Introduction to Yunnan Coffee Bean History_Are Yunnan Small Bean Coffees Good_Where to Buy Coffee Beans in Yunnan

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The Unexpected Journey of Chinese Coffee

The word "coffee" has traditionally been disconnected from China. People reflexively associate tea with the East, while coffee represents the West in contrast. However, the coffee we drink daily actually comes from all corners of the globe. Various country names are printed on coffee bag packaging, so in reality, coffee comes from everywhere. I've even heard that Starbucks in China uses Yunnan coffee beans—though I haven't personally verified this information. If true, it should indeed be heavily promoted.

The Legend of Zhukula Coffee

The fame of Zhukula coffee comes from its coffee cultivation history. In 1892, during the 18th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty, French missionary Father Alfred Bourdy came to Zhukula Village to preach. He planted a coffee seed brought from Vietnam beside the village church. As the saying goes, "unintentional planting yields willow shade"—no one expected that the coffee tree planted by the missionary would create Zhukula's century-old coffee classic. Seeds falling from the missionary's coffee tree allowed a coffee forest to grow around the church, which is precisely why 24 century-old ancient coffee trees still exist in Zhukula Village today. As time passed, the coffee tree planted by Father Bourdy froze to death in the heavy snow of 1984, leaving only the mottled church still standing in the center of the village.

Yunnan Coffee's Journey to Recognition

Due to various reasons, despite its century-long history, Yunnan coffee has still not entered the public spotlight. Consumers purchase Italian coffee, Colombian coffee, Brazilian coffee, and even instant coffee, seemingly as established convention. Now that Yunnan coffee has arrived, are you willing to give it a try?

History of Yunnan Coffee Beans

Legend has it that 150 years ago, a Frenchman came to Lancang, Pu'er in Yunnan, requesting a piece of land from the local chieftain to build a church. Due to xenophobic sentiments, the chieftain devised a plan to make things difficult for this foreigner. He casually threw a piece of cowhide and said, "The size of this cowhide is the land area I'm giving you to build your church."

He thought this person would surely retreat in the face of difficulty, but unexpectedly, the Frenchman cut the cowhide into thin strips, forming a large circle. Within this circle, he not only built a church but also planted coffee trees. And according to legend, the earliest Pu'er coffee began from this point.

According to verification, visiting that original location at the foot of an elderly person's slope, several century-old coffee trees are still growing. Although these ancient trees are second-generation coffee trees grown from seeds casually discarded by the elderly person, their age can indeed be traced back a century. Judging by size, coffee trees with diameters of over 10 centimeters already have decades of history. If they were century-old trees, the perimeter at the root base would be even longer—the one discovered was already very large. Through historical verification and years of research, it can be determined that the first coffee seed in Donghe Township, Lancang, Pu'er, should have been planted around 1895.

In the elderly person's memory, there were 5-6 ancient coffee trees. When they were young, they used ropes hanging from the coffee trees to swing. Now, only 3 ancient coffee trees remain, already over 100 years old, at an altitude of 1,600 meters.

It is said that a small amount of coffee brought by the French still survives locally, which local ethnic minorities call "old foreigners." Interviewers also visited local villagers. An 80-year-old woman told him that her husband knew the "old foreigners," and in the past, she had picked and dried coffee. When asked if she had drunk coffee before, she laughed and said no, because the coffee was for the "old foreigners..."

Recommended Yunnan Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Yunnan coffee beans—old variety Typica coffee beans from the Baoshan producing area【Yunnan Flower and Fruit Mountain】offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227-gram) package costs only around 50-60 yuan. Calculating based on 15 grams of coffee powder per pour-over cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each Americano costing only about 4 yuan. Compared to coffee shop prices that often reach tens of yuan per cup, this offers exceptional value.

About FrontStreet Coffee

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473