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How to Distinguish Between Yunnan Typica and Catimor Coffee Beans

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange For more coffee bean information please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style) Typica and Catimor are they both Yunnan small-bean coffee? What are the differences between these two beans?? Today let's get to know them~ Yunnan small-bean coffee beans Yunnan small-bean coffee Rubiaceae Coffee genus mainly distributed in planting areas such as Lincang Baoshan Simao Xishuangbanna

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

Typica and Catimor: Are They Both Yunnan Small-Bean Coffees?

What are the differences between these two beans? Today, let's get to know them~

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 originated from Ethiopia or the Arabian Peninsula.

Main Growing Regions

Small-bean coffee is suitable for growing on mountainous areas at elevations of 800-1800 meters. If the altitude is too high, the taste becomes sour; if too low, it becomes bitter. Most small-bean coffee is planted in dry-hot valley areas around 1100 meters altitude, resulting in moderate acidity, rich fragrance and mellow taste. Many areas in Yunnan have unique environments suitable for growing small-bean coffee, producing excellent quality small-bean coffee.

The main planting areas are distributed in Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong and other prefectures. Baoshan has an average temperature of 21.5°C, reaching up to 40.4°C at its highest, with basically no frost throughout the year, making it recognized as the best small-bean coffee producing area. The small-bean coffee cultivated here is famous both at home and abroad for being rich but not bitter, fragrant but not strong, with small and uniform beans, rich mellow fragrance, and fruity notes. International Coffee Organization tasting experts have evaluated Yunnan coffee as being in the same category as Colombian wet-processed small-bean coffee, representing the highest quality coffee in the world.

Varieties

Typica: The oldest native variety from 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 the Typica variety. The top leaves of Typica are bronze-colored, called red-top coffee. Typica belongs to the Arabica species.

Catimor: In 1959, Portuguese people hybridized Brazilian Caturra with Timor to cultivate Catimor with strong disease resistance, which has now become an important commercial coffee variety.

Growth Period

Yunnan small-bean coffee trees bear fruit at 3-4 years of age.

Coffee is a short-day plant. Coffee has the characteristics of multiple flowering and concentrated flowering periods. Small-bean coffee in Yunnan flowers from February to July, with the peak flowering period from March to May. Coffee flowering is greatly affected by climate, especially rainfall and temperature. Coffee flowers have a short lifespan, lasting only 2-3 days. Small-bean coffee generally begins to bloom between 3-5 AM and reaches full bloom between 5-7 AM.

Coffee fruit development takes a relatively long time. Small-bean coffee fruit takes 8-10 months to mature, generally maturing from October to December of the same year. Rainfall has a significant impact on fruit development, and climate conditions directly affect the fruit.

The new leaves at the tips of branches and leaves in the picture above are bronze-colored - this is the Typica coffee tree. Typica is an old variety in the Arabica lineage. The well-known Hawaii Kona and Jamaica Blue Mountain are actually also Typica varieties. Among a vast field of Catimor, it's actually quite easy to recognize. After careful observation, you'll find that each variety has its own appearance. Catimor leaves all droop downward, and the tree shape looks like it's wearing a cloak. Typica, on the other hand, has branches pointing upward, with bronze-tipped new leaves at the tree tips.

Looking at the overall picture, most of what's planted in Yunnan today is Catimor. This variety is a hybrid between the Caturra branch of the Bourbon lineage in Arabica and the Robusta lineage. The reason for planting this variety is that Catimor possesses Robusta genes, so it has better disease resistance compared to single old varieties, and its yield is also good. Compared to the delicate old varieties with poor disease resistance and low yields, farmers naturally prefer to plant Catimor, so a Catimor trend has now swept across Yunnan.

Catimor beans are round and thick, while Typica beans are thin and long. The central line of Catimor is disordered. Under the same conditions, Typica quality is superior to Catimor, and the price is also higher.

Recommended Yunnan Coffee Bean Brands

The Yunnan washed Typica Huaguoshan coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money - a half-pound (227g) bag costs only about 69 yuan. Calculating at 15g of coffee per cup, one bag can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing less than 5 yuan. Compared to coffee shops selling cups for dozens of yuan each, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.