Pour-Over Yunnan Small Bean Coffee? Yunnan Typica and Catimor Brewing Methods and Flavor Characteristics

Understanding Yunnan Coffee Varieties

Most Yunnan coffees on the market today are Catimor varieties. The FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small Bean Coffee from FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series is a Catimor variety, while FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Natural Typica is a Typica variety coffee. What are the differences between these two varieties in pour-over brewing? FrontStreet Coffee will discuss this with everyone.

To brew a coffee well through pour-over, one must first understand the coffee beans to achieve better brewing results.

Yunnan: China's Premier Coffee Growing Region

Yunnan is China's largest coffee-producing region. Coffee, as an agricultural crop, thrives in warm environments—it tolerates heat but not cold, and sufficient sunlight is more beneficial for its growth. The optimal planting temperature ranges from 16°C to 21°C. Consequently, centered around the equator and spanning from 25° north latitude to 25° south latitude, the "World Coffee Golden Growing Belt" was formed. China's Yunnan province happens to lie exactly on this golden belt. Most areas in Yunnan have elevations between 1,000-2,000 meters, with fertile sloped soil, abundant sunlight, plentiful rainfall, and significant temperature variations between day and night—all favorable conditions for coffee tree growth.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Varieties

Initially, Yunnan coffee was of the Typica variety. As an ancient Arabica branch variety, Typica beans are relatively small in size, hence the name "Yunnan Small Bean," known among local coffee farmers as the "old variety." Today, the coffee variety primarily planted in Yunnan is Catimor. Catimor was developed by Portuguese breeders who hybridized Brazilian Caturra with Timor, creating the F2 hybrid Catimor, which possesses super-strong disease resistance and yield capabilities. It has more robust vitality and higher yields than Yunnan's ancient Typica variety, but is slightly inferior in flavor performance.

So why did Yunnan choose to plant Catimor instead of the superior quality Typica variety? Firstly, the cost was too high. It's important to note that Yunnan originally planted Typica, but at that time, there was no concept of specialty coffee. Yunnan coffee was mainly measured by futures prices. In the 1990s, Nestlé introduced the higher-yielding Catimor to Yunnan for cultivation, using it as raw material for instant coffee production.

Yunnan Coffee Growing Regions

Coffee cultivation in Yunnan is mainly distributed throughout the southwestern part of the province, including four major producing areas: Baoshan, Dehong, Pu'er, and Lincang. The two FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean menu come from Baoshan and Lincang respectively.

Dehong

The birthplace of Chinese coffee, this region has elevations ranging from 1,000 to 1,600 meters and includes 2,000 hectares of coffee plantations. More importantly, most coffee here is grown organically, making it one of the world's highest-quality coffees.

Pu'er

The City of Coffee. In 2012, Pu'er's planting area reached 43,433 hectares, with 18,000 hectares of harvested coffee, producing 36,500 tons of coffee annually, of which 24,700 tons were exported. The Pu'er coffee industry has 70 registered enterprises, 30,000 households, and approximately 1 million people. Known as the "City of Thousand-Year Tea," Pu'er is an important Chinese coffee-producing region with the largest planting area, highest production, best quality, and serves as an important distribution hub for international coffee business.

Baoshan

Small Bean Coffee is Baoshan's most famous coffee. This coffee took its first steps in the late 1950s and quickly received positive feedback from London. At the 1980 National Coffee Conference, it was recognized as the "Crown of National Coffee." In December 2010, Baoshan Small Bean Coffee received A-grade certification and passed the China National Standard Administration process, being recognized as a product reflecting China's national geographical indication.

The FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yunnan Small Bean Coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's menu comes from Baoshan and is also one of FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans.

Lincang

Lincang City is located in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province, with the Tropic of Cancer crossing its southern part. It borders Pu'er to the east, Dali to the north, Baoshan to the west, and Myanmar to the southwest. Named for its proximity to the Lancang River, it is a brilliant pearl on China's southwestern border. Lincang's annual average temperature ranges between 16.8°C and 17.2°C, with distinct wet and dry seasons and abundant sunlight. FrontStreet Coffee took note of this "green pearl on the border" and established its own coffee estate in Lincang—one of Yunnan's main coffee-producing regions—during FrontStreet Coffee's early establishment, planting the most ancient Arabica variety: Typica.

Yunnan Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Due to Yunnan's perennial rainy season and unstable climate, most Yunnan coffee beans are processed using the washed method. FrontStreet Coffee chose washed Yunnan Small Bean Coffee as one of its daily beans. Most of FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans are washed processed, as FrontStreet Coffee believes the washed processing method better reflects the coffee's own flavor characteristics and allows us to better experience the regional flavors.

Washed Processing Method

The washed processing method involves using machines to remove the skin and pulp from harvested coffee cherries, placing the de-pulped coffee beans into fermentation tanks for fermentation, using fermentation to decompose the mucilage layer, washing the fermented coffee beans repeatedly with clean water to remove the decomposed mucilage, and finally drying the coffee beans.

Natural Processing Method

The natural processing method is the oldest coffee bean processing method, also known as "natural drying." The natural processing method doesn't require sophisticated equipment—only continuous sunny days are needed for sun-drying operations, with exposure requiring 27-30 days. Therefore, it has relatively strict climate requirements and is suitable for countries with arid regions.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Yunnan coffee's flavor profile is quite balanced—simultaneously possessing sweetness, acidity, and bitterness—therefore choosing medium roast to highlight chocolate aroma while retaining some acidity. From cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan Small Bean daily coffee presents nuts, herbal notes, brown sugar sweetness, and plum acidity, with a balanced mouthfeel. The natural FrontStreet Coffee 2013 has higher fruit sweetness, black tea-like richness, with chocolate depth, overall clear flavors, and a clean aftertaste.

Based on Yunnan coffee's balanced flavor profile, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium water temperature of 88°C. Water temperature that's too high can easily produce burnt bitterness, while water temperature that's too low can lead to under-extraction. Compared to other conical drippers, the V60 has a larger diameter spout, spiral ribs connecting the top and bottom that guide water flow, allowing water vapor to escape more easily during extraction, thereby enhancing flavor layers.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small Bean Daily Coffee Brewing Parameters: Dripper: V60, Water Temperature: 88°C, Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15, Grind Size: Medium grind (75% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yunnan Small Bean Coffee Flavor: Aromatic nutty fragrance, with herbal, chocolate, and caramel notes on entry, and plum acidity with tea-like notes in the aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Natural Typica Coffee Flavor: Nutty notes, with a more substantial mouthfeel than washed Yunnan coffee, slightly lower acidity than washed Typica Yunnan coffee, but slightly higher sweetness, better balance, berry-like acidity, mixed with brown sugar, and slight tea notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

For coffee brewing, whether pour-over or espresso, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans is very important. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans, which is also fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee must remind you: once coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the package can also help the coffee flavor become well-rounded. Therefore, you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because coffee powder oxidizes relatively quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate more quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

Different processing methods result in different flavors. Although most of FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans are mainly washed, if you want to taste more coffee flavors from different regions and processing methods, you need to explore more. FrontStreet Coffee has over fifty different single-origin coffee beans from various producing countries and processing methods, fully satisfying everyone's needs for coffee flavor tasting. Everyone can find a coffee bean that suits their taste from the menu.

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

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473