Yunnan Coffee Typica Special Feature: Flavor Profile and Taste Characteristics of Yunnan Small Bean Coffee for Pour-Over Brewing

Yunnan Province is the only region in China capable of producing high-quality Arabica coffee. Although the coffee industry is not a major direction for our country's agricultural development and hasn't received strong policy support, Yunnan holds a sacred place for those of us engaged in coffee-related work. In recent years, many coffee professionals from coastal regions have ventured into Yunnan to develop our coffee cultivation industry because we firmly believe that Yunnan coffee can also produce beans that rival those from Ethiopia and Panama.

Yunnan Coffee Region

Yunnan is situated between 21° and 29° north latitude, placing it within the coffee cultivation belt. Additionally, Yunnan is located on China's second topographical tier, with predominantly mountainous and hilly terrain. Most areas have elevations ranging from 600 to 3,000 meters. Yunnan's average monthly temperature in the hottest months ranges from 19°C to 22°C, while the coldest months average 6°C to 8°C, with significant diurnal temperature variations. Yunnan doesn't experience distinct four seasons, but rather clear wet and dry seasons. The rainy season runs from May to October, while the dry season spans from November to April of the following year. Most regions in Yunnan receive an average annual precipitation of 2,200 to 2,700 millimeters.

The main coffee cultivation areas in Yunnan are distributed in the southwestern part of the province: Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong. In terms of environmental conditions required for producing high-quality coffee, Yunnan barely meets the qualifying standards. To cultivate exceptional coffee, doubled effort must be invested in post-planting care.

FrontStreet Coffee's history of coffee cultivation predates its physical store by half a year. At that time, we were growing coffee in a place called Dazhen in Guangdong province. When we used Catimor to grow seedlings to 20cm tall, more than half a year had passed before we finally understood: the relationship and sequence between variety, altitude, and processing method. Choosing the right variety, planting it at the appropriate altitude, and after maturity, experimenting with processing methods that can express unique flavors—this is what FrontStreet Coffee believes is the only logical relationship for specialty coffee to have distinct regional characteristics.

Therefore, we abandoned our plan to cultivate coffee in Guangdong. Since our initial coffee roasting location was on Bao'an Front Street, we renamed "Dazhen Coffee" to "FrontStreet Coffee." At FrontStreet Coffee, while roasting coffee, we continued forward with our specialty coffee cultivation ideas, successively visiting the Tropical Agricultural Science Research Institute (which has in-depth research on coffee cultivation and the Ministry of Agriculture's coffee germplasm repository), and a few farmers who had planted specialty coffee. We clarified why Yunnan didn't mainstream the cultivation of Typica and Bourbon varieties—the staple varieties of specialty coffee. Through a stroke of serendipity, we also found suitable land for cultivation.

Arabica coffee beans have requirements for cultivation altitude—they need to be grown above 1,000 meters. For better flavors, the cultivation altitude needs to be higher. However, Yunnan's普遍 mountain elevations barely meet the qualifying standards, which is also a disadvantage for Yunnan coffee. To compensate for the altitude deficiency, excellent agronomic management is required,前提是 having good coffee varieties.

FrontStreet Coffee didn't purchase a ready-made coffee estate but bought a mountain area suitable for coffee cultivation because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that even if the land is excellent, coffee planted with unsuitable varieties won't produce good flavors (at that time, Yunnan普遍 had Catimor). Therefore, we chose a path of starting coffee cultivation from scratch. The coffee variety cultivated by FrontStreet Coffee is Typica, which has excellent flavor among Arabica varieties. At the same time, Typica's yield is very low—only one-third of Catimor's yield—which explains why it's more expensive. Additionally, Typica and Bourbon are very susceptible to coffee leaf rust, which is one reason farmers are reluctant to plant Arabica varieties.

Yunnan doesn't have four seasons, only dry and wet seasons, and most coffee regions face similar conditions. This is also the fundamental reason why some regions use the natural processing method. Entering June marks the beginning of the rainy season in the growing regions. The next three to four months will be rainy, which is the most favorable period for coffee cultivation. Only by planting seedlings during this time can they develop robust root systems under the nourishment of rainfall over several months, enabling them to survive the first six-month dry season.

Starting coffee cultivation from scratch is also a matter of high time cost. Coffee takes three to four years from seedling to first harvest, and then experimenting with suitable processing methods and finally reproducing them means it takes at least five years to get the first batch of coffee. No one can guarantee immediate production of high-quality specialty coffee. FrontStreet Coffee firmly believes that nothing in this world is that easy. After multiple variety selections and post-harvest processing experiments, several more years have passed.

Due to the pandemic last year, our Yunnan trip was postponed until this year.

This is the coffee tree that FrontStreet Coffee planted in May 2016, which now stands over 3 meters tall.

The Typica seedlings planted in May 2019 now have lush foliage.

This year, FrontStreet Coffee's coffee production in Yunnan is approximately over 100 kilograms.

This year, FrontStreet Coffee brought back the first batch of coffee cherries to Guangdong for natural processing.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

Originally, small-grained coffee referred to the Typica variety. However, later, with the country's policy of reform and opening up, and the entry of international brands like Nestlé and Starbucks, the demand for coffee beans increased significantly. Since Typica has low disease resistance and low yield, and companies like Nestlé promoted the cultivation of Catimor variety in Yunnan, which has high disease resistance and high yield, many coffee farmers, for the sake of income, cut down the elegant-flavored Typica trees and switched to planting Catimor. Now, 90% of Yunnan's coffee is Catimor variety, also called small-grained coffee. (Both Typica and Catimor belong to the small-grained Arabica coffee species, and today Yunnan small-grained coffee generally refers to the Catimor variety.)

The Catimor variety is a hybrid between the Timor variety, which has Robusta genes, and the Caturra variety. Because Catimor has Robusta genes, it has a slight off-flavor and doesn't match up to Typica.

FrontStreet Coffee's self-produced coffee is named "FrontStreet Coffee 2013" to commemorate the starting point of FrontStreet Coffee's coffee exploration journey. This batch of FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan coffee beans is entirely made of Typica coffee beans—the ancient Arabica coffee variety we often mention for its excellent flavors. FrontStreet Coffee used natural processing to ensure the pure, natural flavor of the coffee. After drying, the beans weren't immediately hulled but were transported to FrontStreet Coffee's roasting facility in Guangdong for hulling, which reduces damage to the green beans during transportation. FrontStreet Coffee used medium roasting for this FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan coffee bean. In cupping, it exhibits flavors of ripe fruit, chocolate, and brown sugar.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Natural Typica Coffee Brewing Parameters

Filter: V60
Water Temperature: 88°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar granules (Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 80%)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: segmented extraction. Use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds. When pouring water in a small circular motion to 124g, segment the pour. Continue pouring to 227g when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed. Remove the filter when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time is 2 minutes.

Flavor Description: FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Natural Typica coffee also has nutty notes, with a fuller body compared to Yunnan washed coffee. The acidity is slightly lower than Yunnan washed Typica coffee, but the sweetness is slightly higher, with better balance. It has berry-like acidity, mixed with brown sugar, and a slight tea-like sensation.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small-Grained Coffee Brewing Parameters

Filter: V60
Water Temperature: 88°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar granules (Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 80%)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: segmented extraction. Use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds. When pouring water in a small circular motion to 124g, segment the pour. Continue pouring to 227g when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed. Remove the filter when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time is 2 minutes.

Flavor Description: FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small-Grained Coffee has a strong nutty aroma. When tasted, it reveals herbal, chocolate, and caramel flavors, with a finish that carries a hint of light fruit acidity.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473