the coffee's flavor is often disappointing... Therefore, people naturally equated Yunnan coffee with instant coffee ingredients and labeled it with the flavor tag "not good-tasting" until recent years when the specialty coffee industry continued to develop, coffee bean processing methods became increasingly innovative, and various innovative approaches were used to process coffee beans, enhancing their flavor quality. Yunnan coffee also recognized this, using special processing methods to mask the flavor shortcomings of Catimor coffee, and everyone who drank it said it was good! Thus, Yunnan coffee beans began to actively appear in the specialty coffee market.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

Although Yunnan Catimor processed with special methods has excellent flavor, if this continues for a long time, people will become very unfamiliar with the taste of Yunnan coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that to make Yunnan coffee beans taste good, we should start from the root. Therefore, beginning in 2013, FrontStreet Coffee started planting Typica variety coffee trees in Lincang, which is also the coffee variety brought by missionaries back then.

The reason for choosing the Typica variety is that it is one of the oldest coffee varieties, and all the Arabica coffee varieties we see today are derived from this variety. The variety itself has clean coffee flavor. Although its yield is not as high as Catimor and cultivation is more difficult, the delicate acidity and balanced flavor always leave a lasting impression. The Yunnan Typica coffee beans grown by FrontStreet Coffee have delicate acidity, licorice-like sweetness, slightly lower body, and overall balance.

(Typica variety planted by FrontStreet Coffee in Yunnan)

Meanwhile, Catimor is a combination of Arabica and Robusta species, containing 25% Robusta genes, so the coffee flavor is not as clean as pure Arabica gene varieties. However, as people increasingly value coffee bean processing, natural drying equipment and washed fermentation tanks have been upgraded. Now, Yunnan Catimor processed with traditional methods can also exhibit good coffee flavor. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that Yunnan Catimor has nut, brown sugar, and plum-like flavors, with overall relative balance.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Grading System

China's coffee cultivation industry started relatively late, generally using bean size + defect rate for grading. Bean size uses international standard mesh numbers as the basis (screen holes are based on 6.5mm, 6.0mm, 5.5mm, 5.0mm standards).

Grade 1: Above 6.5mm, full and plump beans.

Grade 2: 6.0-6.4mm, full and relatively uniform.

Grade 3: 5.3-5.9mm, relatively full, slightly less uniform.

Grade 4: 5.0-5.4mm, with incomplete beans, complete beans accounting for over 75%. Grade 5: Below 5.0mm, with incomplete beans, complete beans accounting for over 30%.

At the same time, international defective bean point standards, bean appearance and color, cleanliness, aroma, moisture content, and other factors are also referenced. In recent years, relevant departments of the Yunnan provincial government and local governments in places like Pu'er have vigorously promoted Yunnan specialty coffee cultivation and processing, introduced advanced cultivation and processing methods, held various coffee competitions, and especially deepened the promotion of coffee cupping to identify coffee quality. It is believed that in the near future, the grading of Yunnan green coffee beans will become more rigorous and scientific, gradually entering the international specialty coffee market.

How to Brew Yunnan Coffee for Better Taste?

FrontStreet Coffee will brew two coffee beans this time: one is washed-processed Yunnan Typica coffee beans, and the other is natural-processed Yunnan Typica coffee beans. When brewing, use 15 grams of coffee powder, medium-fine grind (Chinese standard 20-mesh screen pass rate about 78%), and a recommended powder-to-water ratio of 1:15, or 1:16 for clearer flavor.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will use a V60 dripper, 88°C water temperature, and three-stage pouring to brew, aiming to make the acidity softer. First, pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. Then, continue pouring with a small circular flow to 125 grams, creating a stage break. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom) The extraction time is 2'10".

"FrontStreet Coffee Washed-Processed Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans" flavor characteristics: orange peel, plum-like acidity, overall balanced and rich, with roasted nut aftertaste.

"FrontStreet Coffee Natural-Processed Yunnan Typica Coffee Beans" flavor characteristics: gentle acidity, black tea sensation, overall balanced and full, with roasted nut aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473