History of Xinzhai Coffee in Tengchong, Yunnan_Current Status of Lujiang Basin Coffee Development_How is Xinzhai Small Bean Coffee?

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The Birth of Coffee in Yunnan

In 1892, French missionaries successfully cultivated coffee in Zhukula, Yunnan, marking the beginning of this popular Western beverage taking root in mainland China. To this day, coffee trees over 100 years old still grow in Zhukula. However, the missionaries who planted them likely never imagined that a century later, as Zhukula gradually faded from memory, coffee trees would flourish in a place called Lujiangba, becoming one of the finest coffee varieties in China and even the world. Moreover, coffee branded as "Yunnan Baoshan Lujiang Small Bean Coffee" has become a national geographical indication product, with its taste highly acclaimed as comparable to the world-famous Blue Mountain coffee.

International Recognition and Accolades

As early as the 1950s, freshly harvested Baoshan small bean coffee was rated as first-class in the London market and earned the distinguished name "Lujiang No. 1." At the National Coffee Conference in 1980, small bean coffee was recognized as the "Crown of National Coffee." In 1993, at the World Coffee Competition held in Brussels, Belgium, Lujiang small bean coffee won the world "Eureka" Gold Award.

The Perfect Terroir

The world's two most popular beverages, tea and coffee, are Yunnan's mystical land's gifts to the world. While tea originates from China and Yunnan's excellent tea quality is natural, how did coffee, a plant originally from Africa, take root and thrive in Lujiangba, in southwestern China thousands of miles away, achieving exceptional quality? This required perfect conditions.

The connection between Lujiangba and coffee spans several decades. Like tea plants, coffee is extremely particular about its environment, with quality closely tied to geographical conditions. Its optimal growing environment requires low latitude, high altitude, sufficient rainfall, and appropriate sunlight. The region between 15°N latitude and the Tropic of Cancer is ideal for coffee cultivation. However, other regions in this zone, such as Hawaii and Saudi Arabia, either have low altitude or are arid deserts with little rain, unfavorable for coffee growth. Only southern Yunnan, within this zone, possesses all these conditions. Lujiangba, on the west bank of the Nu River, backs against the Gaoligong Mountains and faces the Hengduan Mountains. Due to warm southern air currents that enter easily but exit with difficulty, combined with the warming and dehumidifying effects of air from the west of Gaoligong Mountains, a dry-hot valley climate has formed. Here, ample sunlight, evaporation exceeding rainfall, and significant temperature differences between day and night create particularly suitable conditions for coffee growth and nutrient accumulation.

Cultivation Excellence and Expertise

The connection between coffee and Lujiangba may have begun by chance, but its quality enhancement required long-term dedication from coffee professionals, who cultivated it with sweat and managed it with wisdom. Lujiang coffee once set a world record with a yield of 400 kilograms per unit. The cultivation and management techniques of Lujiang's coffee plantations have been evaluated by experts as world-class. A coffee expert from the United Nations Development Programme, after visiting Lujiang Farm's coffee gardens, once said: "I have visited countless coffee gardens worldwide, and the management here is world-class, with the highest yield per unit." International Coffee Organization tasting experts have also rated Yunnan coffee as comparable to Colombian wet-processed small bean varieties, representing the world's highest quality coffee.

The Thriving Coffee Culture Today

Today, Lujiang small bean coffee in Longyang District has become a symbol of high-quality Yunnan coffee, with a cultivation area of up to 200,000 mu and famous varieties emerging continuously. Throughout the Lujiang Gorge, coffee gardens dot the mountainsides. Each year during flowering and coffee ripening seasons, the coffee gardens become magnificent gardens, attracting travelers from all directions. Traveling in Longyang, touring coffee gardens, tasting small bean coffee, and purchasing coffee products have become integral parts of the complete Longyang experience. Among the mellow, smooth-tasting Baoshan coffees, Yunlu Coffee, Xinzhai Coffee, Bitun Coffee, and Hemei Coffee are all rising stars among Chinese coffee brands. As famous teas spread their fragrance worldwide, Baoshan's "famous coffee" rises alongside them, perfectly timed for this moment.

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. Online store services are also available. 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