The Development History of Yunnan Typica Coffee | How Much Does a Cup of Authentic Yunnan Typica Coffee Cost

The Fascinating Journey of Typica Coffee: From Ethiopia to the World

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When it comes to Typica, coffee enthusiasts all know it belongs to one of the superior-flavored coffee varieties under the Arabica species. Another ancient superior variety is Bourbon. Therefore, before discussing Typica, it's necessary to talk about its parent category—Arabica.

Some Coffee Varieties Under Arabica

Why is Arabica Called "Ara"?

Historical records show that the earliest documentation of coffee trees dates back to the 9th century, when coffee was pronounced "Bun." Later, in the 17th century, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus formally named the coffee tree in his work "Species Plantarum." The scientific name of Arabica, Coffea Arabica L., means "Coffee genus, Arabica species, Linnaeus naming." Linnaeus mistakenly believed coffee originated from Arabia (today's Yemen), so he called it "Ara" to indicate the species came from Arabia. Today, we all know that coffee actually originates from Ethiopia, so technically it should be called "Ethiopica."

As for Typica, although it was rooted in Ethiopia early on and introduced to the Arabian Peninsula in the 9th century, it was only named after 1913. Its scientific name is: Coffea Arabica L. var. typica Cramer (Coffee genus, Arabica species, Linnaeus naming, variety, Typica, Cramer naming). Typica means "typical," and the namer intended it to serve as the typical variety of Arabica coffee.

Typica's terminal young leaves are bronze-brown, the plant is relatively tall with narrow leaves, and the beans are pointed and long.

Next, let's clarify Typica's spread in chronological order and see how this "fragile" variety overcame numerous difficulties to become famous worldwide.

The red line in the image above shows Typica's传播 routes

Yemen—The Starting Point of Typica

After several centuries, between 1500-1554, Muslims attempted to transplant coffee to Syria and Turkey but failed due to unsuitable soil and climate.

Around 1600, Indian Baba Budan stole 7 Yemen coffee seeds and returned to Karnataka province in southwestern India, where they successfully propagated. These coffee trees had bronze-brown terminal young leaves (Typica).

From 1690-1696, the Dutch occupied southwestern India and attempted to introduce Indian Typica to Java, Indonesia, but failed. Later, in 1699, they finally succeeded in sowing Typica in Indonesia, establishing early coffee cultivation in Asia.

From 1706-1710, the Dutch East India Company transported a Typica seedling back to their capital Amsterdam, where it was carefully nurtured in a greenhouse. This tree flowered and bore fruit in 1713.

From 1713-1715, the Mayor of Amsterdam gifted a Typica seedling to the French king. The French then cultivated it and transplanted it to South America. This coffee tree became the source of later Brazilian Typica.

From 1720-1723, French naval officer Gabriel de Clieu stole Typica seedlings from the Versailles Palace botanical garden and planted them in the French colony of Martinique. He then distributed successfully cultivated seedlings and seeds to Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Guatemala, and other Central American countries. Since Arabica coffee trees are self-pollinating, this directly led to extremely low genetic diversity in Central American Typica. Weak constitution, susceptibility to disease, and low yield are Typica's drawbacks.

In 1825, Hawaii introduced improved Typica from Guatemala and planted it in Kona, creating what is known today as Kona Typica.

In 1904, French missionaries brought Typica to our Yunnan province, becoming China's first coffee tree—Yunnan Typica coffee.

Today, considering economic benefits, Typica in Central and South America has basically been replaced by higher-yield improved varieties such as Bourbon, Caturra, or Catuai. However, premium beans from countries like Jamaica Blue Mountain, Hawaii Kona, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Peru, and Bolivia still favor Typica and its varieties.

Extended Topic: Geisha

Geisha: A derived variety from the Typica family, discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of southern Ethiopia and later sent to Kenya's Coffee Research Institute. It was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936; Costa Rica introduced it in 1953. It was transplanted to Panama in the 1960s, originally planted in a small area within the estate and used as a windbreak. It wasn't until 2005 that it began frequently winning in cupping competitions.

Well, having said all this, have our friends learned something new? Finally, let's brew a cup of Yunnan Typica coffee and imagine it originating from that tiny coffee seedling in the Zhukula mountain area of Yunnan in 1904. When tasting it, don't you feel a sense of traveling through time and space?

Recommended Yunnan Coffee Bean Brands

The Yunnan Typica Huaguoshan coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high cost-effectiveness—a half-pound (227g) package costs only about 69 yuan. Calculating at 15g per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing less than 5 yuan. Compared to cafe prices that often run dozens of yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

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