Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Yunnan Catimor Coffee Varieties - An Introduction to Yunnan Coffee Bean Origins and Rankings

In recent years, Yunnan coffee has also begun to make its move into the specialty coffee market. Although Yunnan coffee has not been in the specialty coffee market for long, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Yunnan coffee still has great potential. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee also has a coffee bean estate in Baoshan, Yunnan, specifically dedicated to growing Typica varieties of Yunnan coffee beans. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will share some information about the growing characteristics and flavor profiles of Yunnan coffee origins.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Growing History

Although Yunnan coffee has not been in the specialty coffee market for long, its cultivation actually began over a century ago. FrontStreet Coffee would like to share the growing history of Yunnan coffee with coffee enthusiasts.

In 1904, French missionary Alfred Tiede brought coffee seeds from abroad into Yunnan and successfully planted the first coffee tree in a village called Zhukula (now within Binchuan County, Dali). This can be considered the beginning of Yunnan coffee cultivation history.

After 1930, the renowned overseas Chinese leader Mr. Liang Jinshan brought coffee to Pupiao and Luoming for cultivation, which continued until after the founding of New China.

After 1952, under the guidance of expert Ma Guojin from the Baoshan Tropical Crop Research Institute, areas like Lujiang began large-scale coffee cultivation. The history of large-scale cultivation now spans nearly 60 years. At this time, all coffee varieties cultivated in Yunnan were Typica.

In 1992, with further reform and opening up, foreign companies including Nestlé entered Yunnan to develop the coffee industry. At that time, they大规模 planted the Catimor variety provided by Nestlé. This variety is known for its high disease resistance and high yield, quickly replacing the position of Typica, which had only excellent flavor but was delicate and weak. Catimor became Yunnan's most important coffee variety. Therefore, the main use of Yunnan coffee at that time was selling to Nestlé as raw material for instant coffee.

By the end of 1997, the coffee cultivation area in Yunnan province had reached 7,800 hectares. To this day, FrontStreet Coffee understands that Yunnan's coffee cultivation area accounts for 70% of the national total, and production accounts for 83% of the country's total. Therefore, from the perspective of cultivation area and coffee bean production, Yunnan coffee has established its dominant position in China.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Growing Regions

The western and southern parts of Yunnan province are located between 15°N and the Tropic of Cancer. Most areas have elevations between 1,000-2,000 meters, with mountainous and sloped terrain, large elevation variations, fertile soil, abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and significant day-night temperature differences - making it extremely suitable for growing Arabica coffee beans.

Currently, Yunnan coffee is mainly cultivated in Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Wenshan, Baoshan, Dehong, and Lincang in the southern and western parts of Yunnan.

Dehong

Known as the "Hometown of Chinese Coffee." The coffee cultivation altitude in Dehong Prefecture is all above 1,000 meters, with 30,000 mu planted in mountainous areas above 1,600 meters elevation. Additionally, Dehong Prefecture mainly uses organic fertilizers and organic pesticides for coffee cultivation, resulting in higher coffee quality. It is one of the world's rare premium coffee producing areas.

Baoshan

Coffee cultivation in Baoshan began in the mid-1950s, with the first coffee seedling introduced from Southeast Asia by the late patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Liang Jinshan. In recent years, with the expansion of international trade, Lujiangba's small-bean coffee has become renowned. European, American, and Arab countries, especially Britain, America, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Macau merchants, all regard it as premium coffee. The product is in short supply. In December 2010, after review by the China National Quality Inspection Administration, it was decided to implement national geographical indication product protection for "Baoshan Small-Bean Coffee."

FrontStreet Coffee chose to grow coffee at the border of Yunnan Baoshan and Myanmar because Baoshan has an average temperature of 21.5°C, reaching highs of 40.4°C, and is basically frost-free year-round. It is recognized as the best origin for small-bean coffee. The small-bean coffee cultivated here is famous both domestically and internationally for being strong but not bitter, fragrant but not intense, with small and uniform beans, rich mellow aroma, and fruity notes. Yunnan Baoshan small-bean coffee has a long cultivation history, and Baoshan small-bean coffee can be considered a national geographical indication product.

Lincang

Unique geographical location and climate conditions have made Lincang a focus of attention for many coffee companies. They have successively established 200-mu and 100-mu premium coffee seedling bases in Mengding Town, Gengma Autonomous County, and Lincang Xingfu Farm respectively, and have carried out coffee cultivation in Gengma, Zhenkang, Yun County, Cangyuan, and Yongde.

Pu'er

Pu'er, the land of tea, has a 150-year history of coffee cultivation. In the early 1990s, Pu'er City began to cultivate coffee development as an advantageous backbone industry for adjusting industrial structure and increasing farmers' income and wealth.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

Currently, the most widely cultivated variety in the Yunnan region is Catimor coffee beans, though there are also small amounts of Typica and Bourbon coffee beans cultivated in the Baoshan area. Although they all belong to the Arabica species in the broad sense, these varieties still have significant fundamental differences.

Typica

Typica is currently the oldest original Arabica variety in the coffee market, and almost all Arabica coffee bean varieties are derived from Typica. Typica has elegant flavor but is physically weak, with low disease resistance and is susceptible to leaf rust disease. Therefore, coffee bean production is low and cannot meet economic benefits. In recent years, Typica in Central and South America has gradually been replaced by Caturra and Catuai. As a result, Typica is becoming increasingly rare. Although Typica has elegant flavor, it is not as widespread as Bourbon.

FrontStreet Coffee's estate in Yunnan mainly cultivates Typica variety coffee trees because Typica coffee has its unique clean and elegant flavor, as well as balanced characteristics, with high flavor clarity. Therefore, although Typica variety coffee trees are not easy to cultivate, FrontStreet Coffee still wants coffee enthusiast friends to taste Yunnan coffee that can present the best flavor.

Bourbon

It is a sub-variety mutated from Typica, belonging to the oldest existing coffee varieties alongside Typica. When green fruits mature, they turn bright red. Compared to Typica, Bourbon has wider leaves and grows more densely. Although the yield is higher than Typica, the harvest period is also 2 years, making it a low-yield variety, but it has excellent taste, with wine-like acidity and sweet aftertaste.

Catimor Coffee Variety

Catimor is a combination of Arabica and Robusta species. The Robusta species has good leaf rust resistance, rich oils, high yield, and is easy to cultivate. Therefore, after hybridizing with the Arabica Typica variety, Catimor has 25% Robusta genes, which improves leaf rust resistance, retains rich oils, and also has part of the rich flavor of the original Typica variety.

Yunnan Coffee Processing Methods

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, until now Yunnan coffee beans have used many processing methods, such as various anaerobic processing methods. Although these special processing methods have created various unique flavors with high recognition; but FrontStreet Coffee believes in persisting from the beginning with growing regions and coffee varieties - changes in processing methods are merely treating symptoms rather than the root cause. Catimor is always Catimor. Only by selecting the correct growing altitude and coffee varieties with excellent flavors from the source can sustainable long-term development of Yunnan coffee be achieved. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee still insists on choosing the most original washed and natural processing methods to produce Yunnan coffee beans, with the goal of letting coffee enthusiast friends taste the most original flavor of Yunnan's local coffee.

Natural Processing Method

The natural processing method is the oldest coffee bean processing method, also known as "natural drying method." The natural processing method does not require high-end equipment, only continuous sunny days are needed to carry out sun-drying operations, with exposure requiring 27-30 days. Therefore, it has relatively strict climate requirements and is suitable for countries with arid regions. In Yunnan, natural processing is also a common method.

Washed Processing Method

Most of FrontStreet Coffee's coffee beans from different growing regions are also washed-processed, especially Frontsteet's daily blend beans, because washed-processed coffee beans will be cleaner, and the flavor expression will be more thorough, conforming to the most original taste of coffee fruit. Therefore, Frontsteet often says that the flavor of washed-processed coffee beans is the guide to understanding the flavor of a growing region. This is why FrontStreet Coffee insists on using the washed processing method to produce coffee beans.

Differences Between Washed and Natural Processed Coffee Beans

The most fundamental difference between natural and washed processing methods is that natural processing retains the pulp flavor, while washing removes the pulp flavor, representing the most essential flavor of coffee beans. In terms of taste, there are obvious differences - washed is cleaner and brighter, while natural has richer texture. FrontStreet Coffee precisely because the washed method can express the most essential flavor of coffee beans, when recommending Yunnan coffee beans, if the guest is tasting Yunnan growing region coffee beans for the first time, FrontStreet Coffee will prioritize recommending washed-processed coffee beans, which allows people to more clearly understand the flavor characteristics of the Yunnan growing region.

The above is the relevant knowledge about Yunnan coffee compiled by FrontStreet Coffee. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will recommend the coffee beans currently produced by Frontsteet's Yunnan coffee estate.

FrontStreet Coffee · Yunnan Frontsteet 2013 Natural Typica Coffee Beans

Country: China

Region: Yunnan Lincang

Altitude: 1300m

Variety: Typica

Processing: Natural Process

Flavor: Plum, melon fragrance, brown sugar, black tea sensation

This is Typica coffee bean grown by FrontStreet Coffee in Lincang, Yunnan. As early as 2013, FrontStreet Coffee was already growing coffee in Yunnan. At that time, 99% of Yunnan grew Catimor coffee beans, but Frontsteet realized that although Catimor has high yield, its flavor is not very good. Frontsteet firmly believes that to grow good-flavor coffee beans, you must have good location, good variety, and good management to make it possible. Therefore, Frontsteet chose the ancient excellent Arabica variety Typica coffee. For site selection, Frontsteet grows in Lincang near the Myanmar border. This area is relatively remote, preserving the original forest environment, and the altitude is also above 1200m, meeting the conditions for growing quality Arabica. In cultivation management, Frontsteet also uses reasonable density planting, with fertilizer made from accumulated sheep manure from nearby herders.

In 2020, Frontsteet produced 200kg of coffee beans with good flavor and taste. This year's production is expected to be higher, and all friends are welcome to taste.

FrontStreet Coffee · Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee (Daily Blend)

Country: China

Region: Yunnan Baoshan

Altitude: 1200m

Variety: Catimor

Processing: Washed Process

Flavor: Herbal, nutty fragrance, chocolate, caramel

Yunnan small-bean coffee refers to the small-bean coffee cultivated in the Yunnan region. Coffee is an evergreen small tree of the Rubiaceae family, native to Africa. Currently, the main beverage plant cultivation includes small-bean coffee and medium-bean coffee. The small-bean coffee traditionally cultivated in China's Yunnan specifically refers to the mixed population of Bourbon and Typica varieties.

Small-bean coffee is the most widely cultivated species in the Coffea genus. Due to its strong cold resistance and tolerance to short-term low temperatures, it can grow on mountains at 2100 meters altitude in tropical regions, but is not drought-tolerant; branches are relatively fragile and cannot withstand strong winds; disease resistance is relatively weak; fruits fall easily after maturity; after processing, the coffee taste is mellow and has lower caffeine content.

FrontStreet Coffee · Yunnan Natural Catimor Coffee Beans

Country: China

Region: Yunnan (Baoshan)

Altitude: 1450-1550m

Variety: Catimor

Processing: Red Cherry Natural Process

Flavor: Caramel, dried fruit, cocoa, dark chocolate, herbal, woody

Currently, most of Yunnan grows Catimor. This variety is a hybrid of the Caturra branch of the Bourbon lineage in Arabica species and the Robusta species. The reason for growing this variety is that Catimor has Robusta genes, so its disease resistance is stronger than single old varieties, and the yield is also good. Compared to delicate old varieties with poor disease resistance and low yield, farmers naturally prefer to grow Catimor, so now Yunnan has started a Catimor trend.

Before launching any new coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee conducts roasting and brewing flavor tests to select the most excellent flavor curve, making it convenient for future brewing for coffee enthusiast friends who come to FrontStreet Coffee to taste. Next, Frontsteet will share the roasting and brewing data for this Frontsteet Yunnan Huaguoshan coffee bean.

FrontStreet Coffee · Yunnan Typica Coffee Roasting Recommendations

General coffee beans have a moisture content of 10.9%, so FrontStreet Coffee's roaster plans to drop the beans when the roaster reaches 200°C, then use high heat and small air damper to speed up dehydration. After the dehydration stage ends, open the medium air damper and medium heat to prevent the Maillard reaction time from being too rushed, with 3 minutes of first crack development before dropping. Temperature return point: 1'32, 92.5°C, Yellowing point: 5'40, 148.5°C, First crack: 8'59, 188.0°C, 3 minutes development until dropping: 12'00, 196°C.

Frontsteet Yunnan Huaguoshan Typica Coffee Bean Pour-Over Recommendations

Frontsteet recommends using a Kono conical filter cup. It can more easily brew coffee with rich body, more concentrated aroma, and thickness.

Filter: V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind, i.e., fine sugar thickness (China Standard #20 sieve pass rate 75%)

Brewing Method: Stage extraction.

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, small stream circular pour to 124g for staging, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g and stop pouring. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time is 2 minutes.

Frontsteet Yunnan Huaguoshan Typica Brewing Flavor Description: Strong but not bitter, fragrant but not intense, floral notes, middle section has cantaloupe sweetness, finish has black tea sensation.

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

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