Yunnan Coffee Region Rankings and Variety Information: Pour-Over Brewing Methods and Flavor Characteristics

As a dark horse in China's domestic coffee scene, Yunnan coffee beans have been continuously impressing coffee enthusiasts, proving that high-quality coffee can indeed be produced within China. It's understood that few people in China are aware that Yunnan is actually a coffee-producing region. The popularity of the film "Coffee or Tea?" starring Liu Haoran has sparked a wave of interest in "Pu'er coffee."

Yunnan's Ideal Coffee Growing Conditions

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, the natural conditions of Yunnan's Pu'er region are remarkably similar to those of Colombia. The Pu'er coffee region is strategically located within the golden zone for coffee cultivation worldwide, similar to the coffee-growing areas of Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia, all situated between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Compared to other regions in China, Pu'er boasts high-altitude conditions, with elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level. The area is predominantly mountainous with significant elevation changes, fertile soil, abundant sunlight, plentiful rainfall, and substantial temperature variations between day and night. These exceptional natural conditions are ideal for cultivating Yunnan's small-bean coffee varieties, which produce remarkably flavorful coffee.

Major Coffee Growing Regions in Yunnan

In addition to Pu'er, Yunnan coffee is also cultivated in several other distribution areas. FrontStreet Coffee would like to provide a brief introduction to these regions.

Dehong

Dehong Prefecture has a century-long history of coffee cultivation and is one of China's earliest regions to introduce coffee plants. As early as 1914, small-bean coffee was sporadically introduced from Myanmar. After successful experimental cultivation of 6 mu (approximately 1 acre) in 1953, commercial cultivation began. The region has successfully registered the "Dehong Coffee" geographical indication and has been honored with the title "Hometown of Chinese Coffee."

Currently, the total coffee cultivation area in Dehong has reached 275,800 mu, with 140,000 mu in production, yielding 28,000 tons of dried coffee beans. This generates 616 million yuan in agricultural value and 800 million yuan in industrial value. Additionally, Dehong is the main production area for Hougu Coffee, the only national-level leading agricultural industrialization enterprise in the coffee industry. Coffee cultivation in Dehong is conducted at altitudes above 1,000 meters, with 30,000 mu planted on mountainous terrain above 1,600 meters. The primary use of organic fertilizers and organic pesticides in Dehong results in exceptionally high-quality coffee, making it one of the world's rare premium coffee-producing regions.

Lincang

Unique geographical location and climate conditions have made Lincang a focal point for numerous coffee companies. Quality coffee seedling nurseries have been established in Mengding Town of Gengma Autonomous County and Lincang Xingfu Farm, covering 200 mu and 100 mu respectively. Coffee cultivation has been carried out in Gengma, Zhenkang, Yun County, Cangyuan, and Yongde. To date, Lincang has established 96 coffee nurseries covering 1,570 mu, having cultivated 67.19 million coffee seedlings sufficient for planting 203,000 mu, with 260,000 mu of coffee cultivation area confirmed. FrontStreet Coffee also has its own coffee plantation in the Lincang region.

FrontStreet Coffee began coffee cultivation experiments in Lincang as early as 2013, planting the Typica variety, which was the first excellent Arabica variety introduced to Yunnan. The agricultural cycle is a lengthy process, requiring 5-6 years from breeding to first fruiting. In 2018, the first batch of Typica trees planted by FrontStreet Coffee began to bear fruit. In the 2020/21 season, FrontStreet Coffee harvested 200 kilograms of green beans. Due to the limited quantity, FrontStreet Coffee distributed these samples to new and existing customers for tasting. By the 2021/22 season, FrontStreet Coffee's harvest increased to 600 kilograms of green beans. Friends interested in tasting coffee cultivated by FrontStreet Coffee can visit our stores or purchase through our Taobao shop. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium roasting for these beans, which exhibit flavors of plum, brown sugar, and nuts.

Baoshan

Coffee cultivation in Baoshan began in the mid-1950s, with the first coffee seedling introduced by the late patriotic overseas Chinese Mr. Liang Jinshan from Southeast Asia. The locally famous Lujiangba small-bean coffee is of high quality and was rated as first-class in London, UK as early as the late 1950s.

In recent years, with the expansion of international trade, Lujiangba's small-bean coffee has gained widespread renown. European, American, and Arab countries, particularly Britain, the United States, Egypt, and businesses from Hong Kong and Macau, consider it premium coffee, with demand exceeding supply. In December 2010, after review by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, "Baoshan Small-bean Coffee" was granted national geographical indication product protection.

If asked which Yunnan coffee best represents the region's foundational flavor, FrontStreet Coffee believes it's Baoshan's washed Catim coffee. Baoshan is an outstanding coffee-producing region in Yunnan, with Lujiangba situated at 1,300m altitude, ideal for coffee growth. The Catim variety accounts for 99% of Yunnan's production, and the washed processing method best showcases the inherent flavors of coffee beans. Therefore, Baoshan's washed Catim is also FrontStreet Coffee's representative daily brew from Yunnan.

Cultivation Challenges and Processing Methods

Because Yunnan coffee is primarily cultivated on steep slopes, harvesting fully ripe cherries is extremely labor-intensive. Even offering high wages makes it difficult to find workers willing to harvest coffee cherries. However, pruning and reducing yield significantly improves maturity levels, greatly reducing harvesting difficulty and making coffee farmers more willing to engage in intensive cultivation for better income.

Another question of interest is what coffee varieties are suitable for Yunnan's climate? Many regions in Central America grow Caturra and Catuai, Brazil cultivates Bourbon varieties, while Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee is Typica.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Yunnan currently predominantly cultivates the Catim variety. However, those familiar with Yunnan coffee will notice that small amounts of Typica and Bourbon are also cultivated. These two ancient coffee varieties are the true pioneers of Yunnan's coffee cultivation. FrontStreet Coffee understands that Yunnan initially introduced Typica, but it is susceptible to leaf rust disease and has low yields. Coffee farmers were reluctant to plant it because coffee trees take at least 3-4 years from planting to harvesting, and the low yields of Typica couldn't sustain local livelihoods. The high-yielding Catim variety naturally became more popular among farmers. Additionally, Catim possesses genes from both Arabica and Robusta coffee, inheriting Robusta's disease resistance while producing coffee with rich crema.

Regarding the processing methods for Yunnan coffee beans, due to Yunnan's prolonged rainy seasons and unstable climate, the region is not well-suited for natural (sun-dried) processing. Instead, washed processing is more commonly used for coffee beans. In washed processing, defective beans and impurities are first removed, then the pulp is removed using a depulper, followed by approximately 18 hours of washed fermentation. Because the fermentation process in washed processing is better controlled, the flavor doesn't have the impurities sometimes found in natural-processed beans, instead presenting clear fruit acidity, though with slightly less complexity.

Brewing Methods and Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Coffee uses a three-stage pouring method to brew this Yunnan coffee. First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Then, using a small circular pour, add water until reaching 124g for the first split. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g and stop. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed again, remove the filter cone. The total extraction time (starting from the bloom) is 2 minutes.

FrontStreet Coffee finds that brewed Yunnan Huaguoshan coffee beans present rich melon and fruit aromas, with herbal notes. The entry is smooth, followed by nutty and chocolate flavors in the middle section, and bright, lively plum acidity in the finish, with black tea and brown sugar sensations in the aftertaste. Yunnan small-bean coffee features bright acidity, smooth texture, good balance, rich layers, with prominent dark chocolate and caramel notes in the aftertaste. When completely cooled, brown sugar flavors emerge.

The craftsmanship of Yunnan specialty coffee continues to improve, attracting coffee professionals from various fields. An increasing number of green coffee suppliers are establishing raw material production bases in Yunnan, with coffee giant Starbucks also joining the ranks of those purchasing Yunnan coffee.

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: kaixinguoguo0925

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