Is Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Effective and Delicious? Can Yunnan Premium Black Coffee Help with Weight Loss?

In recent years, people's demand for coffee has been growing. Never before could we have imagined that China, a country with such a prominent tea culture, would actually grow coffee. Even more surprisingly, Chinese coffee is grown in Yunnan—a place famous worldwide for its Pu'er tea.

In fact, China's main coffee-growing regions are Yunnan and Hainan. Since Hainan Province is a coastal plain with an altitude of less than 800 meters, and its summers are too hot with year-round high temperatures, it's not suitable for growing Arabica coffee. Instead, it mainly cultivates the Robusta variety.

The Ideal Conditions for Specialty Coffee

To meet the requirements of what we typically call specialty coffee, Arabica varieties must be grown at altitudes above 1,200 meters, among other criteria. The Robusta variety has a predominantly bitter flavor with an earthy taste that isn't particularly appealing. However, Arabica varieties, when provided with suitable growing altitude, temperature, humidity, and proper field management, can undoubtedly achieve excellent quality.

Yunnan Province boasts complex terrain with growing altitudes ranging from 800 to 1,800 meters. Its varied topography, significant day-night temperature differences, fertile soil, consistently high air humidity, and distinct wet and dry seasons provide ideal conditions for cultivating Arabica coffee.

A Brief History of Chinese Coffee

China's coffee consumption history can only be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty, while this tea-developed nation's coffee cultivation history spans just over 100 years. During the late Qing Dynasty, foreign imperialist invaders entered China, sending missionaries as pioneers to assimilate the local population.

French missionary Father Tian De-neng was sent to Zhugula Village in Binchuan, Yunnan to build a church and spread Christianity. Since Father Tian loved coffee, he brought a coffee seedling and personally planted it beside the church, and coffee took root there.

Large-Scale Cultivation and Development

It wasn't until the 1950s that Yunnan Province began large-scale coffee cultivation. You might wonder why large-scale cultivation occurred when so few people drank or consumed coffee back then. Actually, Yunnan's large-scale coffee cultivation at that time wasn't for supplying the domestic market but primarily for foreign markets, especially the Soviet Union. Yunnan coffee beans from that era even received much praise in the world market and were considered among the finest coffees.

The second wave of Yunnan coffee development came after China's reform and opening-up, when many international coffee brands entered the Chinese market, including Nestlé, which chose to purchase local coffee beans in Yunnan Province. Early Yunnan coffee was of the Typica variety, but Nestlé, as a major company producing instant coffee, promoted the Catimor variety locally—known for its strong resistance to leaf rust disease but less elegant flavor—to secure more raw materials. Yunnan's small-bean coffee transitioned from the ancient Arabica Typica variety to Catimor, which contains Robusta genes. Since then, Catimor has gradually become Yunnan's main coffee variety, accounting for about 90% of Yunnan's coffee bean production.

The Specialty Coffee Movement

In the 21st century, the third wave of specialty coffee brought the concept to China, and Yunnan began its work on variety selection and cultivation. By 2012, Nestlé no longer purchased Yunnan coffee beans on a large scale, forcing Yunnan coffee farmers onto the path of specialty coffee development.

In recent years, the country has strongly supported Yunnan coffee, and some film and television works like "Go Home" and "No Poverty Land" have helped promote Yunnan coffee, with its popularity continuously rising.

As a knowledge disseminator of specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee naturally has personal experience, as only through this can we share more. FrontStreet Coffee began growing coffee half a year before opening its coffee shop. FrontStreet Coffee's predecessor was "Dazhen Coffee," which initially started growing Catimor coffee in a place called Dazhen in Guangdong. As more than half a year passed quickly, FrontStreet Coffee suddenly realized the relationship and sequence between variety, altitude, and processing method in specialty coffee.

So we started everything over. While continuously learning and researching specialty coffee knowledge, we were also sharing and even taking action. Through a fortunate opportunity, FrontStreet Coffee found land in Yunnan suitable for growing specialty coffee. To cultivate truly specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee began growing Typica coffee from scratch, hoping to offer everyone the most original Yunnan small-bean coffee.

The Harvest and Results

In 2021, FrontStreet Coffee's coffee plantation in Yunnan also experienced the joy of harvest. Since Typica coffee only yields a small harvest in the fourth or fifth year, the previous season's production was small, only about 100 kilograms. FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan sun-dried Typica coffee beans sold out within months of being available in stores. All this effort paid off—the coffee embodies Yunnan coffee bean characteristics: fragrant but not intense, rich but not bitter. Many friends who tasted this coffee gave it thumbs up.

After another year of hard work, Yunnan's coffee harvest season is about to end. FrontStreet Coffee's new season coffee beans will soon meet everyone, but the timing isn't quite right yet. For friends who are eager and can't wait, you can first try Yunnan Huaguoshan from FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Huaguoshan Coffee Beans

Region: Yunnan Baoshan Production Area
Altitude: 1,200 meters
Variety: Typica
Processing Method: Washed Processing

FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Huaguoshan coffee beans use the washed processing method, which best reflects the basic flavors of the production area, presenting Yunnan's most original terroir taste. It has a light citrus acidity upon entry, with nutty main notes, melon and fruit aroma, brown sugar sweetness, and black tea aftertaste, creating rich layers.

Health Benefits of Yunnan Coffee

Yunnan coffee not only tastes good but also has certain health benefits. The hand-pour coffee we usually drink is a type of black coffee, which means drinking it without sugar or milk. Coffee has always been a refreshing tool for working people, and with the continuous development of science and technology, many of coffee's health benefits have been discovered.

As early as January 2021, scientific papers pointed out that drinking black coffee before exercise can enhance fat-burning effects. Additionally, research in 2021 also indicated that black coffee has preventive effects against diseases such as dementia and liver disease.

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)
For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add WeChat ID: 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