Introduction to Catimor - Main Coffee Variety in China | Is Catimor Arabica Coffee?

The Relationship Between Catimor and Yunnan Small Bean Coffee

The main coffee variety planted in Yunnan, China, is Catimor, but the most famous is "Yunnan small bean coffee." So is Catimor a small bean coffee?

Catimor does not belong to the small bean coffee variety. It is a hybrid cross between the small bean variety Caturra and Timor, itself a hybrid of small and medium bean varieties, and it belongs to the high-generation Catimor group. The plant is moderately dwarfed with vigorous growth and stable secondary characteristics; the terminal buds and young leaves are dark green, the foliage across the plant is deep green, and the shape is columnar. It has short internodes, many branches, vigorous growth, wide adaptability, strong drought resistance and a certain cold resistance. Under moderate management, the average dry-bean yield exceeds 200 kilograms.

Each kilogram of seeds contains approximately 3,846 seeds after two months of sun-drying and about 5,000 after five months. Within two months of seed production the germination rate is above 95%; within three months it is 85%; after three months germination weakens, and after six months most seeds lose their ability to germinate. Its resistance to coffee leaf rust shows as a sub-immune or highly resistant type. Because the plant is compact, it also has a certain inhibitory effect on the longhorn beetles that normally lay eggs and cause damage on exposed branches and stems. It is high-yielding, with a less prominent biennial bearing effect, and of excellent quality. Since its cultivation began, it has remained the main variety in coffee production.

Catimor CIFC7963 (F6) has been widely promoted and planted across Yunnan's coffee areas, including Dehong, Baoshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Lincang, Wenshan and Yuxi. It has also been promoted in Panzhihua, Sichuan Province, and in neighboring Myanmar, with a total promotion area of over 200,000 mu.

The optimal growing conditions are: an annual average temperature of 19-21°C; an accumulated temperature above 10°C of more than 6800°C; an average temperature in the coldest month above 11.5°C; an absolute minimum temperature above 1°C; months with an average temperature of 13°C or below lasting more than two months; and an extreme minimum generally above 0°C in normal years, with occasional years reaching -1°C or briefly -2°C. Altitude should be below 1,200 meters, annual rainfall at least 1,100mm, and fertile loam with loose, well-drained soil at pH 6-6.5 is preferred, planted on sunny gentle slopes or terraces with slopes under 25°.

Catimor: An Important Commercial Variety

Catimor is currently an important commercial variety. East Timor was colonized by Portugal for four hundred years, and the Portuguese had long been familiar with East Timor's coffee trees. In 1959 the Portuguese moved Brazil's Bourbon mutant Caturra to East Timor and hybridized it with Timor, which carries Robusta bloodlines, successfully creating Catimor with excellent disease resistance and productivity. Between 1970 and 1990, leaf rust disease struck coffee-producing countries worldwide. With the help of international organizations, producing countries vigorously promoted Catimor to resist leaf rust and raise productivity. Yet while Catimor inherited Robusta's strong disease resistance, it also inherited genes for poorer flavor. Early Catimor was productive but needed shade trees for support, otherwise it would easily wilt: seemingly strong but in fact weak. Over the decades, many botanists have researched Catimor improvement, breeding dozens of new varieties. Colombia is the largest harvesting country; it grew sun-grown Catimor in 1982 and named it after the country, "Colombia." Colombia claims that after multiple generations of cross-breeding its Colombia variety differs from ordinary Catimor. Today it and Caturra have become the country's two main varieties, long replacing the weak, disease-prone, low-yield Typica. However, most COE winners in Colombia are Caturra, while Colombia, with its Robusta bloodlines, rarely wins awards. The large quantities of Supremo commercial beans that Colombia exports are more likely to be lower-altitude Colombia or Caturra than traditional Typica. This is the main reason Supremo's flavor has become increasingly bland, yet Colombia cannot return to cultivating low-yield Typica.

Improving Catimor Quality

To improve Catimor's poor cupping reputation, botanists from various countries have in recent years returned to cross-breeding Arabica with Catimor over multiple generations, attempting to reduce its Robusta bloodlines while increasing Arabica's elegant flavor. This has produced new-generation Catimor varieties including CatimorH528 and CatimorH306, as well as Costa Rica's CatimorT5175 and CatimorT8667. Costa Rica, however, has abandoned Catimor cultivation to focus on Caturra and exports its improved Catimor to Asian producing countries. There are countless Catimor lines, and each line's cupping results and habits differ. Despite years of improvement, Catimor has still not broken into the top thirty of international cupping competitions. Its biggest flaw is that it does not seem inferior when cupped alongside low-altitude Caturra, Catuai or Bourbon beans, but when planted at high altitude its cupping results are clearly inferior to Bourbon, Catuai or Caturra. Whether Catimor can ascend to the pantheon of fine coffee remains to be seen. One hopes that a super Catimor suited to high-altitude cultivation will one day be developed, stunning the specialty coffee world.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted domestic coffee beans, the Yunnan Small Bean Typica, offer complete assurance in both brand and quality. More importantly, they represent outstanding value: each package is 227 grams and costs only about 69 yuan. At 15 grams of coffee per cup, one package yields 15 cups, so each cup costs only about 5 yuan. Set against cafes that sell a cup for tens of yuan, this is a genuinely conscientious recommendation.

Yunnan coffee is often called Yunnan small bean, and its story can be traced to 1904, when the French missionary Tian Deneng brought coffee seeds, of the Typica variety, from Vietnam into Yunnan and planted the first coffee tree in Zhugula village, Binchuan County. Thanks to Yunnan's favorable geography and climate, the crop thrived. FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan small bean comes from the Baoshan region, is washed and roasted medium, and shows soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a light plum acidity, an approachable first encounter with Yunnan coffee at a friendly price.

To explore the region further, FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 sun-dried Typica is the next step. FrontStreet Coffee established the estate in 2013 and planted Typica, one of the oldest varieties, both because it carries the pure Arabica genome and has always been prized for its elegant, clean flavor, and because the first coffee trees planted in Yunnan were also Typica. Only fully ripe red cherries are used, dried in the sun and roasted medium, so the cup is balanced with pronounced sweet-sour notes, dark berry character, caramel sweetness, chocolate and a touch of dried apricot, finishing with black tea. For a Yunnan-style espresso, FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend pairs Yunnan small bean with Brazil Cerrado: the Brazilian coffee supplies mixed-nut aroma and a balanced body while the Yunnan small bean contributes chocolate and citrus, giving an Americano a balance of sour, sweet and bitter with nut and brown sugar sweetness, and a latte an almond and cream smoothness that is very friendly to beginners.