Yunnan Pu'er Coffee vs. Yunnan Baoshan Coffee: Which Tastes Better_2018 Yunnan Coffee Bean Price List

China's Coffee Production: Yunnan Province

Coffee beans have market value, and even Pu'er City — long famous in mainland China for tea — has begun mass-producing coffee, pushing China's coffee output past 140,000 tons, or 1.5% of global production. As of the end of 2016, mainland China's coffee planting area exceeded 1.8 million mu. Coffee was originally concentrated on Hainan Island, mainly growing Robusta; today the largest area is in Yunnan Province, primarily planting Arabica, with a regional output of 139,000 tons, accounting for over 99% of the national total.

Yunnan borders Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, with an average altitude of over 2,000 meters — the climate and elevation needed for high-quality coffee.

Pu'er City and Simao Small-Grain Coffee

Among Yunnan coffee beans, the most famous is Pu'er City's "Simao small-grain coffee," also known as "Pu'er Coffee." Pu'er Coffee has a century of history, beginning cultivation in the late 19th century and industrializing in 1988. Today the city's coffee planting area reaches 767,000 mu, making it mainland China's largest coffee-growing region, its highest-output and best-quality production area, and its coffee trading hub.

In the early days, Yunnan coffee quality was inconsistent, and beans were mostly sold at low prices to international groups. In recent years the Yunnan government and coffee farmers have invested actively in improving planting and production techniques, hoping to enter the international specialty coffee market.

Pu'er Coffee Flavor Profile

How does Pu'er Coffee taste? Wouter DeSmet, head of Nestlé Coffee's agricultural services department in China, has said that Pu'er coffee has a lighter taste and aroma, similar to beans from Honduras and Guatemala.

Global Coffee Production Overview

More than 70 countries worldwide produce coffee, and 21 countries and regions produce over 100,000 tons, China among them. In mainland China, coffee cultivation is concentrated in Yunnan, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and other regions. Hainan Province was once the largest coffee-producing area on the mainland, with over 200,000 mu at its peak, but today less than 10,000 mu remains.

Hong Kong's Coffee Growing Attempts

Surprisingly, Hong Kong has also tried to grow coffee trees. A few years ago, coffee trees in the greenhouse of Hong Kong Park in Admiralty bore fruit, though no coffee was made from them. The park authority noted that Hong Kong's climate and altitude are not the most suitable for coffee cultivation. Some enthusiasts grow their own beans and process them by roasting; combining opinions from several growers, Hong Kong-grown beans carry a heavier nutty flavor, or something like bitter chocolate.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to taste the Yunnan terroir at an everyday price, FrontStreet Yunnan small bean is the place most people start. It comes from the Baoshan region and uses washed processing and a medium roast, giving soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a light plum acidity — the cup that introduces many drinkers to Yunnan coffee. Yunnan coffee is also known as "Yunnan small bean": since Arabica is called "small seed," the name simply reflects that it bears the smallest fruit of the three original coffee species. Coffee first reached Yunnan in 1904, when the French missionary Tian Deneng brought Typica seeds from Vietnam and planted the first coffee tree in Zhukula Village, Binchuan County, and the region's favorable geography and climate made small-bean coffee a great success.

To explore the region further, FrontStreet's 2013 sun-dried Typica is the step up. Grown on FrontStreet's own estate and made only from fully ripe, all-red cherries, it is dried in the sun and given a medium roast for a more balanced cup with brighter sweet-and-sour notes: dark berry character, caramel sweetness, chocolate and a touch of dried apricot, finishing with a black tea aftertaste.

For a Yunnan-flavored espresso, try FrontStreet Black Cocoa, a blend of Yunnan small bean and Brazil Cerrado that many baristas recommend. The Brazil half supplies mixed-nut aroma and balanced body, while the Yunnan half contributes chocolate and citrus; the Americano comes out balanced across sweet, sour and bitter with nut and brown-sugar sweetness, and a latte has the smooth texture of almond and cream. It is a very approachable choice for beginners.