Yunnan Small Bean Coffee "Unspoken Rules" Exposed: Catimor from Yunnan Being Sold as Typica on Taobao

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The Difference Between Typica and Catimor in Yunnan Coffee

Yesterday, a follower commented that on Taobao, Baoshan's Catimor is often labeled and sold as Typica. Catimor, including varieties like Catimor 7963 and P4, constitutes the main variety of Yunnan coffee. Generally, if "Yunnan small bean coffee" is mentioned without specifying the exact variety, it can basically be considered Catimor.

Are both Typica and Catimor considered Yunnan small bean coffee? What are the differences between these two beans? Let's get to know them today~

Yunnan Small Bean Coffee

Yunnan small bean coffee belongs to the Rubiaceae family and Coffea genus. The planting areas are mainly distributed in Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and other prefectures. Small bean coffee originates from Ethiopia or the Arabian Peninsula.

Varieties

Typica

Typica: The oldest native variety of Ethiopia, originating from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. All Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Excellent estate beans like Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona all belong to Typica. The top leaves of Typica are reddish-brown, called red-top coffee. Typica belongs to Arabica.

Catimor

Catimor: In 1959, Portuguese people hybridized Brazil's Caturra with Timor to cultivate Catimor with strong disease resistance, which is currently an important variety of commercial beans.

It appears that most of what is currently planted in Yunnan is Catimor. This variety is a hybrid between Caturra (a Bourbon lineage branch within Arabica) and Robusta. The reason for planting this variety is that Catimor possesses Robusta genes, making it more disease-resistant than single old varieties, and it also has good yields. Compared to delicate old varieties with poor disease resistance and low yields, farmers naturally prefer planting Catimor, so a Catimor trend has now swept across Yunnan.

Here's an important perspective to share: Although we insist that Arabica is almost synonymous with specialty coffee, in reality, whether you like it or not, some merchants sell Robusta as part of specialty coffee.

Moreover, Mandheling is, to date, the only specialty coffee in the world that legitimately provides you with Robusta and hybrid varieties for consumption. This is the fundamental reason why its body is very heavy. Yes, Mandheling varieties include Arabica's Typica, as well as many varieties with Arabica-internal hybrids and Robusta hybrids - Lasuna, Caturra, Catimor... Mixed varieties are common, but Robusta-hybrid varieties are not common in all producing regions. In many books, when mentioning Asian specialty coffee flavors as woody and herbal, this actually refers to the flavor profile of Robusta hybrids. When you carefully taste test Typica and Bourbon that emphasize variety, altitude, and processing methods, the above descriptions are actually not accurate.

As everyone knows, in the 1970s, the coffee planting industry faced the impact of leaf rust disease, and the global coffee industry encountered a harsh winter. This was only the case for Arabica growers; for Robusta, it was just the beginning of spring. This period coincided with when China needed to vigorously develop its foreign economy and provide raw materials to foreign countries. Nestlé vigorously promoted the development of China's coffee industry to produce raw materials for their instant coffee. Because Robusta was a great discovery, through hybridization of medium and small bean varieties, Robusta gained immunity to leaf rust in high-temperature, high-humidity environments without requiring growth height requirements. Its yield is more than double that of Arabica, and coffee farmers are more willing to plant Robusta with higher returns. In previous years, it even reached a price of 40 yuan per kilogram.

No one is willing to bear the cost of time, which is why the current situation of Yunnan coffee emerged, which doesn't emphasize varieties but focuses on guiding processing methods. Historical experience tells us that this lazy approach works effectively and is widely accepted by the market. Every coffee season, a large number of coffee industry professionals still rush to the mountains of Yunnan, grabbing everything and bringing Catimor to cities for customers to seriously taste. Even some official institutions or professional practitioners recommend only Catimor among all Yunnan specialty beans, excluding Typica, Bourbon, and others from the list because they really can't find 100% Arabica small bean coffee available for market selection. These activities usually involve practitioners with extensive specialty coffee industry experience and self-proclaimed professional coffee reviewers. Although they are very clear about what specialty coffee is, this hasn't prevented the performance of "The Emperor's New Clothes."

Why is reality like this? There is only one answer: this is just business.

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and unknown beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

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