2018 Yunnan Coffee Bean Prices_ Catimor Coffee Half Kilo Cost_ Catimor Coffee Bean Pricing

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Another Harvest Season in Yunnan

It is harvest season again, and Yunnan coffee is generally abundant. Red and green Catimor cherries hang heavy on the branches. By late November, Yunnan enters its coffee harvest season.

According to reports from Industry and Economic Observation, Yunnan coffee farmers' income has been decreasing year by year, with prices dropping about 30% compared to the same period last year.

Coffee Farmers Remain Optimistic Despite Market Challenges

International coffee futures prices, however, are currently continuing to decline. Earlier in November, New York coffee futures prices were only 107 US cents per pound, equivalent to about 14.3 yuan per kilogram in Chinese currency. That is slightly below the current planting cost for Yunnan coffee farmers, which is about 14.67 yuan per kilogram.

But because international coffee prices keep falling, Yunnan coffee farmers like Uncle Feng face the problem of lower expected acquisition prices. While the coffee industry appears prosperous, this has never changed the situation of the small farmers who produce the coffee.

Today's coffee futures price is 127.6 US cents per pound, equivalent to about 18.3 yuan per kilogram in Chinese currency.

Faced with the current dilemma, coffee farmers are also planning their way forward.

The Story of Coffee Farmer Uncle Feng

In a small village in the high-altitude coffee producing area of Li Gong Mountain, I met coffee farmer Uncle Feng early in the morning. The courtyard was filled with Yunnan Catimor coffee beans. Although the brewing was casual and rough, the flavor was still clean.

As coffee farmers, while they work hard, they also enjoy the fruits of their labor. At the base, surrounded by the fragrance of soil and natural scenery, they brew a pot of pour-over coffee in a simple way, and it has a special charm...

The cost price of coffee beans is between 14-15 yuan per kilogram. Now they cannot sell at a good price, but they still have to keep growing; otherwise they would have to cut down all the coffee trees and switch to other crops.

The Connection to Origin

Every barista and roaster has a dream of visiting the origin.

More and more coffee professionals are going to Yunnan's origin areas to experience the hardships of being a coffee farmer.

To develop Yunnan coffee, first we must learn to appreciate it ourselves.

Coffee not only delivers rich flavors,

but also conveys a culture and a quality.

Currently speaking, Yunnan is undoubtedly the largest coffee producing area in China for large-scale cultivation and processing.

Coffee farmer Luo Jinming from Dakaihe Village, Simao District, Pu'er City, did the math: according to current price levels, the cost of producing one kilogram of fresh cherries - including land rent, labor, fertilizer, management, and harvesting - is about 2.2 yuan. Based on a fresh-to-dry ratio of 5:1, the cost of processing one kilogram of dry coffee beans with parchment is 11 yuan. Calculated at a 75% yield rate, one kilogram of coffee beans with parchment can produce 0.75 kilograms of green coffee beans, making the cost per kilogram of green coffee beans about 14.67 yuan.

Transaction prices mainly include the purchase price of green coffee beans and transportation costs. To make transaction prices equal to futures prices, in reality many enterprises purchase coffee in Yunnan at prices 5 to 15 US cents lower than New York futures prices to leave room for transportation costs. That way, the acquisition price is likely to fall below the cost price.

From Bean to Cup: The Journey of Coffee

The good cup of coffee in your hand comes from the coffee farmers' "spring" - how much manpower and how many processes does it contain? Coffee Workshop will introduce the journey from a small coffee bean to a fragrant cup of coffee.

First, from sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings to growing into mature trees, it generally takes 3-4 years for coffee seedlings to become coffee trees.

From the third year, small-scale harvesting can begin. The harvest period starts in October and ends in March of the following year. Bright red coffee fruits indicate maturity. Fruit picking requires skill - it cannot be done randomly. Methods include: picking from the inside out, single-fruit picking, and only picking red ripe fruits. Green ones like this definitely cannot be picked. Also, the fruit stems must not be included, and picking must be done in batches, graded, and packaged separately for processing. During the final fruit picking, all red and green fruits must be picked. During picking, branches must not be damaged, to avoid affecting next year's yield.

In the past, coffee cultivation was not as large-scale as it is today. Coffee farmers did not specifically hire professional coffee researchers to provide guidance. They gradually figured out each stage themselves - from seedling cultivation, planting, management, and picking to preliminary processing. Arabica cultivation and harvesting are difficult and cannot be mechanized, so coffee beans are all picked manually by coffee farmers.

After coffee picking is completed, transportation also becomes quite challenging. On narrow mountain roads, transport basically relies on motorcycles and hand tractors. In steeper areas, animals are needed for transport. The difficulty is easy to imagine...

The peel and pulp are removed (at a processing plant, machines would do the peeling), leaving only coffee beans wrapped in parchment. At this point there is still a layer of mucilage on the outside of the beans. The washing process is meant to clean off this layer of mucilage.

Peeling and washing off the mucilage is like hand-washing clothes, or washing tanks can be built for cleaning.

Usually, outdoor sun drying is adopted, using the sun's heat to dry the coffee beans to the appropriate degree before storage. During this process the beans need to be turned appropriately to prevent unnecessary fermentation, but they cannot dry too quickly - drying should be gradual.

Because the coffee harvest season is mostly in winter, drying takes about 2 weeks to complete, and the white parchment shell is also removed manually.

Then the coffee is given to roasters for roasting. This process has always been based on "human" operation. The saying "every grain is the result of hard work" is no exaggeration when applied to coffee.

Coffee farmers deal with the land every day. They are not afraid of wind or sun exposure. They control quality from the source of coffee cultivation. They work diligently in the coffee fields every day, caring for every coffee bean.

They are coffee farmers.

Please cherish every cup of coffee we drink. Behind each cup, there are unique flavors in every coffee fruit and the dedication of many people - coffee farmers, roasters, baristas, coffee professionals...

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the story above makes you want to taste Yunnan for yourself, FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan small-bean coffee is the natural place to begin. It comes from the Baoshan region and is washed and medium roasted, showing soft nut and chocolate sweetness with a light plum acidity - an accessible, affordable first look at Yunnan coffee.

For a more layered expression of the region, FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Sun-Dried Typica is grown from the Typica variety that French missionaries first brought to Yunnan. After natural processing and a medium roast, it has a more balanced, brighter sweet-acidity with dark berry notes, caramel sweetness, chocolate, a hint of dried apricot, and a black tea finish. To taste Yunnan in an espresso blend, FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend pairs Yunnan small-bean coffee with Brazil Cerrado, with the Brazil contributing mixed-nut aroma and balance and the Yunnan contributing chocolate and citrus.