Is Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Good? What's the Difference Between Yunnan Small Bean Coffee and Yunnan Coffee?

As China's largest coffee-growing region, Yunnan has gained deeper understanding from the film "Go Home." But is Yunnan coffee good? As an Asian coffee, Yunnan coffee naturally has those earthy, pine, and nutty flavors typical of Asian coffees, but it also features local terroir characteristics: brown sugar and fruit acidity. Yunnan Arabica coffee has a relatively neutral taste, neither too acidic nor too bitter. It truly belongs to the category of fragrant but not bitter, rich but not intense, with a subtle and pleasant acidity, making it more suitable for大众 tastes.

China's coffee cultivation is concentrated in Yunnan and Hainan provinces, with Yunnan having the larger production, producing about 26,000 tons annually in recent years, accounting for 90% of the country's total production. Yunnan is located in a subtropical mountainous climate zone south of the Tropic of Cancer, with unique red plateau soil that is fertile and loose, a mild climate, and is particularly suitable for growing Arabica coffee beans. The natural conditions in Yunnan are very similar to Colombia, with low latitude, high altitude, and large temperature differences between day and night. Cupping quality analysis shows it belongs to the mellow aroma category, with quality and taste similar to Colombian coffee.

Yunnan Arabica coffee can be traced back to 1904, when French missionary Alfred Liétard brought coffee seeds (Typica) from Vietnam to Yunnan and successfully planted them in Zhugula Village, Binchuan County, Yunnan Province. This marked the beginning of Yunnan coffee, generally called small-grain coffee, commonly known in China as Yunnan Arabica coffee. Arabica coffee refers to small-grain coffee beans, also known as small-fruited coffee, while Robusta is called medium-fruited coffee, and Liberica belongs to large-fruited coffee. Since Yunnan grows Arabica coffee, it's also called Yunnan Arabica coffee. At FrontStreet Coffee, you can find two types of Yunnan coffee beans: FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Natural Typica and Catimor Arabica coffee. Both can be called Arabica coffee, but because Typica has more gentle and rich floral and fruit acidity, FrontStreet Coffee specifically uses the name "Huaguoshan" (Flower Fruit Mountain) to distinguish between the two varieties.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

Yunnan coffee, standing at the forefront of modern times, has undergone a century of refinement. As domestic demand for coffee continues to grow, Yunnan coffee quality has been constantly improving. The varieties of Yunnan Arabica coffee belong to the Arabica species, with some Robusta genes mixed in. In the 1970s and 1980s, coffee leaf rust disease broke out in many Central and South American countries, severely affecting coffee production. In response to the coffee leaf rust situation, CIFC, a coffee research center in Portugal, hybridized Timor (which carries Robusta genes) with the Bourbon variety Caturra in 1959, creating the disease-resistant and high-yielding Catimor. To solve the disaster caused by leaf rust disease, combined with encouragement and promotion from coffee organizations, Central and South America began extensive cultivation in the 1980s.

Previously, Yunnan coffee was called "Yunnan Arabica coffee," where "Arabica" actually refers to an alias for Arabica coffee. Arabica coffee, also known as small-grain coffee, originates from wild coffee produced in Africa and later became well-known through its introduction to Europe via Arabia. It was introduced to Zhukula, Binchuan County, Dali, China in the 1890s, where it took root and developed on the Chinese mainland. Yunnan has become representative of Chinese coffee, thus Yunnan coffee is also known as "Yunnan Arabica coffee."

Arabica coffee has very high requirements for its growing environment, usually more suitable for cultivation in mountainous areas with abundant rainfall and large temperature differences between day and night. Some specialty coffees, besides focusing on bean variety, estate, and processing method, even indicate the planting altitude on their packaging. Additionally, Arabica coffee has many varieties, such as common Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, etc. (similar to varieties like Hongmeiren, Aiyuan, and Buzhihuo among citrus fruits). These are all variety names of coffee trees.

The most classic high-quality Arabica variety is Typica. This coffee tree has strong adaptability, and many coffee varieties we know are its variants: for example, Blue Mountain coffee is a variant of Typica grown in Jamaica, Kona coffee is a variant of Typica grown in Hawaii, and Mandheling is a variant of Typica grown in Sumatra.

Typica coffee beans originated in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan and are one of the oldest coffee varieties among Arabica species, also called old-variety small-grain coffee. Typica coffee trees are quite tall with conical branches. The mother branches of Typica coffee trees typically lean at about 60 degrees, leaves usually have a dark bronze color, and the top leaves are copper-colored, called red-topped coffee. Typica trees are very tall and produce less yield than other varieties, making cultivation difficult. This means obtaining this high-quality coffee is often challenging. Despite low bean production, cupping scores are extremely high, and coffee flavors show diverse fruit notes.

Under FrontStreet Coffee's careful natural drying, the Typica variety FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Natural Typica coffee exhibits notes of berries, brown sugar, nuts, and black tea sensations.

Catimor is a hybrid of Timor and Caturra. Catimor inherits Timor's Robusta genes, making it more resistant to coffee berry disease and coffee leaf rust, while also having stronger pest resistance, faster fruit maturation, and higher yields. This also leads to incomplete flavor development, and improper processing can easily result in negative tastes like intense bitterness and grassy flavors.

However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that to make Yunnan coffee taste good, changes must start from the variety. Therefore, in 2013, FrontStreet Coffee went to Lincang, Yunnan, and began planting Typica varieties and a small amount of Bourbon varieties. The reason for choosing Typica is first because, as one of the oldest coffee varieties, it possesses pure Arabica variety genes and has always been recognized as a specialty coffee variety due to its elegant and clean flavors. Second, because the earliest coffee trees planted in the Yunnan region were also Typica varieties, brought by French missionaries.

Main Yunnan Coffee Growing Regions

The western and southern parts of Yunnan Province are located between 15°N and the Tropic of Cancer. Most areas have altitudes between 1,000-2,000 meters, with terrain dominated by mountains and slopes that have significant variations. The fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and large temperature differences between day and night are very suitable for coffee growth. Yunnan's geographical and climatic conditions are excellent, providing good conditions for coffee cultivation. Planting areas are mainly distributed in Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and other prefectures.

Baoshan

Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong form a golden coffee-growing area with abundant low-latitude, high-altitude resources and large temperature differences between day and night, making Yunnan a golden growing area for producing high-quality Arabica coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yunnan Arabica coffee and natural Catimor coffee come from the Baoshan region.

After more than 60 years of development, Baoshan Arabica coffee's coffee industry has reached scale, becoming a characteristic industry with an annual output value of nearly 500 million yuan. Baoshan's coffee industry has created numerous achievements: at the 1980 National Coffee Conference, Baoshan Arabica coffee was hailed as "the crown of national coffee"; in 1992, at the first China Agricultural Expo, Baoshan Arabica coffee was awarded the highest silver prize; in 1993, it won the Eureka Gold Award at the 42nd Brussels Eureka Expo in Belgium...

Pu'er

The tea town of Pu'er. Pu'er City's coffee planting area reaches 650,000 mu (about 43,333 hectares), becoming China's largest area, highest production, and best quality main coffee-producing region and a major distribution center for coffee trade. While increasing in "quantity," Pu'er is also seeking breakthroughs in "quality." In recent years, Pu'er's municipal government, enterprises, and coffee farmers have strengthened coffee variety selection and deep processing of coffee beans, introduced international coffee giants, learned from their planting and production techniques, improved raw material quality while "going out" to expand markets, allowing Pu'er coffee brands to break out and grow. A series of initiatives such as building coffee estates, coffee museums, coffee culture streets, and hosting the China Coffee Culture Festival have gradually unfolded the blueprint for Pu'er's coffee industry development.

Dehong

In Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, mature price protection mechanisms, technological support, and comprehensive management systems are the source of confidence for coffee growers. It is understood that Dehong Hougu Coffee Co., Ltd. has fully leveraged its leading role since 2004, implementing "three guarantees and three unifications" measures: guaranteed prices, guaranteed investment, guaranteed quality, and unified procurement, unified processing, and unified sales.

Lincang

Lincang City belongs to a subtropical low-latitude plateau mountain monsoon climate with complex terrain, making it a region with multiple climate types. Mainly influenced by the warm and humid air currents from the Indian Ocean and southwest monsoon, the distinction between four seasons is not obvious, but dry and rainy seasons are distinct. There is abundant rainfall, long sunshine hours with an average of over 2000 hours annually, short frost periods, and some areas are frost-free year-round. The vertical climate is obvious, with mountain areas having an average annual temperature of 13-15°C. FrontStreet Coffee established FrontStreet Coffee estate in Lincang, producing FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Natural Typica coffee.

Is Yunnan Arabica Coffee Good?

Yunnan Arabica coffee has a relatively neutral taste, neither too acidic nor too bitter. It truly belongs to the category of fragrant but not bitter, rich but not intense, with a subtle and pleasant acidity, making it more suitable for大众 tastes.

Compared to Typica varieties, although Catimor varieties carry Robusta genes, today's Yunnan Catimor is no longer the difficult-to-swallow flavor of the past. With proper cultivation and traditional processing methods, Yunnan Catimor Arabica coffee exhibits flavors of nuts, caramel, and plum-like notes. Yunnan coffee belongs to Asian beans, naturally having herbal and pine flavors, but it also adds flavor characteristics of the local growing region, such as brown sugar, tea sensations, and plum acidity. FrontStreet Coffee also loves Yunnan coffee because it is China's own coffee.

Coffee flavor is inseparable from variety. Coffee variety is fundamental and basically determines the general flavor characteristics of coffee. For example, Arabica variety coffees mostly appear as specialty coffees, while Robusta variety coffees often appear in blends for espresso. This means Arabica variety coffee flavors are better than Robusta, but it's not to say all Arabica variety coffees taste better than Robusta. Yunnan Arabica coffee used to be Arabica, also called Yunnan Arabica coffee, and in terms of taste, it belongs to the relatively neutral category, neither too acidic nor too bitter, truly belonging to fragrant but not bitter, rich but not intense, with a subtle and pleasant acidity, making it more suitable for大众 tastes. But currently, most Yunnan Arabica coffee is of the Catimor variety, so the taste is not as good.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Yunnan's weather is rainy and foggy, so washed processing has become the most common processing method for Yunnan coffee. Of course, there are also natural processed coffees, such as FrontStreet Coffee's natural Catimor coffee and FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Natural Typica coffee. With the advancement of specialty coffee, Yunnan coffee beans have also developed some special processing methods, such as honey processing, etc. However, these processing methods still cannot cover the inherent flavors of Yunnan coffee beans themselves, so FrontStreet Coffee chose coffee beans processed using the most traditional natural and washed methods. Moreover, washed coffee beans can better reflect the local coffee flavors, so most of FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee beans are washed processed.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters for Yunnan Catimor Coffee:

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters: Use Kono dripper. Water temperature: 88°C. Dose: 15 grams. Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15. Grind size: Medium-fine grind (75% pass-through rate with Chinese standard #20 sieve).

[FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Yunnan Arabica Coffee Flavor]: Herbal, nutty aroma, chocolate, caramel, black tea sensation.

[FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Yunnan Catimor Coffee Flavor]: Nuts, chocolate, spices, caramel, plum.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Suggestions:

No matter what coffee you're brewing, to brew a delicious cup of coffee, you still need to pay attention to the freshness of the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans is greatly related to coffee flavor. Therefore, the coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's precisely when the flavor is at its best.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee kindly reminds you: If coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the package can also make the coffee flavor mellow, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the coffee grounds. However, coffee grounds need to be brewed promptly because coffee grounds oxidize quickly after exposure to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee flavor won't be as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better taste the coffee's flavor.

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: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473