How to Enjoy Aini Estate Coffee_Origin of Aini Coffee Estate Geisha Variety_Yunnan Aini Coffee Story

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The Rise of Pu'er Coffee Industry

In recent years, the Pu'er coffee industry has developed rapidly. So far, more than 100 coffee varieties have been planted throughout Pu'er city, which is quite a remarkable phenomenon. In Pu'er, there are many places suitable for growing coffee. From a latitudinal perspective, several provinces including Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, and Taiwan belong to the same latitude zone. However, 50% of China's coffee is concentrated in Pu'er, with 99% concentrated in Yunnan province - this is a unique phenomenon for coffee in China. The reason is that the entire Yunnan region is influenced by the Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal monsoon, while 80% of China's territory is influenced by the Pacific climate. This special climate creates a high-altitude, low-latitude coffee growing environment in Yunnan, which is very favorable for coffee cultivation.

Ai Ni Estate's Coffee Variety Introduction

Starting from 2011, with Starbucks' assistance, Ai Ni Estate Coffee introduced 33 excellent coffee varieties from major global coffee-producing regions and planted them at Ai Ni Estate. After five years of selection, breeding, and cultivation, except for one or two varieties that were severely rust-resistant and unsuitable for cultivation and thus eliminated, by 2016, all 33 coffee varieties had been harvested, with three varieties standing out. Except for two varieties that were small-scale without commercial production yields, their quality, growth characteristics, habits, and yield properties all made them suitable for cultivation at Ai Ni Estate.

Samples of these 33 varieties were sent to the United States, where coffee industry veteran Ted Lingle scored these three varieties with high marks of 85, 86, and 87 respectively. Between December 2015 and January 2016, international cupping champion Jeremy Wakeford from France was invited to Ai Ni Estate to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of these 33 varieties. Along with Starbucks' chief coffee cupper, a British expert, these three coffee masters simultaneously identified three preferred varieties from the 33 through cupping. Geisha coffee was one of them, described by Jeremy as "pure as a virgin."

Quality of Yunnan Catimor

Currently, the most widely planted coffee variety in Yunnan is Catimor, but the quality of Catimor grown in Yunnan performs better than in other countries. Therefore, many foreign experts who came to Pu'er for cupping and evaluation discovered that Catimor coffee grown in Pu'er is completely different from that of other countries. Some people suggested it should not be called Catimor but given a different name.

Geisha Coffee Success at Ai Ni Estate

Today's visit to Ai Ni Estate brought explosive news: Geisha coffee cultivation has borne substantial fruit! This is explosive news and very positive information for the people of Pu'er, Yunnan, and China.

Geisha coffee was first discovered in the Geisha mountains of Ethiopia. It has been planted in many places around the world and finally achieved fame at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama, winning the world championship in the coffee industry for five consecutive years. In other words, Geisha coffee is an imperial variety of coffee, and so far, no new variety has surpassed it. Ai Ni Estate had the courage to introduce Geisha coffee from Panama to Pu'er for trial cultivation and succeeded, receiving very positive evaluations from foreign experts. This is truly gratifying and celebratory for the entire industry's development.

The History and Impact of Geisha Coffee

Geisha was discovered in the Geisha mountains of Ethiopia in 1931. Its pronunciation is the same as the Japanese word "Geisha," hence it's also known as "Geisha coffee." It went from obscurity to being exported to Kenya, wandering through Tanzania and Costa Rica, and in the 1960s made its way to Panama, where it made a stunning impact, winning cupping competition championships for consecutive years. It defeated the perennial champions Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Typica, and other varieties, once setting the highest price record for competition beans. Currently, Geisha is planted in many regions worldwide, sweeping through the coffee industry with hurricane-like force. This coffee revolution has been so powerful that even the long-reigning king and queen of the coffee kingdom - Jamaica Blue Mountain and Hawaii Kona - have had to step aside. Geisha has become the new king of specialty coffee!

Ai Ni Estate's Geisha Cultivation

Ai Ni Estate's Geisha comes from Panama. It was successfully seedling-raised in 2012, transplanted in June 2013, and by 2015, its yield had already exceeded 1 ton. After more than three years of exploring cultivation and primary processing techniques, the quality of the green beans has become increasingly mature and stable.

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

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