Characteristics of Yunnan Typica Coffee, Typica Coffee Bean Flavor Profile, and How to Brew Typica Coffee

Coffee Growing Regions and Varieties

Coffee grows best in subtropical and tropical zones, within the band centered on the equator between 25 degrees north and south latitude. Coffee cultivation is concentrated in five major regions, and beans from each carry their own flavor and character - coffee is a thoroughly regional crop.

Botanically, coffee belongs to the evergreen shrubs of the genus Coffea in the Rubiaceae family. The Coffea genus contains roughly 125 species, distributed between the subgenus Coffeae (25 species in Africa and 55 across the Madagascar, Mascarene, and Comoros archipelagos) and 7 species in the subgenus Baracoffeae.

Commercially Valuable Coffee Varieties

Of all those species, only three have commercial value:

• Arabica (Coffea arabica), Robusta (Coffea canephora, also called Coffea robusta), and Liberica (Coffea liberica) - together known as the "three major native coffee species."

• Arabica accounts for about 70% of world production, with specialty coffee driving strong demand;

• Robusta accounts for 27%, used mainly for instant and canned coffee, with twice the caffeine content of Arabica;

• Liberica, prone to leaf rust and poor in flavor, trades only domestically in West African countries such as Suriname, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire, and never caught on worldwide.

Arabica

Growing conditions: altitude 800-2000m

Characteristics: higher price (it is harder to cultivate), smooth flavor, more prominent sweetness, lower caffeine content

Typica

Typica trees stand 3-4 meters tall with a conical shape, the trunk-to-branch angle about 50-70 degrees. The leaves are narrow and bronze-toned, and the berries more elliptical than those of other varieties. Typica has undergone extensive genetic evolution, producing variants better adapted to their surroundings - adaptations distinct enough to count as new varieties. Mexican Typica and Hawaiian Typica, for instance, differ slightly and so carry different names: Criollo (South America), Arabigo (Americas), Kona (Hawaii), Pluma Hidalgo (Mexico), Garundang (Sumatra), Blue Mountain (Jamaica, Papua New Guinea), São Bernado & San Ramón (Brazil), and Kent and Chickumalgu (India).

Although Catimor - a variety with Robusta bloodline - is now the most common coffee in Yunnan, that wasn't always so. As specialty coffee developed, its concepts took root in China, and it helped that the variety originally planted in Yunnan was Typica - which is why Yunnan coffee is called "small bean coffee." FrontStreet Coffee's "Yunnan Huaguoshan" bean is a Typica variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

V60 / 90°C / 1:15 / total brew time about two minutes

Flavor:

Brown sugar, caramel, muskmelon

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Typica's Chinese chapter, FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 Yunnan Sun-Dried Typica is the benchmark: grown on FrontStreet's own estate with fully ripe red-cherry lots, naturally processed and medium roasted for dark berry notes, caramel sweetness, chocolate, a hint of dried apricot, and a black-tea finish. For an easy introduction to Yunnan, the FrontStreet Yunnan small-bean coffee from Baoshan - washed and medium roasted - offers gentle nut and chocolate sweetness with a touch of plum acidity at a friendly price. And for espresso drinkers, the FrontStreet Dark Cocoa Blend pairs Yunnan beans with Brazil Cerrado for balanced nut, brown sugar, and citrus notes.