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A Village That Sings Among the Coffee Bushes

Enter Lujiang Dam and head straight north along the Liuman Road for less than 20 minutes, and on the west side of the road you'll see the archway welcoming you to "China's No. 1 Coffee Village, Xinzhai," which means you've arrived at Xinzhai Village in Lujiang Town, Longyang District.

Xinzhai Village sits at the foot of the magical, charming Gaoligong Mountains, bordering the magnificent Nujiang River to the east. Seven years ago, I first arrived in Xinzhai Village. Over that period, for work reasons, I came here countless times. Seven years later, I arrived once again. In just a few short years, this village has quietly undergone tremendous change. What remains unchanged is that it still revolves around one common theme: coffee. A tree of coffee, a tree of songs, this is a village that sings among the coffee bushes.

Lujiang Dam is renowned for its unique natural conditions and meticulous cultivation management. The small-grain coffee produced there is famous far and wide. According to records, as early as the 1950s and 1990s, Lujiang coffee earned the reputation of "Lujiang No. 1" for its rich aroma and mellow taste, strong but not bitter, fragrant but not intense, remarkably similar to Blue Mountain coffee. It also brought home the "Eureka" Gold Award and was deeply loved by consumers.

Xinzhai Village has a history of coffee cultivation spanning nearly 50 years. In the last century, the village mainly grew vegetables, melons, and fruits. The people of Xinzhai carried on the diligence passed down through generations, and their watermelons, lantern peppers, and other crops were quite famous. In 1989, seeing that coffee planted by farmers on nearby farms was very valuable, the village gradually began large-scale coffee cultivation. By 1995, the vast majority of households had planted coffee. However, with coffee prices swinging sharply in 1997, 1999, and 2002, Xinzhai's coffee farmers repeatedly replanted and changed their fields. The path to prosperity through coffee moved forward slowly amid these swings and turmoil.

From 2009 to 2010, facing severe drought, over 3,000 mu of coffee withered and yielded no harvest. Relevant programs on China Central Television reported on the drought conditions, and during filming it was discovered that such a large-scale coffee village, with tens of thousands of acres under continuous cultivation, was indeed rare nationwide. Starting in 2011, to effectively prevent farmers from blindly following market fluctuations and to further make coffee cultivation a path to prosperity for the people of Xinzhai, four coffee professional cooperatives were successively established in the village, with a membership rate of 95%. The cooperatives effectively reduced the intermediate operating costs of coffee, increased farmers' income, and lowered market risk. In recent years, agricultural comprehensive development project funds have been continuously invested in Xinzhai. Machine-cultivated roads have gone from narrow to wide, from dirt to cement. Spray irrigation, ditches, and solar-powered insecticide lamps have been gradually installed. Cultivation conditions have changed dramatically compared to the past, and output has greatly increased.

It was after this that Xinzhai's coffee farmers could gradually face the market rationally. Today, the entire village cultivates 13,600 mu of coffee, covering low, medium, and high altitudes. It is the largest administrative village in China for small-grain coffee cultivation by area. Its cultivation area accounts for 95% of the village's total arable land, an average of 5.7 mu per person, with an annual output of 3,000 tons and an output value of 60 million yuan. It has become the main source of income for local residents. Xinzhai Village is therefore known as "China's No. 1 Coffee Village" and has been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a "National One Village, One Product" demonstration village. Today, Xinzhai has established its own brands, including Xinzhai Farmhouse Coffee, Shi'an Coffee, Yunli Coffee, and Ruixi Manor.

In addition to the village's own coffee, the coffee fields of neighboring villages connect with Xinzhai's, forming a continuous stretch of approximately 30,000 mu. Looking from the opposite bank of the Nujiang River or from the newly built observation deck at the village entrance, the 30,000 mu of coffee mountains link to one another, the lands join together, and the straight main road resembles a powerful dragon, spectacular and impressive. In different seasons, traveling through the coffee fields along the dragon-like main road and wandering on the cobblestone side paths, you can witness breathtaking scenes: when coffee flowers bloom, 30,000 mu of coffee mountains are covered in white; when the fruit first forms, the mountains turn green; when the fruit ripens, the mountains turn red. Traveling through the seasons, singing in the jungle of coffee.

Even more intriguing is that in recent years Xinzhai has established three civet cat farms, raising over 20 civet cats to produce "kopi luwak." The civet cats eat fresh coffee cherries, which ferment and digest in their bodies before being excreted. These "beans" then go through several processes, including selection, drying, deodorization, processing, and roasting, to create a coffee that is rare, unique, and expensive, and a sought-after commodity on the international market.

Since 2015, Xinzhai has hosted events such as the "China·Baoshan Lujiang Dam Second Coffee Culture Tourism Festival," mountain bike cross-country races, and the Second Yunnan Coffee Cup·China Brewing Finals. Coffee quality assessors, coffee roasting experts, and cycling enthusiasts from around the world have gathered in this village of beautiful landscapes and abundant flowers and fruits. This beautiful, peaceful village has boiled with excitement in waves of cheers.

Wang Jiawei, the Party Secretary of Xinzhai Village, was very excited when introducing the blueprint for Xinzhai's future: "Next, Xinzhai will take green, ecological, and environmental protection as its basic philosophy, highlighting the coffee theme and focusing on 'three constructions and one creation.' We will vigorously promote the development and construction of coffee manors. This means building a 'coffee-themed farmstead' that integrates coffee processing experiences, coffee culture displays, coffee tourism, coffee product sales, and tourism dining and accommodation services; constructing a '10,000-mu Coffee Garden Bicycle Training and Competition Base' themed around cycling; building a 'Xiaozhai Jiang Beach Paradise' that integrates beach sports and entertainment; and creating an outdoor tourism route with three anti-Japanese war sites, Laojian Mountain, Youzhu Slope, and Dayang Pasture, as nodes. The future Xinzhai will become a well-deserved 'China's No. 1 Coffee Village,' not only in coffee quantity but also in coffee quality and rural tourism branding."

The aroma of coffee wafts through the air, and coffee culture permeates the fields. In Xinzhai, regardless of gender or age, everyone can talk knowledgeably about coffee. The flavor of Xinzhai is the flavor of coffee. Step into Xinzhai and witness the promise of coffee to a village, and feel the village's steadfast commitment to coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but a diverse bean selection, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Lujiang coffee has long been described as resembling Blue Mountain for its balance, so if that mellow, well-rounded profile is what you're after, FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is the classic reference point. It comes from the historic Clifton Estate, where coffee has been grown since around 1750, at an average elevation of 4,300 feet (1310.64 meters). Blue Mountain No. 1 is one of the highest grades, with strict standards for bean size, defect rate, and overall quality, and FrontStreet roasts it medium-dark so its signature balance really shows.

In the cup you get layers of nuts, dark chocolate, and creamy caramel with a soft sweetness, the acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma all in harmony. It is equally good as a pour-over, in a moka pot, or as espresso, and it shines with milk in a latte or flat white. Because it is so balanced, it is often called the specialty coffee that most people find easy to love.