Introduction to Yunnan Coffee Bean Variety Catimor: Cultivation, Flavor Profile, and Characteristics

The History of Coffee in China

With the help of modern science, we now know that tea contains caffeine. This means that we Chinese people have been fond of caffeinated beverages for over 1,300 years. As early as 780 AD, Lu Yu, known as the Sage of Tea, wrote "The Classic of Tea," which launched China's unique tea culture that would flourish globally. However, it wasn't until the late 19th century that another caffeinated crop—the coffee tree—was introduced to China. This means that China's coffee history spans just over 200 years.

The earliest Chinese literature mentioning "coffee" can be traced back to an 1840 book called "A Gazetteer of the Four Continents," compiled under the direction of Lin Zexu, a national hero of the late Qing Dynasty. The book describes Yemen exporting coffee as a local product, with the "United States" being the importing country. Interestingly, China's coffee consumption history predates "A Gazetteer of the Four Continents." In 1836, Li Dou's "Record of the Painted Boats of Yangzhou" from the Qing Dynasty documents that Danes opened China's first coffee shop near the Thirteen Hongs in Guangzhou, which was then called the "Black House." The "General Gazetteer of Guangdong" from the Jiaqing period also mentions: "Black wine, consumed by foreign devils after meals, is said to aid digestion."

The "black wine" mentioned above refers to coffee at that time. As an imported product, coffee had more names than just "black wine" back then. Due to the lack of standardized translation, various written records now show interesting variations: jia fei, jia fei, jia fei, ke fei, kao fei, qie fei, gao fei, among others.

During the Republican era, more and more Chinese people developed the habit of drinking coffee, especially in the earliest treaty ports like Shanghai. Today, Shanghai still has the most coffee shops in all of China. At that time, coffee shops served primarily as social gathering places. Lu Xun, author of "My Young Friend Runtu" from our elementary school textbooks, loved visiting the Public Coffee House at 998 Sichuan North Road in Shanghai. What he fell in love with wasn't the coffee itself, but the atmosphere of the coffee shop.

In recent years, China has been catching up with the third wave of coffee. Coffee enthusiasts have begun exploring coffee bean growing regions, varieties, roasting methods, and extraction techniques. FrontStreet Coffee has been accompanying everyone on this journey, educating about the stories behind each bean and each growing region, as well as our processing methods.

The History of Coffee Cultivation in Yunnan

According to the "Binchuan County Gazetteer": "In the 30th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1904), French Catholic missionary Tian Deneng, dispatched by the Dali diocese church, brought Frenchman Lu Hongru and Sichuan native Deng Peigen to the Binchuan area to preach..." In 1904, French priest Father Tian Deneng, under orders from the Dali church, went to what is now Pingchuan Town's Zhukula Village in Binchuan County, Dali, to build a church and preach. Father Tian Deneng had a habit of drinking coffee, so he introduced an Arabica coffee tree and planted it beside the church.

Some say that Arabica coffee tree was introduced from Vietnam, but this cannot be confirmed. Some say the tree was planted in 1892; others say it was 1902. Among these, "A History of Catholicism in Yunnan" records: "Church name and address: Catholic Church, Zhukula, Pingchuan, Binchuan Prefecture, establishment time: 30th year of Guangxu reign (1904)." These documents all prove that Father Tian Deneng did indeed first appear in Binchuan Prefecture in 1904, where he funded and built a church in Zhukula. This history is somewhat controversial, but it never definitively states in which year Arabica coffee trees were first planted in Yunnan.

Yunnan Coffee Growing Regions

When discussing China's coffee growing regions, they can be divided into three regions in two parts. The first part consists of the coastal provinces of Fujian and Hainan. Because these two provinces have low average elevations and high temperatures, they are not suitable for growing Arabica beans, so both regions cultivate Robusta beans. Yunnan, however, has most areas at elevations between 1,000-2,000 meters, with predominantly mountainous terrain, significant topographical variations, fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and large temperature differences between day and night—all ideal conditions for growing Arabica beans.

Yunnan's coffee growing regions are mostly concentrated in the western and southern parts, mainly distributed in: Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, Dehong, Nujiang, Xishuangbanna, and other areas. These places have the natural advantages of low latitude, high altitude, and no frost, making them more suitable for coffee tree growth. In Yunnan, coffee is generally grown on high-altitude mountain slopes. The rolling hills, fertile soil, adequate sunshine, and concentrated rainfall during the rainy season allow coffee trees to quickly adapt to the local terroir.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

When discussing Yunnan coffee, FrontStreet Coffee must mention Yunnan Xiaoli. Yunnan Xiaoli originally got its name from Typica, which is the small-seeded variety of Arabica. The oldest variety in Yunnan is Typica, but because Typica has poor disease resistance, coffee farmers began cutting down flavorful coffee trees to switch to higher-yielding varieties. Initially, the leaf rust-resistant S288 was introduced, and later the higher-yielding Catimor was introduced. Today, you can find two Yunnan beans on FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu. One is the Typica variety Frontsteet 2013; the other is the Catimor variety Yunnan Xiaoli.

FrontStreet Coffee: Frontsteet 2013 Yunnan Xiaoli Typica

Region: Yunnan Lincang

Altitude: 1,200 meters

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Typica

Flavor: Nuts, brown sugar, chocolate, dried apricot, tea-like notes

FrontStreet Coffee: Yunnan Xiaoli

Region: Yunnan Baoshan

Altitude: 1,200 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Catimor

Catimor

Catimor, a hybrid of Timor and Caturra, was developed in 1959 by the Portuguese Coffee Leaf Rust Research Center (CIFC) with research focused on disease resistance and high yield. Catimor coffee beans are characterized by high yield, short plants that can be densely planted, and new leaves that are reddish-brown. Inherited from Timor's Robusta genes, Catimor has better resistance to coffee berry disease and coffee leaf rust, while also having stronger pest resistance. However, this also makes it often criticized for cup quality. Catimor coffee beans are characterized by rapid fruit maturation, high yield, and require adequate fertilizer supply and shade.

Catimor coffee beans were initially developed in the 1950s and began to be promoted in Brazil in the 1970s and 1980s. With their disease resistance and high yield, they secured a place among Central and South American coffee varieties. The periodic coffee leaf rust crises in Central and South America also accelerated Catimor's adoption. Unfortunately, because Timor hybrid (also called Arabusta) is a natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, although the latter gives it disease resistance, the delicate flavor of the Arabica variety is lost.

Catimor CIFC7963 (F6) has been widely promoted and planted in Dehong, Baoshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Lincang, Wenshan, Yuxi and other areas of Yunnan's coffee growing regions. It has also been promoted in Panzhihua, Sichuan Province and neighboring Myanmar, with a total promotion area of over 200,000 mu.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing these two Yunnan coffees with a focus on balance—neither overemphasizing acidity nor excessively modifying the finish. Use 15 grams of coffee grounds with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio (or 1:16 for clearer flavor). Use a Kono dripper with 88°C brewing water to make the acidity softer. Grind to medium-fine/ fine sugar size (80% pass-through on #20 sieve).

Use a three-stage extraction: Bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds. Using a small water flow, pour in a circular motion to 125 grams, then pause. When the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom) Total extraction time: 2'00".

Flavor notes: For the Huaguoshan Typica coffee beans, you can taste distinct roasted nuts, gentle acidity, overall balance and richness, solid dark chocolate aroma, and hints of orange peel. For the Xiaoli Catimor coffee, you can detect nutty aroma, herbal notes, chocolate, caramel, with a finish that has 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 on WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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