What Makes Yunnan Coffee Exceptional? Understanding Yunnan Coffee Beans and Top Brands

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What Makes Yunnan Coffee Special?

Yunnan's coffee cultivation and production account for 98% of the country's total. What makes Yunnan coffee so good? Let's see how netizens respond.

Netizen: Times Media (Official Account of City Times)

First, Yunnan is the main coffee producing area in our country, with over 90% of domestic coffee produced here. Baoshan, Lincang, Pu'er, and Dehong are the main coffee cultivation areas in our province. The climate and temperature are very suitable for cultivating high-quality coffee beans. These major production areas have nearly two million acres of cultivation area, with total production far exceeding other provinces in China.

Asia's Largest Instant Coffee Production Enterprise

In 2010, the instant coffee production line had an annual output of 10,000 tons. At that time, Nestlé didn't have such a large annual output in China. In 2016, the production line's annual output exceeded 20,000 tons. According to 2016 statistics, the instant coffee production is currently the largest in Asia.

Yunnan Coffee "Going Out" by Train

"New Europe" and "Yu-Xin-Europe" are dedicated freight trains for Yunnan coffee. This was the first time Yunnan coffee left the country by rail transport to countries such as Europe and America.

Establishment of the Asian Coffee Association

Asian coffee accounts for about one-third of the world's annual coffee production. In 2017, the Asian Coffee Association was established, initiated by this brand and jointly formed by more than 20 Asian countries. Looking at the global scale, coffee culture has long been influenced by the American Specialty Coffee Association and the European Specialty Coffee Association. Although Asian-produced coffee is of high quality, it currently holds a weak position in coffee culture and international standards. The establishment of the Asian Coffee Association contributes to building a coffee economic circle.

The 26th World Coffee Science Conference was held in Dehong, Yunnan Province. Coffee industry representatives from dozens of countries and nearly 400 scientists gathered in Mangshi, Yunnan. In the context of the coffee industry integrating with international standards, our province needs more outstanding coffee talents.

Netizen: NY Wang Classmate

Yunnan coffee belongs to the small-grain coffee variety.

Due to its unique geographical environment and climate conditions, Yunnan coffee has formed a distinctive flavor that is rich but not bitter, aromatic but not intense, with a hint of fruitiness. World-class coffee experts have evaluated it as the best coffee in the world.

Its cultivation techniques and yield per unit are also world-class. Coffee contains abundant protein, fat, sucrose, as well as starch, caffeine, and other substances. When made into a beverage, it has rich aroma, pleasant taste, and is nutritious, thus becoming one of the world's three major beverages along with tea and cocoa, ranking first among them.

Yunnan coffee is a variant of the original Arabica species, formed through long-term cultivation and domestication. It is generally called Yunnan small-grain coffee. It is an evergreen small shrub with small kernels, thick peel, sweet flesh, and mellow products. It has lower caffeine content, hence also called light coffee, and is a major cultivated variety worldwide.

Why is Yunnan Coffee Considered the Best Quality in the World?

Coffee quality is determined by various factors including growing environment, climate, and cultivation management techniques. Its optimal growing environment is low latitude, high altitude, sufficient rainfall, and appropriate sunshine. Therefore, the area between 15°N latitude and the Tropic of Cancer is the ideal growing zone for coffee.

However, other regions in this zone such as Hawaii, USA, and Saudi Arabia either have low altitude or are desert areas with little rain, which are not conducive to coffee growth. Only southern Yunnan in this zone happens to possess all the necessary conditions. According to expert measurements, small-grain coffee should be planted on mountainous land at altitudes of 800-1800 meters. If the altitude is too high, the taste becomes sour; if too low, it becomes bitter. Most Yunnan coffee is planted in dry-hot valley areas at around 1100 meters altitude, resulting in moderate acidity, rich aroma, and mellow flavor.

In terms of climatic conditions, southern Yunnan has long sunshine hours, which is beneficial for plant growth and photosynthesis. Moreover, the large temperature difference between day and night, with low nighttime temperatures, helps accumulate coffee nutrients. Therefore, Yunnan small-grain coffee contains higher effective nutritional components than other foreign coffee varieties.

Small-grain coffee is susceptible to rust disease, which significantly affects both yield and quality after infection. Due to the distinct dry and wet seasons in Yunnan's tropical regions, the annual fresh fruit ripening period正好 enters the dry season with relatively low humidity, which is not conducive to the formation and growth of rust spores. Due to the excellent quality of Yunnan coffee, it entered the London market in the 1960s as "Lujiang No. 1" and was rated as first-grade. In recent years, world-renowned coffee companies such as Nestlé and Maxwell House have successively established raw material bases in Yunnan, and Yunnan's products have gradually gained fame both domestically and internationally.

Netizen: Video Le Duo Duo

1. Yunnan small-grain coffee contains higher effective nutritional components than other foreign coffee varieties;

2. Unique flavor with a slight fruit acidity;

3. Rich coffee taste with high saturation and balanced fruit acidity;

4. Can supplement the human body's required vitamin B;

5. Has certain anti-cancer effects.

Netizen: Walking Alone

Yunnan coffee growing areas are distributed between 15°N and the Tropic of Cancer, with most regions at altitudes of 1000-2000 meters. The terrain is mainly mountainous and sloped with large variations. The soil is fertile, sunshine is sufficient, rainfall is abundant, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. These unique natural conditions create the special characteristics of Yunnan small-grain coffee: rich but not bitter, aromatic but not intense, with a slight fruit flavor.

Netizen: Lu Xingzhou

It can't be considered first-class yet. The production area still faces issues such as variety improvement and processing method improvements. Previously, 80% of what was grown was supplied to Nestlé for instant coffee and Starbucks, so how good could it be? However, there have been gradual improvements in recent years. Otherwise, with the increase in basic wages, no one would pick it due to low purchase prices. Currently, it cannot be considered good, but the future can be expected.

Yunnan Coffee Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted small-grain Typica Yunnan coffee beans - [Yunnan Flower and Fruit Mountain Coffee] have full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, the cost-performance ratio is extremely high. A half-pound (227g) package costs only about 60 yuan. Calculating at 15g of coffee powder per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 4 yuan. Compared to coffee shops selling cups for dozens of yuan, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various 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